"Better a broken bone than a broken spirit"

  WILLIAM BARNES.

 THE LANE

The children will soon have no place for to play,

                                   And if they do grow,

                                   They will have a mushroom face,

                                   With their bodies as simple as dough,

                             But a man is made of a child,

                                    And his limbs do grow worksome by play,

                                    And if the young child's little body is spoilt,

                                    Why the mans will the sooner decay,

                                 But wealth is worth now more than health is worth,

                                    Let it all go.

                                    If it will bring but a sovereign or two for to breed the young fox or the horse,

                                    We can give up a whole acre of ground,

But the greens be a grudged for to rear,

WILLIAM BARNES.

EILEEN SOPER

 Eileen Soper (26 Mar 1905 - 18 Mar 1990)

Born in Enfield in 1905, Eileen moved at a young age to Harner Green in Hertfordshire. Soper was a gifted child, encouraged in her art by her father George, an artist himself. She developed her craft at a very young age, and had her first exhibition at the Print Makers Society of California in 1921. Queen Mary herself purchased one of Super’s prints - Flying Swings. She also was the youngest artist ever to exhibit her work at The Royal Academy in London - at the ripe age of just 15.

 She moved primarily to illustrating during the 1940's. Eileen Soper was an incredible artist who, over the space of almost twenty years, illustrated every one of the 21 Famous Five books - the only long Blyton series where the same illustrator was used throughout.

 Also in her enormous portfolio are The Moods Story Books (Happy, Merry, Jolly, Sunny, Gay, Lucky, Bright, Friendly), The first three Colours Story Books (Blue, Red, Green), Tales After Tea, Tales After Supper, The Children’s Life of Christ and Tales From The Bible (Methuen 1943 and 1944), The Train That Lost Its Way (Brockhampton 1946), All of the Macmillan short story books, The Little White Duck, Polly Piglet (Brockhampton 1943), The Twins Little Book series (Brockhampton) and The Secret of Killimoon, just to name a few.

Apart from her illustrations for other authors, Soper also wrote and illustrated over twenty books of her own, chiefly nature series. They include: Eileen Soper’s Book of Badgers, The Wildlife Series (Routledge c.1965), When Badgers Wake, Wild Encounters and Wild Favours (Routledge 1955, 1957 and 1963 respectively)

. Born in Enfield, she moved at a young age to Harner Green in Hertfordshire. Soper was a gifted child, encouraged in her art by her father George, an artist himself. She developed her craft at a very young age, and had her first exhibition at the Print Makers Society of California in 1921. Queen Mary herself purchased one of Super’s prints - Flying Swings.

She moved primarily to illustrating during the 1940's. Soper helped to found The Society of Wildlife Artists, and was also a member of The Royal Society of Miniature Painters. Her sister Eva was her only companion during the later part of her life, and Soper passed away only recently in 1990 at the age of 85.

Eileen Soper also produced so many etchings it's impossible to show them all here. Encouraged by her father in the art of printmaking from an early age, Eileen soon rivalled him in talent and surpassed him in popularity, while neatly complementing his subjects by depicting children at play.

Her etchings, exhibited in England at the Royal Academy from 1921, when she was only sixteen, attracted great attention, among critics, fellow artists and the general public. Eileen’s etchings concern themselves with the ordinary events that make up a child’s day, simple and perhaps monotonous to the adult but ever fresh to the child itself. The majority of her etchings deal with children at play – on the beach, in country lanes and on street corners – or with animals.

One of the reasons why she was able to depict such honest images of children free from nostalgia was that she was scarcely more than a child herself, producing most of the etchings whilst she was in her teens or early 20s.

Eileen’s early plates are characterised by a their multiple states, small sizes and focusing on one, two sometimes three, children. Her later plates reflect her growing confidence in composition. This confidence enabled her to depict a greater number of children in detailed settings without overcrowding the image, produced with fewer re-workings and states.

