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Carter's Steam Fair in Battersea Park in April 1988

Carter's Royal Berkshire Steam Fair is one of the most attractive and unusual travelling attractions in London and the South East.  John Carter, a charismatic barrel of a man, started it in 1976 when he bought his first "galloper", a steam-driven fairground horse carousel dating back to 1895.  Traditional fairground rides - and the tractors, lorries and caravans that accompany them - had been disappearing for many years and Carter, who sadly died in 2000, was responsible for rescuing a splendid collection of them.  His fair travels every summer around the Thames Valley and the ten pictures in this set were all taken when the fair was in London's Battersea Park in April 1988.

John Carter started his steam fair when he bought and restored a set of "gallopers" in 1976 (image 525-19)

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Copyright © David Gray 2000-2004.  All rights reserved.