Wallis' Amusements (Established 1883)
Dates
- Existence: Established 1883
Biography
The Wallis Family moved to Merseyside in the 1840s. By 1883 they had established their own fairground amusement business, travelling stalls and sideshows, including bioscopes and photo booths around the fairs. The business gradually expended into rides, with members of the family making and decorating their own, as it was common practice and sometimes bringing in professional carvers to embellish them. As technology progressed, they started acquiring other rides such as Waltzers and Dodgems from specialist suppliers. The family has now been operating successfully for seven generations. By the twentieth century they were operating Merseyside’s two seaside amusement parks, as well as an amusement park at New Brighton and one at Southport.
One of the current heads of the business is David Wallis Snr (b.c1940), who started working in the family business aged fourteen, supervising the Waltzers and Dodgems. Over the expand of his career, David has become a successful and well respected showman, and served as President of The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain between 2013 and 2019.
David is a regular at Hull Fair, where many years ago he brought the first Tagada ride and where he can currently easily be spotted through his iconic Ice Maze. As well as travelling some of the most prestigious fairgrounds in the UK, David has taken his rides all over the world including Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Norway, Dubai and South Africa.
Another branch of the Wallis family is in Merseyside, headed by Norman Wallis. Norman has owned Southport Pleasureland since 2007.
Norman also trained up in every part of the family business, from building rides to promoting them and eventually used his skills abroad, working in places such as Dubai and Canada.
Away from managing the traditional fair business, Norman built entertainment complexes in Nur-Sultan, the Kazakhstan. Later he became marketing manager for First Leisure Corporation, which operated Blackpool Tower, the town's Winter Gardens and its piers as well as other entertainment complexes.
Found in 6 Collections and/or Records:
Chris Russell Collection
This collection contains five boxes of original photographic material including negatives and slides, a small amount of fairground journals, newspaper cuttings, correspondence, six audio tapes and a small amount of posters and handbills all related to the fairground and steam rally events.
Photographic Album, 1941 - 1955
Photographs and Postcards, c1899 - 1969
Photographs, postcards and negatives of fairgrounds taken by Rowland Scott and other fairground enthusiasts.
Posters, c1980 - 1994
Fairground, circus and steam engine rally posters collected by Chris Russell.
Rowland Scott Collection
Photographs related to all aspects of British travelling fairgrounds including; rides, transport, living wagons, showpeople, fairground shows, circuses and organs by Rowland Scott and other authors, a selection of manuscripts by Rowland Scott and a small amount of correspondence.
Wallis’s Fun Fair Poster, c1980 - 1989
Queenferry, Deeside Leisure Centre. Colour lithograph of general view of the fun fair and main rides at the forefront.