WYCOMBE Show will celebrate its 50th anniversary next month.

Lord Carrington opened the first show in 1947, which drew a crowd of more than 5,000 people and 2,000 exhibitors. Since then, the show has only missed one year and has grown into a two-day event, traditionally held on the first weekend of September.

High Wycombe Mayor Cllr C W Lance suggested the idea of a town show in 1946 at a meeting of the Co-operative Society. "What a wonderful thing it would be for the town and district," he said.

Although the show has retained many of the traditional horticultural and domestic livestock classes, it has kept pace with the changing society. In 1968, the 21st anniversary of the show, there was a special space-age exhibition which celebrated the huge steps mankind was taking in space travel.

From the original range of rabbit, poultry, pigeon and cagebird classes, the show has grown to include entertainments such as a funfair, craft marquees and dog display teams.

The planning for the show, which is held on The Rye, off London Road, High Wycombe, is a huge task which begins almost as soon as the last show has finished.

In October, members of the committee go to a special event in Newbury to book acts for the next year. Every other month the committee meets to organise all the other details, from ordering marquees to allocating places for trade stands.

Chris Cunningham, vice-chairman and show secretary, organises the layout of the show, which was quite complicated in previous years.

"In the old days, marquees were not so well put up as today. They used these little wooden pegs instead of the two-foot stakes we use today. As soon as the wind got up a bit, they would come undone.

"About 20 years ago, the large marquee collapsed and we once had about three marquees that were unusable. I remember spending most of one of the shows going round and knocking pegs back in. Things are much safer today."

As Wycombe Show gets set to celebrate its golden anniversary, Mr Cunningham hopes it will continue for many years to come.

He said: "It is a great day out for the family and it is more than just an agricultural show, there should be something for everyone."

This year's show is being held on September 5 and 6

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