Empty seats. Rows and rows of them. It wasn't the best start to Dudley Pageant back in 1951. The weather was bad - but even so.

The event was one of a number of pageants staged for the Festival of Britain, a great nationwide celebration to bring a bit of life back to the country in the austere post-war years.

The stage was created within the ruined walls of Dudley Castle, and the pageant was a two and a half hour story about episodes in the town's history, beginning in 1069.

Featuring a cast of hundreds of folk from the Black Country, and a full orchestra, the first performance was on Wednesday, June 13, 1951, and it ran to June 23, with 11 evening performances in total.

"This pageant is spacious and spectacular in conception without being ostentatious, and it is produced in what must incontrovertibly be one of the finest pageant settings man (or woman, since this one is produced by Miss Gwen Lally), could desire," wrote our reviewer.

Pageant master Gwen was something of a character, with many pageant successes under her belt, including an epic historical pageant at Aston Park, Birmingham, in the summer of 1938.

An article on the Black Country Living Museum website says:  "When directing a pageant, she would be found with a megaphone in hand, always ready to give instruction, threat and (on occasion) praise.

"Though Gwen never publicly identified as gay or an LGBTQ+ person, she mostly dressed in what is perceived as male attire, socialised in gay circles and lived with a female companion for most of her life.

"While directing Dudley’s Pageant, Gwen worked 13-hour days to ensure that everything ran smoothly."

However not even her efforts could control the weather or public apathy. The Star's front page picture after opening night told its own story - a few dozen people huddled on the first few rows of the 2,500-seater grandstand, and the rest an expanse of empty seating.

Our correspondent said: "For the opening performance of the pageant last night the weather did not play fair.

"There was a nasty, sneaking wind, and though it kept the raid clouds at bay, it made everything very uncomfortable for audience and performers alike.

"The finale, with several hundred performers massed on the stage to sing the Song of Dudley, words and music for which were selected in open competition, brought to a fitting end a well-conceived pageant."

Song of Dudley? It was a special piece composed by Dr James Mainwaring. (Does anybody know the words?).

The event was presented by the town council under the patronage of Lord Dudley, and Viscount Ednam performed the opening ceremony.

The script was written by Grace Carlton. Characters included a figure representing the "common man," a blacksmith to reflect Dudley's metal-bashing heritage, played by an actor called, fittingly enough, John Smith. 

Costing £5,000 to stage, there's no getting away from the fact that it was a bit of a disaster. Dudley had staged a successful pageant on the same site in 1908, but by 1951 pageants were old hat and less popular which, coupled with the bad weather, kept attendances down. The event lost £3,000.

Unsurprisingly, this dampened any enthusiasm ever to hold a repeat.