Summary

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

Handwritten description of the chasing game 'British Bulldog' compiled by M. Hammond, a student at East Fremantle Government Primary School, for Dr Dorothy Howard between 1954-1955. Hammond describes 'British Bulldog' as a popular boys game, usually played by a minimum of 10 players aged 11 years and over during the winter. Due the rough nature of the game, he states that a soft surface such as grass or sand is preferable. To play, boundary lines are determined between which one player, the chaser, stands. Hammond explains that the other players must run between the lines avoiding capture by the chaser as illustrated by his hand drawn diagram.

One of a collection of letters describing a children's game 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 a hand drawn, annotated diagram below text; text written on one side only.

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