Vote for your Favourite Poster

As part of the exhibition, the Siemens Poster Vote seeks to find out what your favourite poster is. Is it this one? Let us know by voting now!

Trooping the Colour is an annual event which marks the sovereign’s official birthday. The ceremony is thought to have begun in 1748 and in the twentieth century it has been fixed as a June event. This happens irrespective of the sovereign’s actual birthday in the hope that the weather will be better in June than at other times of the year. Although the Queen’s actual birthday was on 21 April, Trooping the Colour takes place this Saturday 15t^h June at Horse Guards Parade.

The event is a military ceremony, where colours (flags) are carried (or ‘trooped’) down the ranks of assembled soldiers. The idea behind this was originally to ensure that troops would recognise their own battalion’s flag during battle.

The event has traditionally drawn huge crowds and so it features in numerous Underground posters. The colourful spectacle has been an inspiration to several poster designers. In this fine example from our current exhibition, Poster Art 150, artist Margaret Calkin James interprets this historic event in her characteristic style of exaggerated colour with simplified and repeated forms. The arches of Horse Guards Parade can be seen behind the soldiers.

Have you voted for your favourite poster yet?

After not reading the invitation properly and consequently presenting myself at not just one, but two wrong reception areas I arrived a mere 15 minutes late. However, thanks to the help of a very kind receptionist (or maybe she just took pity on an obvious idiot) I was still able to gain access. 55 Broadway is, of course, an art deco treasure in its own right, but I won’t dwell on that here.

On arriving at the exhibition I was presented with a guide and spent a very happy hour or more browsing the materials on display. The TfL archives are very large and as a rule are stored deep underground in a Cheshire salt mine which provides the ideal cool and dry environment for preservation of historic documentation. So the displayed material was the tip of the iceberg – and very tantalising it was too. Among my favourites were a staff record book from the Metropolitan and District Railway, dated 1907, and a collection of original track diagrams covering the Circle Line. The former recorded, in meticulous copperplate handwriting, all the information that would be kept in a HR system today, whilst the latter was constructed from the flimsiest pieces of tracing paper, with many crossings out, much glue and tape. It’s a miracle that it has survived.

All the main aspects of the Underground’s history was covered in a variety of ways, from files of internal memos (speedometers on tube trains took up a lot of management time in 1957) through to a full set of Metropolitan Railway station rubber stamps, presumably for use on tickets. Finally it’s worth mentioning that volunteers play an important part in the work of the unit, being involved in producing guides and indices, and also protecting material.

Dave Olney, Volunteer

We have supported our volunteers to work towards one of three types of accreditation: The National Open College Network (NOCN) Certificate in Accessing Travel & Transport, The National Open College Network (NOCN) Certificate in Discovering Local History or the Arts Award at Bronze Level.

The NOCN Certificate in Accessing Travel & Transport supports learners to understand more about the transport network, to feel confident in route and journey planning and to understand how to travel safely both within Transport for London’s modes and beyond

The NOCN Certificate in Discovering Local History supports learners to discover how local or national events in history – such as the opening of the London Underground 150 years ago – impacted the communities in their local area and to share this knowledge with others.

The Arts Award at Bronze Level is for learners aged 16-25 and supports them to develop a creative skill, share this skill with others and develop confidence in responding to artistic or cultural exhibitions and communicating about cultural, heritage or artistic pieces.

Project 353’s mix of artistic, cultural and historical learning means learners can choose as a group which option to take and the project is moulded to suit their aspirations.

While some learners choose not to undertake accreditation, those that do have found it helps them to articulate what they have achieved to those around them such as teachers, social workers or future employers.

On top of this, learners have expressed a real sense of pride, confidence and ownership in the programme by having their involvement formally recognised.

Renowned for his sharp wit and observational humour, Cyril Kenneth Bird (Fougasse) was one of Britain’s most influential illustrators. His formal art training was by way of evening classes, which he attended alongside completing a degree in Engineering. Severely injured by an explosion in the First World War, and unable to walk for three years, he continued his art lessons by correspondence. In 1916, Punch published his first cartoon, entitled ‘War’s brutalising influence’. He adopted the pseudonym ‘Fougasse’, meaning small unpredictable landmine, which he used for all subsequent work.

The Second World War marked an increase in newcomers to London, many of whom were unused to Underground travel and the behaviours that, while familiar to regular users, were strangely confusing to the uninitiated. A code of conduct helped to keep passengers safe and services running smoothly. Fougasse’s wry observations and comic style were a refreshing antidote to the more strident tone of government wartime notices of the period.

Fougasse produced a number of public information posters for London Transport between 1925 and 1945. This poster is one in a series called ‘Rules of conduct’ and instructs passengers to ‘stand on the right of the escalator’ – one of the numerous slogans that were to become part of an emerging Underground etiquette.

See more Underground Etiquette Posters

As part of the exhibition, the Siemens Poster Vote seeks to find out what your favourite poster is.

