George Backhouse

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George Backhouse was employed in 1948 as the Chief Executive Officer of the Festival Office, which was responsible for the personnel and the organisation of the Festival of Britain. The Festival Office was established in 1948 to undertake the organisation and management of official projects connected with the Festival. The head office was at Savoy Court in the Strand, London. Staffing was in part achieved by transfer from the Central Office of Information's Exhibition Unit. George Backhouse employed other staff recruited through the Ministry of Labour. The administrative branches were managed by personnel loaned from other government departments. In addition Backhouse was responsible for the security force for the exhibition, as well as the operational staff and supervisors. At its peak the Office employed 772 core staff, 29 industrial staff and 1,908 operational staff to work on the Festival. Staffing levels dropped rapidly as the exhibition finished. The Festival Office closed in March 1953.

The Festival of Britain was held in 1951 as a celebration of peace and to demonstrate British achievement in the arts, industrial design and the sciences. Although the main site of the Festival was the South Bank, London, it was also promoted as a nationwide event with sites in Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow . The Festival ship Campania visited ports around the country and every town marked the occasion in some way, for example with a music festival or pageant. The exhibition proved to be immensely popular, attracting 8.5 million visitors to the South Bank in five months.

From the guide to the George Backhouse, Chief Executive Officer for the Festival of Britain, papers, 1948 - 1953, (Victoria and Albert Museum Archive of Art and Design)

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creatorOf George Backhouse, Chief Executive Officer for the Festival of Britain, papers, 1948 - 1953 Victoria and Albert Museum : Archive of Art and Design
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associatedWith Backhouse, George person
associatedWith BBC corporateBody
associatedWith British Film Institute corporateBody
associatedWith British Railways corporateBody
associatedWith Captain F.S. Thornton person
associatedWith Collins corporateBody
associatedWith Council of Industrial Design corporateBody
associatedWith Fairway Cafe corporateBody
associatedWith Fire Brigade corporateBody
associatedWith Institution of Civil Engineers corporateBody
associatedWith Jarrold & Sons Ltd corporateBody
associatedWith Lady Ismay person
associatedWith LEB corporateBody
associatedWith Lion Brewery corporateBody
associatedWith LTE corporateBody
associatedWith Macdonald, Frances person
associatedWith Poplar corporateBody
correspondedWith Queen Mary person
associatedWith Red Lion Brewery corporateBody
associatedWith Regatta Restaurant corporateBody
associatedWith Royal Festival Hall corporateBody
associatedWith Trinity Congregational Church corporateBody
associatedWith Victoria & Albert Museum corporateBody
associatedWith W. Fairclough person
Place Name Admin Code Country
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Festival of Britain (1951)
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