Item HT 41297 Document - E. McKenna, to Dorothy Howard, Description of Chasing Game 'British Bulldog', 25 Mar 1955

Summary

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

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'British Bulldog' written for Dr Dorothy Howard by E. McKenna, a student at Double View Government Primary School, presumably on 25 March 1955. McKenna describes 'British Bulldog' as a game which can be played anywhere by any number of children. The author explains that players must run between two home posts, avoiding capture by 'he' at the field's centre. McKenna notes that 'he' lifts captured players off the ground, before recruiting them to assist in catching other players.

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 pencil on lined paper. Features borders ruled in red pencil; text printed on one side only.