West Indies Cricketers in Norwich, 1939

Vintage amateur film of the West Indies cricket team in Norwich; part of their 1939 tour of England.

Lakenham Cricket Pavilion, distinctive by its thatched roof, sets the backdrop at Norfolk’s home cricket ground, where fans collar the cricketing stars of the West Indies team to get an autograph. Recorded by a member of the Gowing family of Norwich, the footage shows the visit by the West Indies cricket team during their 1939 tour of England, which had to be cut short owing to the preparations for and outbreak of World War Two.

The Lakenham Pavilion seen in this footage was officially opened by Russell Colman, Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk on 10 June 1936, built as a memorial to Captain Geoffrey Colman, Russell’s son, who had left a sum of money to be spent for the benefit of the employees of Colman’s Carrow Works.