Oxted Charity Pram Race

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History of The Pram Race

Some interesting facts about the Oxted Charity Pram Race…

• Eric and Elsie Hallson started the pram race in 1977;
• originally Eric was part of the Carnival Committee which at the time primarily consisted of just the procession. His fellow members asked him to come up with an idea of how to expand this;
• on a visit to friends in Clacton he attended a pram race and recognised with the proximity of the pubs in Oxted this would be well suited to this type of event;
• originally the race was called ‘The Happening’ hence the insignia on the fastest team trophy (a china potty);
• this was kindly donated by the antiques shop that used to be based in the High Street;
• Eric and Elsie ran the event for nearly 20 years before retiring;
• when they went into retirement, another Oxted resident, Steve Speczyk, picked up the reins and ran the event for a further 2 years;
• Jayne Swanston took over running the event in 1999 and it was during the next 2 years that the potential for developing the race into a major community event was identified;
• a committee of 9 local residents was formed and organised the event for the next 6 years;
• from 2006, a smaller group has taken the event forward with the objective to raise money for local charitable causes whilst having fun in the process;
• development of the event has seen the funds raised go up dramatically – rising from £650 in 1999 to over £15,700 in 2007;
• expansion of the event has seen:
  • the High Street and other roads closed for the evening;
  • corporate sponsorship from over 30 companies each year;
  • creation of a youth's race in 2001;
• the record for money raised on the night was 'The Beach Bums' handing in £800 in 2004
• the highest single total amount of sponsorship ever handed in was £960 by the Rag Dolls in 2005;
• the speed record for the event was set in the early 90's by a couple of ‘squaddies’ from Caterham barracks - three and a half-pints over 0.7 of a mile in 6 mins 12 secs!

Do you know of any other interesting facts about the pram race? Contact us.