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The business of fun |
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Thrills of the thirties
Showmanship is based on giving the public novelty, something new, something exciting. Each generation has had to face new difficulties from the last. When George De-Vey Snr. Died in 1931, the next generation, George, Ernest and Nelson De-Vey, were more than ready to take over the firm and face those challenges. They replaced the old Gondolas and Motor Switchback with a series of fast, novelty rides which appealed to the tastes of people who saw the pace of life ever increasing
Torquay Fair with Anderton & Rowland's famous Dragon Scenic Railway
© De-Vey family |
During the Second World War, George, Ernest and Nelson De-Vey served their country whilst most of the firm’s equipment remained packed away except for the Dodgems which George De-Vey’s wife kept working for the duration. The old Scenic Railway was left in store and moved out of Bristol only just in time to escape the Blitz. Despite this it was never to be used again and was eventually scrapped.
The post-war years saw even more investment, with the old steam engines replaced by brand new Scammell Showtrac lorries. New rides also appeared; an Autodrome and a Skid were amongst the first to travel the West in the 1940s. Even the relatively lean years of the 1950s and 1960s witnessed modernisation of the equipment and transport. Throughout this time the firm were well-represented at all the major Devon fairs such as Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay and Barnstaple.
Words: Stephen Smith
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