1948 Summer Olympics torch relay

none January 2019 1948 Summer London, United Kingdom Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, England 3,160 km 1,688 17 July 1948 29 July 1948 Ralph Lavers The 1948 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 17 July until 29 July 1948, prior to the 1948 Summer Olympics, held in London, United Kingdom. The relay was nicknamed the "relay of peace".A gallery of memorable Olympic torch designs https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/18019303 15 May 2012 CBBC Newsround 10 May 2012 It was only the second occasion that a torch relay was held for the Olympics; the first was at the 1936 Summer Olympics. There were three types of torches designed for use on the relay: a standard solid fuel powered torch made of aluminium, a special butane gas torch used on board HMS Whitesand Bay, and a final torch used to enter Empire Stadium that was made of stainless steel and powered by a magnesium candle. The route itself was initially designed to be a direct one from Olympia to Wembley, taking in Italy, Switzerland and France. Belgium and Luxembourg were added to the route after those countries requested it. It was expected that the Greek part of the relay would be 750 km mi, but was reduced to 35 km mi due to concerns over security. After the 12-day journey, the torch arrived at the Empire Stadium only thirty seconds later than expected. Background London having hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics, the 1948 event was only the second Games to stage an Olympic torch relay, it being first run at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.Nellas Demetris Olympic flame begins journey to London https://vancouversun.com/sports/Olympic+flame+begins+journey+London/6604826/story.html 15 May 2012 The Vancouver Sun 11 May 2012August 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes Former British athlete David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, and the rest of the organising committee for the 1948 Games, agreed to run a torch relay for a second time.Heald Claire London 2012: The 1948 torch relay on a shoestring https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12760836 15 May 2012 BBC News 18 May 2011 Relay elements Torch Olympic Flame Each of the torches contained a solid fuel tablet made of hexamine and 6% naphthalene (following torch running tests in May 1947) that fuelled the flame itself. The solid fuel increased the distance each runner could run to 2 mi km over flat terrain, decreasing the number of torches needed to be produced, which in turn reduced the cost of the relay. There were eight tablets loaded into each torch, with the bottom tablets pushed up by the use of a spring. The design increased the burning time of each torch up to around fifteen minutes, an increase from the four-minute torches of the 1936 Olympics. The torch itself was designed by Ralph Lavers, with the brief that it should be "inexpensive and easy to make, of pleasing appearance and a good example of British craftmanship". The torches were made from aluminium, with a long shaft holding a cup that contained the burner. "With thanks to the bearer" was written on the cup of the torch itself, along with the Olympic rings. The torches for the Greek leg of the relay were shipped to the Mediterranean aboard HMS Liverpool, along with a purpose-built torch for the leg aboard a Royal Navy vessel from Corfu to Italy. A differently designed torch was used for the final leg. It was made of stainless steel and was fueled by magnesium in order to ensure that the flame showed up properly during the opening ceremony. It was also designed by Ralph Lavers, with the frame for the torch created by EMI, and the magnesium candle supplied by Wessex Aircraft Engineering. Neither the suppliers nor designer charged a fee for the final torch.Official Report (1948): p. 210 Planned torch route thumb|250px|upright|The Olympic torch relay route for the 1948 Summer Olympics Key #ccccff  *  darkgray As planned LocationDistanceStagesTorchesGreece 0750 750 kilometres* 300 324Whitesand Bay HMS Whitesand Bay 0415 415 kilometres 6Italy 1072 1,072 kilometres 500 540Switzerland 0261 261 kilometres 135 144France (i) 0521 521 kilometres 270 300Luxembourg 0108 108 kilometres 038 38 42Belgium 0287 287 kilometres 108 120France (ii) 0126 126 kilometres Bicester HMS Bicester 0035 35 kilometres 12England (Dover - Wembley) 0255 255 kilometres 073 73 80England (Wembley - Torquay) 0330 330 kilometres 107 120Total 3160 km mi 1531 1688 Source: The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV OlympiadOfficial Report (1948): p. 212 Torch route left horizontal Vessels that carried the Olympic torch in 1948 center left HMS WHITESAND BAY IWM FL 004593.jpg 200 HMS Whitesand Bay, which carried the torch from Corfu to Bari, Italy HMS Bicester (L34).jpg 213 HMS