In 1930 the etching market declined and Eileen turned her skills to other forms of artistic expression. But it was not just for financial reasons that she turned away from etching. Quite simply, the child Eileen had grown up and no longer possessed the child’s frank and naïve vision of the world which had enabled her to capture children without sentimentality.

Apart from her illustrations for other authors, Soper also wrote and illustrated over twenty books of her own, chiefly nature series. They include: Eileen Soper’s Book of Badgers, The Wildlife Series (Routledge c.1965), When Badgers Wake, Wild Encounters and Wild Favours (Routledge 1955, 1957 and 1963 respectively). Soper helped to found The Society of Wildlife Artists, and was also a member of The Royal Society of Miniature Painters.

ROB WHEWAY

http://www.childrensplayadvisoryservice.org.uk/pdf_files/Rob%20Wheway%20CV%20-%20CPAS.pdf

KEITH CRANWELL

HARRY SHIER

ROBERT BADEN POWELL

JOSEPH LEE

Joseph Lee began life in 1862 as the son of a wealthy Boston family, and through a lifetime of leadership, research, writings, and philanthropy, he became known as the “Father of the Playground Movement.” Concerning a child's need for play he believed: “There must be creation, song, wonder, inquiry, and adventure. If these are slighted we shall have committed once again the ancient crime against childhood, of which practically all education has been guilty – the crime of not letting the child live as well as learn.”1

After a childhood of many recreational play opportunities typical of wealthy families, Lee graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in 1883 and a law degree in 1887. With his family's wealth he focused not on being a lawyer but on making social changes to improve his community and nation. One of his first involvements was a survey for the Family Welfare Society of Boston in which he studied possible play environments in congested neighborhoods.

With an awareness of the play situations of these neighborhoods, Lee was later shocked to learn of boys being arrested for playing in the streets. Creating a solution, he cleared an empty lot and provided materials and game equipment for the children, only to find that unless they were supervised they fought with each other instead of playing with each other. Over several years, this play yard became his research center for observing the children and their play habits.

From his observations, Lee assisted in creating the Columbus Avenue model playground in 1898. It included a corner for small children, a boys' play area, individual garden spaces, a sports field, and indoor activities, such as basketball, bowling, and club meetings. There were two recreational leaders employed at Lee's expense to supervise. This playground was a success and further encouraged the playground movement. Lee also began speaking at events and conferences concerning playgrounds and recreation.

Four years after the establishment of the Columbus Avenue Playground and drawing on a decade of experiences as a social reformer, Lee authored his first book, Constructive and Preventive Philanthropy in 1902. While the title sounds like a general guidebook concerning societal improvements, it actually included detailed instructions on creating playgrounds, baths, gymnasiums, athletic centers, and skating rinks. These recreational areas were seen as a way to prevent delinquency and eliminate slums.

The St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 presented Lee with another opportunity to design and finance a playground, this time in conjunction with the American Civic Association's “model street” display. He was serving as the vice-president for Public Recreation of the American Civic Association as Dr. Luther Gulick and Dr. Henry Curtis began talking of a national playground association. When Drs. Gulick and Curtis wrote Lee requesting his help and leadership, he declined because he felt it was an unnecessary duplication of his and others' efforts. Instead, he invited them to form a playground committee of the American Civic Association.2 They declined and proceeded to form the Playground Association of America (PAA) in 1906.

Though Lee was absent from the PAA founding meeting, he was elected as Vice-President along with Jane Addams, who was also absent. Both Lee and Addams were well known for their social reforms and their support of the playground movement. Their inclusion, as well as the election of President Theodore Roosevelt as honorary President and Jacob Riis as honorary Vice-President, gave the PAA positive press coverage.3

Previously in 1897, Lee founded and began serving as president of the Massachusetts Civic League, a position he would hold for 40 years.4 The Civic League sponsored legislation that protected and improved the public's welfare with a special emphasis on children's issues. Being comfortable with the law, Lee felt this approach was the most effective way to effect change. The Civic League saw about 100 laws passed which they supported and the defeat of about 50 laws which they opposed.

