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Imagine that the year is 1954, five years prior marked the end of WWII; an event, which after the tragedies of the First World War was hoped to never have happen again. Nearly ten years on, the city was still in the shadow of the atrocities of attack, it therefore welcomed Billy Smart’s Circus with open arms. Billy’s Circus was to provide some much needed relief from the post-war gloom of 1954 and a still recovering society where rationing would still in place until July.

The first circus originated in Ancient Rome, named Circus Maximus, at first it was built completely from wood. The final version was then constructed from stone, it could seat 250,000 people. The modern version of a circus (from the 18^th century onwards) consisted of a round arena with an array of seats all facing the middle- the performance area. Philip Astley (1742-1814) introduced the love of the circus to the British people on January 9^th 1978. Where he brought the idea forward of trick horse- riding. Adding elements like tightrope-walkers, jugglers, performing dogs, clowns to fill time between his own demonstrations, made the modern style circus of what we know today.

In 1954 Billy Smart’s Circus came to York, Billy Smart, Jr (1934-2005) was a renowned performer, he was prominent in gossip columns, linked to the likes of Jayne Mansfield, Diana Dors and Dame Shirley Bassey. Billy Smart; real name Stanley Smart, grew up into the circus, as his family background was very much of the show world. His father was a showman and brought his own circus in 1946, and by the age of 12 Billy Smart was an assistant ringmaster, performing with ponies and horses. Later on in his life he moved onto bigger and more exotic creatures and became known for taming a herd of stampeding elephants.

On April 16^th 1954, Billy Smart’s Circus treated the people of York to an unforgettable performance, with Joan the tricycle riding elephant being one of the most talked about and mesmerizing attractions of the show. Billy Smart’s clowns also made  a comedic display to children at the City Hospital (see main photo).

Joan the Elephant however in part defined the end of an era. This use of animals was; unbeknown at the time, part of a growing concern from animal right’s activists; one that in the ensuing years became rife and by the sixties and seventies saw people asserting their opinions like never before. A group derived from the University of Oxford (known as the Oxford Group) in the late 1960’s ‘began to view the use of animals as unacceptable exploitation. ‘

‘Animal rights advocates propose that animals be viewed as “persons, not property.’” These views made it particularly hard for circuses, as animal performances brought in a great deal of popularity, because of this, they had to react to their audience’s needs-  and so a mixture of human and animal performances came into creation.

Regardless of this, the presence of the circus at the time was one welcomed with open arms, as the people of Britain and York still came to terms with the horrors and hardships experienced during and after the war.