Alarm and Delight!

This is a detail from one of the murals in Cheltenham town centre which celebrate an unusual but true event.

In March 1934 Chapman's Great London Z00-Circus came to Cheltenham. The Circus boasted 28 of the finest acts never before seen in England. They also had lions, tigers, polar bears, comedy black bears, boxing kangaroos and elephants. As the advertising parade went through town some of the elephants broke free and headed for the seed merchant and pet shop, Bloodworths. One of the elephants entered the shop and started to have his fill of seed and pet food, another elephant got stuck in the doorway! Little damage was done, but some people said it was part of a publicity stunt!

This blip shows a detail from one of the murals which is captioned, "Amazed Cheltonians and the local constabulary watched with alarm and delight."