Hence the “Happy Museum”: a programme that has been developed with a number of other museums (such as the Godalming Museum and the Story Museum, Oxford) to explore the opportunity for increased sustainability through wider and deeper engagement with all potential audiences. Funding for the “Happy Museum” has been provided by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England, amongst others. One result of LTM’s engagement with the “Happy Museum” has been a project with St. Mungo’s, the homelessness charity, aiming to help excluded people engage positively with society.

A number of potential volunteers for the project were identified by St. Mungo’s, and they met with LTM staff at an Open Day in late 2012. As a result a group of St Mungo’s clients have been engaged in voluntary work at the museum, working closely with the curators. I met Chris Daniels at the Acton Depot one day recently, where he was busy cleaning a train of 1938 tube stock inside and out in preparation for the Acton Open Weekend. Chris also volunteers with St Mungo’s itself, and has been busy gardening; he confided in me that he was very glad to be working indoors on this particular (very cold) day. So was I!

Chris told me that he had enjoyed his 3 months volunteering with LTM, and had been involved in bus cleaning as well for the open weekend.  Although his working life had been in the water industry, he has always liked transport. In his own words, “I’ve enjoyed working here as volunteering people are family. It helps my state of mind, and it’s nice to meet other people.” A sentiment that I think many volunteers would echo.

Dave Olney, Volunteer

Many horse races across the world have adopted the title ’Derby’ but this weekend’s Epsom Derby was the first! Founded in 1780 by its namesake the 12th Earl of Derby, it has become the country’s richest horse race and one of the most prestigious events in the summer sporting calendar.

This week’s poster was designed by the artist Sybil Andrews, an acclaimed modernist printmaker inspired by Cubism, Futurism and Vorticism. From between 1929 and 1937 she worked under the more masculine pseudonym of Andrew Power, in tribute to the artist Cyril Power with whom she shared a studio.  This poster was issued in 1933, to promote the Derby and the race course as a destination. The town of Epsom in Surrey is beyond the reach of the Underground but for Derby day special bus services were operated from the nearest tube station at Morden. In that same year the London Passenger Transport Board was formed to run all bus, tram and Underground railway services in London.  This poster represented the benefits of the newly integrated system and the many exciting events and destinations that could now be promoted.

The poster’s aerial view of the race illustrates the exciting swirl of activity as the horses stream around the course, into Tattenham Corner and out towards the home straight. The rows of open-topped buses that line the route were part of a small fleet of old vehicles still being operated by London Underground. They provided a convenient vantage point for the crowds watching the spectacle.

Derby Day crowds using NS-type open top buses as viewing platforms, Unknown photographer, 1933

The 1933 Derby was particularly memorable, won by the popular thoroughbred Hyperion who was owned by the 17^th Early of Derby. The above photograph from the Museum collection was taken at the 1933 Derby and shows people standing on the open top decks and even sitting on the roofs above the driver’s cabs. This tradition continues today with race-goers arriving in vintage buses to get a bird’s eye view of the finishing post.

As part of the exhibition, the Siemens Poster Vote seeks to find out what your favourite poster is.

Mike Brown shows the Queen the carriage at Baker Street, 20th March 2013 © Chris Radburn (PA)

Coach 353 was originally known as a ‘Jubilee’ coach, the design having been introduced in 1887, the year of Queen Victoria’s Silver Jubilee.  Having been such an important part of the Underground’s 150^th anniversary celebrations, after a long and chequered career as carriage, workshop, club room, shop and home, coach 353 came full circle on 20 March 2013 when presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth II at Baker Street.

The royal party, including the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Cambridge, made a formal visit to mark the 150^th anniversary. They were presented to station and operational staff and to those of us responsible for the restoration and operation of 353, including the apprentice and workshop manager from the Ffestiniog Railway, the chair of our Friends, our chairman and  sponsors Cubic and Siemens.

Shunted into the bay platform 2 at Baker Street, 353 glowed under the lights in all its varnished teak glory, next a four car train of the latest ‘S’- stock with ‘Buckingham Palace’ shown on its destination board. Thus both the past and the future of the Underground were inspected by the royal party and a presentation of a framed ‘Trooping the Colour’ poster by Margaret Calkin James from 1932 made to Her Royal Highness. Our trustee, Howard Collins, then stole the media show by presenting a ‘Baby on Board’ lapel badge to the Duchess of Cambridge. 353 stayed in the bay for the rest of the day and attracted a great deal of interest before being moved back overnight to our Acton Depot.

It’s a bank holiday weekend again and hopefully you’ve got some fun plans. But if you haven’t decided what you’re up to yet then why not take a look at our events calendar for some exciting ideas, including some fantastic steam runs!

For this week’s Poster of the Week we wanted to share with you one of the older posters in our Poster Art 150 exhibition - The Swiftest Way to Pleasure (1913) by Charles Sharland. He was one of the in-house designers at Waterlow and Sons, one of the main printers of Underground posters, from the 1900s to the 1920′s. Although little is known about Sharland’s family background or artistic training he designed over 122 posters for London Transport. You can view most of these posters on our online collections site.

