Shining a torch on Olympic history

As you may know, Brent is gearing up for the 2012 Olympics, when we will be a ‘host borough for London 2012. But 2012 will not be the first time the borough has welcomed Olympians and spectators – in 1948, the eyes of the world were on Wembley when it played host to the Olympics, that year officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad.

With the effects of the Second World War still being felt on the public finances, the 1948 Olympics were run on a budget, and became known as the Austerity Games, with athletes being housed in schools and RAF camps – although they were entitled to increased rations!  Brent Museum and Brent Archives’ collections include many fascinating resources on the borough’s Olympic history, from tickets, programmes, and autograph books, to one of the torches used in the relay that brought the Olympic flame to Wembley. Last night, The One Show on BBC One looked at the 1948 torch relay – you can view it online here for the next seven days to find out how the flame was brought to Wembley Stadium for the opening ceremony.

Some of the fantastic Olympic material held at Brent Archives has been digitised on a website called Winning Endeavours; here you can see a map of the route taken by the torch relay on the way to Wembley, which was printed in a guide to the games held in the Brent collections. If you’re a teacher, you may be interested in our free downloadable Olympic teaching resource, and keep an eye out for our new Olympics workshop, which will be available from September.

Posted by Kate.