The College Archives tell the story of Eton. One big, ongoing story of Eton is the Fourth of June and the records for this day through the years are vast. Year by year we know which events took place, who participated in sports matches and the Procession of Boats, and even the weather forecast. Despite being a summer event, there have been numerous occasions over the years where the weather has threatened this very Eton occasion. One such time was in 1924.

The published programme listed the day’s planned events: chapel services, cricket, Speeches, exhibitions, the Procession of Boats, absence, and in the evening, fireworks. 

An article in the Chronicle from that year recounted “Not for nearly twenty years has the Fourth been so wet as it was this year. The rain started early in the morning and was still falling remorselessly when the editors retired to sleep towards 11 o’clock”. Cricket matches, the Procession, and the fireworks were all cancelled.  

The day was saved by the Captain of the Oppidans, Cyprian J. Bridge, thanks to his efforts and ingenuity in rearranging the day.

Speeches were moved to earlier in the day, and he arranged for the RAF band to set up inside School Hall for an impromptu dance where everyone could fill up with food and drink. Bridge’s father wrote that he believed that “Many people seemed to be enjoying themselves a good deal more than they would have done wandering around with nothing particular to do.” [ED 21 02]

Bridge took part in Speeches that year, reciting the speech of the Earl of Strafford on his impeachment, 1641. His father would write that he acquitted himself remarkably well, saying “You would not have taken him for a Henry Irving, but you could not help taking him for a gentleman.”

The Photographic Archive allows us to put faces to the names we read in these records and see for ourselves how the boys dressed and posed. These two show the participants in Speeches that year and the costumes chosen for their performances.

Laura Martin, Archives Assistant