LoL_Jephsonworkers_personal archive Wendy Shear(edit).jpg

The Stories

Switched On Stories are indebted to all the people who shared their memories and mementoes from the original Lights of Leamington Festival.

You can discover more here

Photo credit: Wendy Shear - personal archive

The Storytellers

Switched On Stories held a series of community workshops and invited everyone with memories of the original festival to share and contribute to this important archive.

To hear the individual stories, click the name to link to the film

Reg Boucher

A scamp with a reputation for being at every event and getting into places for free. - he discovered a genius way of entering the lights festival!

Pam Cowper

Discovered a wonderland of illuminated trees and magic - something bright and cheerful in what was a drab world.

Anne-Marie Insley

After the austerity of the war, remembers a magical, unusual, entertaining and very enterprising adventure in Leamington.

Dalbir Kaur Khaira

Coming from a village with no electricity, seeing the lights was a magical mystery - and the firework displays a spectacle to behold.

Christine Kenny

Travelled in her father’s famous fish van from Stratford to the lights and shares a special coronation picture.

Wendy Lucey

Found great joy and happiness at the lights - but her mom wasn’t too happy with her pinching the sugar to starch her lace petticoats!

Maria & Jim Murphy

The festival created a vison of Leamington as an interesting, imaginative and artistic place.

Wendy Shear

Was courting Pete, an electrician who worked on the lights, so got to know the mystery of the big switch on!

Val Steele

Loved every kind of dancing and found the big bands and ballet dancers captivating.

Colin Todd

Found the lights a marvel, a revolution and was in awe of everything from the New York Skyline to the musicians on the lake.

Whittle Productions would like to thank everyone who generously gave their time to share their memories and mementoes of the Lights of Leamington Festival. Special thanks go to the people above for providing oral history interviews.

Discover more

Switched on stories have created a film and series of podcasts - click the links below to find out more

Switched On Stories - the film

This is our main film, featuring all our story-tellers, archive footage and memorabilia of the Lights of Leamington

Click here to watch