Gloucester Journal – Saturday 16 August 1924

Mitcham Fair Opened.
PRESENTATION TO SIR HARRY MALLABY-DEELEY

Mitcham Fair opened Tuesday afternoon. This year the fair has taken on a new lease of life, because, by an Act of Parliament, the council has the right over the control of it. The council now has the right to set aside three acres of the common for the fair, with the result that the amusements have doubled. The opening ceremony was true to tradition. The huge gilded wooden key, hung with ribbon, was cheered on arrival and held aloft during the speeches. There was no lock for it to open, but the showmen insisted on it being brought as ‘an outward and visible sign’. Among those who attended were Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeeley, Sir Cato and Lady Worsfold, and Mr. G. F. Jones, chairman of Mitcham Urban District Council. A presentation was made to Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley by the Showmen’s Guild of two handsome silver cups, which were stated to be worth over 200 guineas. They were inscribed:—”Presented to Sir Harry Mallaby-Deeley, Mitcham Court, by the Showmen’s Guild of Great Britain, as a mark of their great admiration, esteem, and gratitude for his splendid championship of their cause, 1914-24″.