One key legislation that was passed in Massachusetts in 1908 was the requirement of cities of 10,000 people or more to establish playgrounds if the citizens so voted.5 This law set a precedence that led to similar laws in other states, which in turn assisted in the establishment of playgrounds throughout America. Other legislation that Lee and the Civic League fought for was the legalizing of playing games on Sunday, the opening of school property to adult usage, the establishment of a juvenile court system, and the liberalization of the parole system.

In 1908, as Lee saw the passage of the Massachusetts playground bill, he was named the chairman of the Playground Association of America's Committee on State Laws, and he published the booklet Play and Playgrounds. He considered play “...not simply something that a child likes to have; it is something that he must have if he is ever to grow up. It is more than an essential part of education; it is an essential part of the law of growth, of the process by which he becomes a man at all...”6 This booklet covered not only his philosophy of play, but the types of play for various ages, the importance of variety in play, the necessity of leadership and supervision, and the character values that come from play.

Lee's involvement with Playground Association of America continued to grow. In 1909, he was elected to be First Vice-President with Dr. Curtis as Second Vice-President. He was also on various PAA committees, including the committee on the Normal Course in Play and the committee to revise the PAA Constitution. And, as Dr. Gulick retired in 1910, Lee was elected to be President, a position he held until his death in 1937.

Lee guided the PAA as it evolved first to be the Playground and Recreation Association of America in the mid-1910s and then to be the National Recreation Association in 1930. He saw the Normal Course in Play, a curriculum for training recreation and playground directors, developed in 1909 and revised and published in 1925. Additionally, he saw the establishment of the National Recreation School, a one year course to train college graduates to be administrators for the new recreation departments being created.7 He also guided the Association's focus on quality long term growth, which built local leadership for sustainable recreation programs.

While Lee was involved with the national playground movement, he continued his interest in Boston's welfare by serving on the School Board for nine years, beginning in 1909. He initiated the medical inspection of students, a daily lunch program, and the multi-use of school buildings for the community. Among the other issues he supported were recreation opportunities for students, the merit system for selecting teachers, and teaching methods that adapt to the child's needs.

As a prolific writer, Lee published articles, letters to the editor, and books. Besides the two books already published on play, he also wrote How to Start a Playground in 1910, Play as an Antidote to Civilization in 1911, and Play for Home in 1912, from which he is credited with coining the phrase, “The family that plays together, stays together.”8 His best known book was Play in Education published in 1915, in which Lee took a middle ground concerning play facilitation. While he acknowledged the importance and seriousness of play, as seen from a child's point of view, he did not advocate totally unsupervised play. Nor did he advise strict organization of play and warned, “Do not be forever meddling, interfering, asking questions, showing them a better way. Give the constructive power of your children scope and elbow room – the temple that it builds is invisible to any eyes but theirs. If you blur and jostle their vision, it is lost.”9

During World War I, as President of the Playground and Recreation Association of America, Lee assisted in forming and then led the War Camp Community Service (WCCS) committee to provide off-duty recreation activities for servicemen. He was appointed to the Commissions on Training Camp Activities for both the War and Navy Departments, led fund raising drives, published poems to enroll the public in their work, and composed a WCCS budget song. For his service, Lee was honored with the War Department's Distinguished Service Medal. After the war, he continued to lead the Community Service of Boston, Inc., which was the successor of the WCCS.10

Beginning in 1918, Lee was on the Overseers' Committee at Harvard where he proposed and funded a school of education to train teachers. Again his interest in play surfaced when he brought a teacher of play and recreation, George E. Johnson, to the new school of education and personally paid his salary for the first five years.11

In 1937, at the age of 75, Lee died of pneumonia at his home in Cohasset, Massachusetts. For many years the National Recreation Association sponsored an annual national Joseph Lee Day to celebrate playgrounds and recreation. Additionally, the American Recreation Society also honored him with the Joseph Lee Memorial Contest which focuses on recreation developments.