Bank holidays were a great focus for promoting off-peak travel and in this poster Sharland is advertising the diverse leisure destinations accessible by Underground. The Underground ‘bull’s-eye’ symbol in the centre was part of the Underground’s corporate identity and it was not until 1916 that the calligrapher Edward Johnston was asked to adapt his typeface to fit in a new roundel logo; the logo we know today.

© National Fairground Archive Collections

Sharland has shown the ‘bull’s-eye’ as a ‘Joy Wheel’ – a popular fairground contraption from 1910 until the late 1920’s consisting of a slightly conical polished disc that spun riders around and around until they fell off. The Joy Wheel rides were more commonly found at seaside resorts and accounts suggest that they were just as much fun for the spectators as they were for the participants! In the poster, Sharland’s characters are falling towards the different out-of-town destinations served by the Underground.

As part of the exhibition, the Siemens Poster Vote seeks to find out what your favourite poster is…

A look back at the April Depot Open Weekend

As part of the Museum’s celebrations of the 150^th anniversary of the London Underground, London Transport Museum opened its Depot in Acton for an extended Depot Open Week in April. Throughout the week we offered a series of special workshops which gave members of the public the opportunity to see more of the Museum’s transport collections and learn a new skill based on the heritage of the newly restored Carriage No. 353. The workshops were extremely popular and included vehicle photography, a Cab-it day, textile design and creative writing.

On the Saturday we opened the doors for our annual Depot Open Weekend with a series of activities designed around the theme of ‘We Love Steam’. Undeterred by the inclement weather, long queues formed out of the Depot and onto Gunnersbury Lane on what was set to become the busiest ever public opening of the Museum the team had ever experienced.

Alongside opportunities to stand on the footplate of the recently restored Met Locomotive  No. 1 which was in light steam, visitors were encouraged to see for themselves the opulent interior of the newly restored Carriage No. 353 on show in all its gold leaf glory, and wonder what it must have been like to travel First Class on the Victorian Underground. Volunteers from the London Transport Museum Friends, our partnership funders for the project were on hand to reveal the rich history of the oldest known surviving Metropolitan Railway carriage and tell the story of its recently completed restoration.

Also in attendance were staff and volunteers of the Ffestiniog Railway, restorers of Carriage No. 353 who had transported the Welsh Highland Railway locomotive  Prince from North Wales as part of their own celebrations of the 150th anniversary of narrow gauge railway. Long queues formed all day for the opportunity to stand on the footplate of Met 1, look around Carriage No. 353 and to take part in short rides on Prince. We recorded the highest ever turnout for a Depot Open Weekend and welcomed over 5,800 visitors smashing all previous attendance figures.

The weekend’s other activities included rides the ever-popular Acton Miniature Railway, collections tours and talks on Carriage No. 353’s history and recent restoration delivered by the Project Curator Tim Shields. The Museum’s restored train also provided the inspiration for our programme of family activities. Younger visitors were given the opportunity to create their own model steam train and decorate a Victorian lady or gentleman who might have travelled on Carriage No. 353 in the 19^th Century.

On the Sunday, we were delighted to welcome Wesley Kerr, the Chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s London Committee who surveyed the recent restoration of the carriage, boarded the footplate of Met 1 and enjoyed rides on both Prince and the Acton Miniature Railway. The next Depot Open Week takes place in October.

For someone of – ahem – my vintage, it can come as a bit of shock to realise that bus conductors will be a distant memory for anyone under the age of ten, and probably unknown to those under eight. So it’s no longer safe to assume that our younger guests have any conception of why there were conductors and what they got up to. A significant part of the experience is therefore an initiation into the daily work of the ladies and gentlemen collecting fares on the RT, trolleybus or tram.

I found volunteers Peter Brown, John Campbell and Joe Ross accepting this challenge. As you can see, our heroic trio were under various states of siege on the day, and not just from the younger patrons. The desire to handle a Gibson ticket machine obviously runs deep in the population at large, so it’s just as well that there were two to hand on the stall. I’m not ashamed to admit (well not much) that I had a go myself with one, and you’d be surprised by just how heavy they are.

Joe is the novice of the team, having some 3 months under his belt as a volunteer, but he was in safe hands with the experienced pair of John and Peter. Both have volunteered for a number of years, and been involved in many activities to support the work of the museum. Peter is also active with the London Bus Museum at Brooklands, so I think we can safely say that he has the bug badly.

You can also see in the accompanying photos two trainee conductors I met, Uma and Niyam Shah – I think a couple of weeks at the Chiswick training school and they’ll be ready to apply to the Traffic Commissioners for their badges. I can’t help but think that Uma might have the edge on her brother if they find themselves on the 15. And hurry up, it’s my turn with the cap…….

Dave Olney, Volunteer