20th C visits
In the Scrapbooks there is a description of the Fossett’s in the 1940’s Picture post article – “Presenting the only family in the world which is a circus and the only circus in the world in which all the performers are the members of the same family … every relation is an artiste; every artiste a Fossett”. Later it was reported “Every One of them has red hair and blue eyes.” and states that this English circus has been performing for 4 generations. When they visited the Town Moor in 1970 they had non-family acts, including aerialists Anton & Marriette and Allan Davies with his Poodles (photos in NCJ Media archives). It also says that the circus was undeterred by WW2 when many circuses lost their traction engines to the war effort. “But Hitler, nor the black out, nor the petrol rationing, nor the labour shortage, can stop the circus”. Accompanied by “78 horses, cages of lions and tigers, bears, monkeys, performing dogs, a zebra, an elephant, a leopard and a Kangaroo. Robert Fossett and his family are on the road again. 48 canvas men, sailmakers, grooms, blacksmiths, saddlers, carpenters, and bandsmen, The whole circus is housed in 22 wagons and trailers.” In 1982 they toured with an elephant called Dum Dum.