A contemporary characterized Lee's work with schools, playgrounds, and recreation with these words: “Joseph Lee had constructive imagination. After he had backed his vision with money, persistence, and persuasion, the United States was no longer the same.”12

TONY CHILTON

IONA AND PETER OPIE

BOB HUGHES

http://www.ipa2011.org/bob_hughes 

ROBERT  OWEN

His greatest success was in the support of the young, to which he devoted special attention. He was the founder of infant childcare in Great Britain, especially in Scotland. Though his reform ideas resemble European reform ideas of the time, he was likely not influenced by the overseas views; his ideas of the ideal education were his own.

HOMER LANE

Homer Lane (1875-1925) was an American-born educator who believed that the behaviour and character of children improved when they were given more control over their lives.

He was born in Connecticut and started his teaching career at Peters High School in Southborough, Massachusetts. He later went to Detroit, where he worked with youths who had run afoul of the law. In 1912 he was invited to go to England where he founded the Little Commonwealth school in Dorset and greatly influenced A. S. Neill, the founder of Summerhill School

 A.S. NEIL

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JOHN BERTELSEN 

NICK BAMFORTH

PETER HESELTINE 

Peter has worked in the industry for over 40 years and is now semi-retired. He has worked for the National Playing Field Association as a regional officer and magazine editor. He was responsible for the development of NPFA’s Playground Management Service. He created and developed RoSPA’s Playground Service and on retirement became a director of the Play Inspection Company. He has been Vice-president of the International Play Association, a member of BSI Playground Committee and a founder member of RPII. He has written a number of publications on children’s play and playgrounds, including:

Review of Playground and Related Surveys

Playing Safe

Playground Safety Checklist

Playground Design for Local Communities

Children’s Play Area Design Guide

Playground Development Guidelines

Playground Safety

The Children’s Playground

Guide to BS1176 and 1177

Assessing Risk on Children’s Playgrounds

Regular Inspection of Children’s Playgrounds

PENNY WILSON  

Penny Wilson is a professional Playworker who works for the Play Association Tower Hamlets – PATH, a non-profit organization based in the East End of London that supports play in an overcrowded, poor, increasingly urban setting.

Penny Wilson grew up in the South East of England, where she enjoyed the freedom of playing on the rolling hills of the South Downs and beside the sea. The playful experiences of her childhood would influence her work in advocating for play for over 25 years.1

Penny had a brief career as an illustrator after studying illustration at Camberwell School of Art in London. She describes her introduction to playwork as it finding her. She took a job at a community program that worked with children with disabilities after school, on weekends, and on holidays. While she found the program to be abusive to the children with little play value in the work, she discovered how these children actually had their own way to play and began to discover the joy of child-initiated free play. This propelled her to apply for work at an adventure playground for children of all abilities.

Working at Chelsea Adventure Playground began her work in earnest supporting children with disabilities in inclusive play settings as they play with their peers.3 She eventually ran the Chelsea Adventure Playground for several years

As a professional Playworker, Penny was a member of the Playwork Principles Scrutiny Group that condensed the work of Bob Hughes, Gordon Sturrock, and Mick Conway to produce eight principles known as the Playwork Principles. These principles describe the professional and ethical framework for Playworkers and guide their approach for working with children.

Penny has worked with the Alliance for Childhood for several years in an effort to bring the playwork concept and Adventure Playgrounds to the United States. She has spoken to parks departments, children’s museums, schools, and educators. The Playwork concept has been implemented in several parks and children’s museums in the United States.

In 2011, Penny was a keynote speaker at the US Play Coalition Conference on the Value of Play, held at Clemson University, in Clemson, South Carolina. She spoke on “Beyond Value” where she advocated the need for play. She has found that a great motivator to help people understand the need for play is by asking them to recall their own play memories.

Penny continues to be a strong advocate for play both in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

               SUE TOWNEND                     CARL THEODOR  SORENENSON 

http://jnctp.org.uk/files/ComingOfAge1994.pdf