Bicester, which carried the torch across the English Channel to Dover While the general negotiation with other countries and the specific route were handled by the Organising Committee for the Games, the detailed organisation was delegated to a subgroup led by F.W. Collins.Official Report (1948): p. 22 Due to cost implications, the extensive route conducted by the 1936 Games was ruled out.Official Report (1948): p. 209 Instead, the simplest route from Olympia to London was to be used, going by sea to Italy and then run through Switzerland and France. The route was modified only when Luxembourg and Belgium both requested that the torch travel their territories. A longer Greek route was planned, but reduced from an expected 750 km mi down to 35 km mi due to concerns over the civil war in the country and a lack of security. The torch lighting ceremony took place on 17 July 1948 in Olympia, Greece. As with the 1936 Summer Olympic relay, the torch relay was begun by focusing the sun's rays onto kindling using a parabolic reflector, which then lit the first torch. The kindling was conducted by a Girl Guide leader from Pyrgos, Elis. She was only chosen the previous evening due to the unsettled state of the country; the Athenian girl who was trained for the ceremony was unable to travel to Olympia.Official Report (1948): p. 217 In a symbolic gesture, the first runner, Corporal Dimitrelis of the Greek Army, laid down his arms and removed his military uniform before taking his torch in hand. The kindling material for the first torch was handed over as a gift from the Chairman of the Greek Olympic Committee to Collins, for Princess Elizabeth. It was then run to the Greek coast at Katakolo, where at 7 pm it boarded the Greek destroyer Hastings bound for the island of Corfu. It stayed overnight in the city of Corfu, and boarded HMS Whitesand Bay at 1:30 pm the following day where the flame was switched to a specially equipped butane gas torch in order to ensure that there was a 48-hour lifespan available for the flame, despite the crossing only being expected to take 22 hours. The ship dropped the torch off in Bari at 12:30 pm on 19 July. It was run north through several Italian cities before crossing the Simplon Pass into Brig, Switzerland on 23 July. From there it was run west until leaving the country at Perly-Certoux, and entering France at Saint-Julien-en-Genevois. The route then detours from the direct route to take in Luxembourg and into Belgium before re-entering France at Lille on 28 July, finally departing the country at Calais. HMS Bicester carried the torch across the English Channel to Dover, arriving at 8:25 pm on 28 July. It travelled through several towns in the South East of England until it arrived at Wembley, where it arrived only thirty seconds late after the entire journey. That delay may have only been in the final few hundred yards of the relay down Olympic Way outside of Empire Stadium as the pressure of the crowds on the torch carrier and their escorts reduced the pace to walking speed. Special celebrations were held at each border crossing, and at Pierre de Coubertin's tomb in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was agreed for a secondary Olympic Flame to be lit in Torquay during the games (as the town hosted the sailing events), and a secondary torch relay was conducted to take the flame from Wembley south to the coast to Torquay. The arrangements were the same as from Dover to Wembley but in reverse.Official Report (1948): p. 213 Outside Greece, the cities and towns visited by the Olympic flame were the following ones: Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll8/id/5245/rec/19 September 8, 2023 1951 Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad London 220789552 Torch Relay 210 Nation Cities and towns Italy Bari, Foggia, Pescara, Ancona, Rimini, Bologna, Parma, Piacenza, Milan, Domodossola, the Simplon Pass. Switzerland Brig, Martigny, Montreux, Lausanne, Geneva, Perly. France St. Julien en Genevois, Belgarde, Nantua, Lons-le-Saulnier, Poligny, Besançon, Vesoul, Epinal, Nancy, Metz, Thionville, Evrange. Luxembourg Frisange, Esch, Luxembourg City, Ettelbruck, Wiltz. Belgium Bras, Bastogne, Marche, Namur, Brussels, Renaix, Tournai, Hertain. France Lille, Armentieres, St. Omer, Calais. England, United Kingdom Dover, Canterbury, Charing, Maidstone, Westerham, Redhill, Reigate, Dorking, Guildford, Bagshot, Ascot, Windsor, Slough, Uxbridge, London. References Specific 2 General The Official Report of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1948/OR1948.pdf The Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad 1948 15 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20110727011947/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1948/OR1948.pdf 27 July 2011 dead report Category:Summer Olympics torch relays Category:1948 Summer Olympics