The last member of his family to ply his trade as a travelling Showman, Tommy Green passed away in April.
When Tommy Green stopped travelling in the early 2000s, it marked the end of a dynasty that had made its living in show business for well over a century. Along with Collins, Shaw’s and Silcock’s, Green’s were one of the big Lancashire Section lessees for many years.
As well as his own events at Moor Park in Preston, Leyland, Nelson, Denton and over the Yorkshire border in Todmorden, Tommy also attended fairs in Preston town centre, Knutsford, Blackburn, Bolton, Bury and Burnley, plus many more. In addition, he had machine positions at Nottingham, Hull and, until the mid-1980s, Newcastle.
It was Tommy’s great-grandfather George Green who was the first member of the family to be involved in the amusement business. As a cabinet and chair maker in Preston during the 1870s, he was asked to carry out repairs to a dobby roundabout for a local Showman.
The customer never returned, so George decided to get some money back by operating the ride in the town centre. After a few years, Green’s had built up a run of fairs in Lancashire, eventually travelling as far north as Scotland.
In 1894, Tommy’s grandfather John and his brother George opened the Barracks Carnival in Glasgow, later taking over Faringdon Park pleasure gardens in Preston, where John also had two pubs and two cinemas. In fact, the Green family was an early exponent of moving pictures in Great Britain and George, who gave up travelling before the First World War, built up a large chain of cinemas across Scotland, whilst John concentrated on fairs south of the border.
Taking on the family business
Born in Leeds on New Year’s Day 1944, Thomas Walter Green was the son of Robert and Eleanor Green (née Mitchell). Boarding school educated, he and his elder brother Peter took over the family business when their father settled in Morecambe; however, Peter left to run a cafe in Bolton after marrying into the hospitality trade. Tommy himself married Jean Proctor in 1978, sharing a house in Adlington near Chorley, and pre-dating the many Showmen who now commute to local fairs.
The title of Tommy’s semi-autobiographies ‘Greens For Caterpillars’ (parts one and two) detailed the trio of such rides of travelled by his family during the 20th Century. On the side of their lorries was emblazoned the slogan ‘It’s Green’s, it’s Good’.
Always ready with a quip, Peter once joked: “If it’s Green’s, it’s hard work!” This too was true of the Mont Blanc (forerunner to a Matterhorn) that Tommy toured from 1975 to 1981.
He replaced the Mont Blanc with a Scrambler twist, which he travelled throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s together with the flying coaster (Ski Jump) acquired from Botton’s park in Skegness back in 1973. Extensively refurbished, the two machines served Tommy for over two decades.
Among other scenic touches, many will remember the fibreglass clowns that accompanied riders on the flying coaster. For a while, he also had a mini paratrooper and mini waltzer, the latter being the last ride to go as he wound down the business around the turn of the century.
Tommy’s stepson William Proctor, who also operated children’s attractions, attended smaller events for a short while after his retirement but ultimately left the industry. The rights to Green’s fairs were acquired in 2003 by David Taylor (Preston Easter and Nelson) and John Silcock (Leyland, Denton and Todmorden), John also buying his positions at Nottingham and Hull.
“Tommy was a very studious man and in some ways one of the last proper lessees,” says Billy Hill, who served alongside him for many years on the Lancashire, Cheshire & North Wales Section committee of The Showmen’s Guild, of which both were former chairmen. “He would always find room for tenants and you usually got a living. He also had the pick of the former corporation fairs across Lancashire.”
As well as his Guild duties, Tommy was a keen supporter of the Fairground Society and Fairground Association of Great Britain, penning several articles for their publications as well as the aforementioned books and a biography of his mother, a two time European typing champion. Alongside his family’s history, Tommy’s many other interests, including military history, planes and stamp collecting, meant he was never bored in his retirement.
Tommy Green passed away after a short illness on 2 April, less than six months after the death of his brother Peter and within two years of his wife Jean. Tommy’s funeral on 6 May was a private family service attended by William and Julie Proctor, their sons Dalton and Bentley, and Peter’s widow and their son Peter Bruno.
With thanks to Kevin Scrivens for historical input.
