Guest post, by local historian Philip Grant:-
Wembley History Society receives email enquiries from around the country, and the world, about a wide variety of aspects of our area’s past. Some we can answer easily, from information we already hold. Others take research, which can uncover some fascinating stories, like that of a 1960s music shop, or a remarkable Indian lawyer who lived here. Occasionally, we receive a query that we can’t answer. The origin of a “Wembley Girl” figure is one of those, which is why I am writing this, to ask if you can help, please!
Wembley Girl’s face.
Our enquirer and her late husband bought the Wembley Girl figure ‘many moons ago’ from an antique dealer who claimed, ‘she is rather rare’. The painted figure is around 15 inches (38cm) tall, and the email sending its photograph said the owner would love to know more about the story behind this model, where and when (and by whom) she was made, and what her connection with Wembley is.
The Wembley Girl figure.
There is no doubt that the figure is a “Wembley Girl”, because that name is clearly shown on the base of the model:-
There is no makers name or mark on the base, and no stamp to show where the figure was made (if it was made outside this country, it might have had “Made in ….” stamped underneath). The only other clue is the number “24”. This could be a number referring to the mould it was cast from, or if it was a limited-edition model, the number of that particular piece. Or it could represent the year 1924.
Wembley would certainly have been widely known in 1924, because that was the
year the British Empire Exhibition (“BEE”) was staged here. 17 million people
came to Wembley Park for the BEE in 1924, and most of them went away with a
souvenir of some sort. Hundreds of different picture postcards and a wide
variety of small china ornaments were available from stalls around the
exhibition grounds.
Empire Stadium souvenir cup. (From Alan Sabey’s collection)
A BEE souvenir ornament, made by Cauldon Potteries Ltd. (From Alan Sabey’s collection)
But what connection could the Wembley Girl figure, which would have been a more expensive item than these mass-produced souvenirs, have had with the BEE? She certainly appears to be making an exhibition of herself, although that would go against the generally wholesome theme of the BEE! This is just speculation, but my guess would be that, if the figure did come from the BEE in 1924, it was connected in some way with the Pears’ Palace of Beauty.
An advertisement for the Pears’ Palace of Beauty. (Source: Brent Archives)
This ornate building, in the BEE’s Amusement Park, was created by the House of Pears to promote their soap, which they said had been ‘for 130 years the servant of beautiful women.’ Inside the building were 10 tableau rooms from different ages, and inside each (behind a glass screen, to protect them from admiring visitors) was an actress, styled and dressed as one of the most beautiful women in history.
The actresses, playing characters from Helen of Troy and Cleopatra, to Nell Gwynne, Sarah Siddons and Miss 1924, worked in pairs, sharing the 13-hour days that the Palace was open in shifts. They worked 10am to 1pm and 7pm to 11pm one week, and 1pm to 7pm the next, for £5 a week. They were one of the biggest attractions in the 40-acre Amusement Park, with 750,000 visitors paying one shilling and threepence each to see them in the 1924 season.
Postcard showing the entrance to the BEE Amusement Park. (Source: Brent Archives)
The Wembley Girl figure may have been inspired by the women in the Palace of Beauty (perhaps Miss 1924?), but she was not an official souvenir. Pears’ only offered souvenir bars of their soap, and a set of postcard pictures of the beautiful women (in their costumes), in their gift shop. If Wembley Girl was made for the BEE, it is more likely that she was sold in a kiosk close to the Palace of Beauty, for men who had been to the Pears’ exhibit, but wanted a souvenir which was a bit more “racy”.
Pears’ Palace of Beauty at the BEE Amusement Park in 1924. (Image from the internet)
If you know anything about the origin of the Wembley Girl figure, or even recognise its style and who might have made it, please provide the information in the comments below. If you are tempted to make any rude comments, about what her owner describes as her ‘rather deshabille’ appearance, please don’t!
Thank you.
Philip Grant.
