ARTHUR’S ARCHIVE
Keith heads back to the heyday of fishing exhibitions, when the National Angling Show hit the bright lights of London
“A glance at the list of exhibitors is like opening a history book”
WHAT A fabulous thing the National Angling Show was! Angling Times reader – and fan of the Archive – Alan Partridge (no, not the sitcom star...) sent in photos of his pristine copy of the catalogue from the 1964 event, held at Westminster’s Royal Agricultural Hall.
A glance at the list of exhibitors is like opening a history book: names like Efgeeco, as innovative and essential in its time as Drennan and Korda are today; Sowerbutts, makers of cane rods and, most notably, roach poles; KP Morritt, of Intrepid reel fame; and Accles and Pollock, a company that made steel tubes and which diversified to make some of them into the Taperflash match rods as well as spinning models.
The Sunday People, then a massive publication, promoted its fishing club in the
programme that accompanied the show, with a photo of two youngsters, one of whom won the junior section of its club match...none other than former angling bookie Billy Knott Jnr.
Jack Thorndike, then editor of Angling Times, opines on the future of fishing within the programme too, bemoaning the overstocking of waters, or stocking of the wrong species. In 1964 he had a bloomin’ good crystal ball, didn’t he!
These shows were brilliant. With no discounts – believe it or not such a thing was illegal when this show took place – top retailers (mostly local) were happy to stand and show their products, leaving manufacturers to show their new lines.
Gradually the shows declined until Tom Pickering came along with the great idea of restarting them. So successful were they, the business was bought by entrepreneur Victor Green.
Now, of course, we have the fabulous Big One, started by Surrey tackle dealer Vince Davies as an end-of-season sale. How that’s grown... and I can’t wait to be part of the next one, once this darn pandemic is over.