Summary

Game name (and type): 'British Bulldog' (chasing game)
Alternative types: running games

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'British Bulldog' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by Graham Leeks, a student at Double View Government Primary School, on 24 March 1955. Leeks describes 'British Bulldog' as an English game, usually played by boys, in a large open space. He notes that any number of children can play. According to Leeks, a child stands in the centre of the allocated space facing the other players, who are lined up along one edge. The child calls out 'British Bulldog' and proceeds to chase the other children as they run across the field, lifting captured children off the ground. If caught, a player must join the chaser in the centre; however, Leeks does not indicate whether captured players assist with the chasing.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's games written to children's Folklorist Dorothy Howard between 1954 and 1955. Dr Howard came to Australia in 1954-55 as an American Fulbright scholar to study Australian children's folklore. She travelled across Australia for 10 months collecting children's playground rhymes, games, play artefacts, etc. This letter, together with the other original fieldwork collected by Dr Howard during this period, is preserved in the Dorothy Howard Collection manuscript files, part of the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), Archive Series 3. The ACFC is an extensive collection documenting children's folklore and related research.

Physical Description

Handwritten game description in blue ink on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text printed on one side only.

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