and the History of
Fleet Carnival

Meet the Committee

History of Carnival

2022 – present day
In 2022 the carnival resumed its annual schedule once more, with local charities taking turns to
become the recipients of the fundraising efforts. It continues to this day.

2020 – 2021
After the long run of annual celebrations, the carnival was brought to a halt in 2020 and 2021
due to the covid pandemic.

1956 – 2019
In 1956 Fleet Carnival finally made a full time comeback. A week long timetable was planned,
various attractions were added to the agenda and a new recipient was chosen for funds raised.
The new look event was first held on The Firs Meadow in Crookham Road and featured special
guest Freddie Mills, the worlds light heavyweight boxing champion.

This time round, monies raised went towards a new Civic Centre for Fleet. It was thought that
this would be the only way to move things forward for the stalled project, forcing the local council
to begin the work once the amount raised had reached an “impressive amount”. A member of
the local council agreed that it was hopeless to expect them to fund a new centre alone and that
this would be the best way to ensure Fleet would have a new hall. Despite opposition from some
this was finally agreed and in 1972 the new Civic Centre was opened, with carnival funds
making up 10% of the final cost.

The new look carnival was held annually from that point until the covid pandemic hit.

1953 – 1955
Fleet Carnival needed something to kick start it again and in 1953 The Queen’s Coronation did
just that. A large event was planned with a timetable that included sporting events and dancing
along with a grand procession that included a carnival King and Queen.

With the end of war celebrations long gone, the festivities revived interest in an annual event.

By 1955 the Chamber of Trade were in talks about bringing a full-blown carnival back to Fleet
and by 1956 the town saw the start of the familiar, more modern celebrations, that we still see
today.

1950 – 1951
After the end of WW2, there was an outbreak of celebrations, street parties and events to mark
the return of peace but the first time a carnival was mentioned again was 1950. In this year
discussions took place about holding the event around the upcoming 1951 Festival of Britain but
despite a very positive response from the Fleet branch of the Royal Air Forces Association, the
idea was eventually abandoned due to a lack of support from local traders.

1939 – 1945
The Second World War ran from 1st September 1939 to the 2nd September 1945, putting an
end to all festivities once again.

1935 – 1939
Although other celebrations and smaller canal carnivals were held after the war, it wasn’t until
1935 that talks began once again about holding a full carnival in Fleet, this time to celebrate the
Silver Jubilee of King George V. Both Fleet and Crookham were eager to celebrate the event but
as each town had quite individual identities at the time and varying ideas about how to mark the
occasion, the decision was made to hold two different events over a two day period.

For the next four years a carnival was held annually with the last one being held in July 1939,
just before the outbreak of the Second World War.

1914 – 1918
On the 28th July 1914 war broke out across Europe, putting an end to all such events. World
War 1 ran until 11th November 1918.

1900 – 1914
In 1900 Britain was at war with the Boers in South Africa. The Second Boer War ran from 1899 –
1902 and many local communities, including Fleet, got together to raise funds for the war effort –
and that was how Fleet Carnival was born. The event was a huge undertaking for such a small
town at the time but it was deemed to be a big success with all funds raised being donated to
The Telegraph newspaper’s “Soldiers, Widows and Orphans Fund”.

After the war ended in 1902, Fleet held talks to arrange another Carnival. With no war fund to
support this time, the focus was directed at local good causes and to that end a fund was
established “for the relief of poor patient’s fees at the Fleet Community Hospital”. The event was
originally hoped to be held in June along with celebrations for the coronation of Edward VII but
the Coronation Committee weren’t keen on combining the two events, so it was arranged for
September instead. Ironically the Coronation had to be postponed due to the King suffering from
appendicitis and wasn’t held until August, so the two events weren’t that far apart anyway.

The carnival had a very different appearance in the early days with processions that consisted of
people, both on foot and on horseback, alongside horse-drawn vehicles. The Fleet Town Band
and the Wesleyan Prize Band (later known as the Fleet Brass Band) also joined the event,
finally giving the town their own musical accompaniment without relying on those from
neighbouring areas. The celebrations also featured a large torchlight procession and bonfire.

Find out more about Carnival

Thanks to Tina at forfleetssake.co.uk for providing the history of Carnival.