While so much of NCB's work is looking to the future, the exhibition provided the opportunity to look back to the past and witness the experience of children's play in post-war England. Visitors navigated their way through the NCB Library to discover a unique picture of England still recovering from the Second World War. Among the images were scenes of children making the most of playgrounds and playing within the bombsites of post-war London.
The photographs were taken from the Children's Play Information Service Donne Buck Archive, a collection of original playwork material dating back to the late 1950s. The collection constitutes a unique record of the time as captured by pioneer playworker Donne Buck. The same themes portrayed in the pictures seem to carry forward today including, play and education, safety and risk, and these pictures highlight how much has changed and yet how many of these same issues are so important today.
