THE circus coming to town created a jumbo sized problem for handlers — where to house the elephants!

These days circuses focus on human acts but in the days before awareness of animal rights, they featured an array of animals — everything from lions and tigers to camels, bears and, of course, elephants.

David Horrocks contacted us with his memories of the Roberts Brothers circus elephants in the late 1950s.

“The elephants were kept at the Jackson House riding school that was on Spa Road,” said David.

“I used to have a horse and would help out at the stables.”

When the circus came to town the equine creatures shared their accommodation with the elephants and it was 14-year-old David’s job, twice a day, to walk them through the town to Churchgate, where they would appear at the Grand Theatre.

“It was made into a kind of parade. I loved it,” he said.

“People knew the circus was coming and so they would go into town just to seethe elephants walk through.”

“It was a circus on stage. There were lions and all sorts.”

Reward for his efforts included free tickets for the performances, but fortunately the elephants had their own handlers and David did not have to clear up after them. “Horses were bad enough,” he said.

Elephants were not the only exotic animals to arrive in town and we particularly like the picture of a camel from Gandey’s Circus outside Maxim’s on Bradshawgate, which was attracting interest from crowds in 1984