Mike Ridgeway solos added to Gallery

 Mike Ridgeway, the Royale Studio model who got caught up in the 'Hussar' breakaway 

Mike Ridgeway by Royale

 Mike Ridgeway originally posed for Royale Studio and then got caught up in an ownership tussle between Royale and Hussar.  

Read the fascinating story of Mike Ridgeway's solo set 

'Leather Merchants' now complete

'Leather Merchants' by Dolphin Photography

All the images of 'Leather Merchants' have now been uploaded to the Royale Gallery. This was the set that launched Dolphin Photography as a separate enterprise to Royale Studio, in the name of John Parkhurst. It trod new ground with a comprehensive exploration of leather fetish, albeit fenced in by the restrictions of the time. It's an uncanny foretaste of what was to come with 'Guys In Uniform' in the seventies.

Read the background in the Leather Merchants Profile

View the Pictures at the Royale-Hussar Gallery 

The Curator is on Holiday

 

Posting of Leather Merchants is set to resume next week, meanwhile check out the new Mike Ridgeway page.

Cliff Smith posed in Civil War and Leather Kit

Cliff Smith by Hussar

 This picture of Cliff Smith, by Hussar in 1963 (from a set of 3), is the latest addition to the mitchmen Royale Gallery. Cliff was one of the ever-present Royale boys, appearing also in the 1958 'Stolen Motorcycle' set and the 1961 set 'Leather Merchants', that marked the breakaway of Dolphin Studio (later named Hussar). He wore that studded leather belt in all 3 sets. 

The Cliff post follows a group related to the career of Ron Fenn - 'Tough Schoolmaster', 'Thief' and 'Black Leather', view all three at the Royale Gallery.

Milism - An Appeal to CP Enthusiasts

 I recently posted a 're-print' of Squaddie John's article about Royale Studio, which was previously published at the now-defunct 'milism' website. It prompted a reader to ask me about another article on that site, an RMP's account of actual corporal punishment in the armed services in the modern era. We're asking if anyone has a copy of that article that they might share. 

If you can help please contact me via my blogger profile.

The Royal Tournament, Earls Court (Updated)

Royal Tournament, Field Gun Race 1999

 

 Royale Studio's catalogue description for the 'Navy Gash' storyette describes the models as being members of the '1959 Earl's Court, Chatham Gun Crew'. Don Avard, one of Royale's first models, was reported to be a member of the 1957 Chatham crew (in Adonis, May 1958). 

 

This identifies them as being (or having been) real sailors in the Royal Navy. It's a reference to the Field Gun Race, which was part of  'The Royal Tournament', a military display which the UK military services used to put on annually at the Earls Court arena in South West London. It ran up until 1999 when it was halted on the grounds of cost, but is still revived occasionally for charity events.

 

Royal Windsor Tattoo 2010

 

The Royal Tournament featured displays from all three services - marching bands, army gymnastics, dog-handling skills and formation displays by motorcycle riders, cavalry and artillery regiments. 'The Field Gun Race' (illustrated above) was one of the most popular events. It originally involved four Royal Navy crews*, representing the naval dockyards of Chatham, Portsmouth and Devonport, plus the Fleet Air Arm, all competing against each other to dismantle a cannon, ferry it across and through various obstacles and then reassemble it and fire it before their opponents could beat them to it. 

 

*Chatham dropped out of the competition after 1960, I don't think it was because Royale were recruiting their hunkiest men, but you never know! 

 

The top image features Portsmouth vs The Fleet Air Arm from the final Royal Tournament in 1999. In that year Devonport beat the Fleet Air Arm in the final, setting a new record time that would never be broken. There's a good video on YouTube showing the final race in full. There's also a video of the 1957 event on YouTube, which involved Don Avard, but, unfortunately it's not possible to identify the team members.

 

In Royale's day the Royal Tournament got a lengthy, Saturday night, peak time TV viewing slot, so Royale's models were minor celebrities as well as being real sailors.

The Gun Race and it's Royale connection

This contemporary article about the Gun Race in 'Man Alive' No 7 (Oct 1959) was illustrated with an image from Royale's 'DTS' photo-set. The joke re-titling of the event as the 'Royale Tournament' has all the hallmarks of Basil Clavering's bravado.

Read about Royale's use of real Servicemen

~

The Gun Race was originally inspired by a heroic incident in the Boer War, in which Navy crews transported guns from their ships across very difficult terrain to help relieve the siege of Ladysmith. There's a succinct explanation of the history of this event in Origins of the Gun Race. The Gun Race is still used as a Navy training exercise, and I believe it featured in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.

~

Earl's Court Exhibition Centre

In the 1950s, the Earl's Court Arena was one of the few spaces in the country capable of mounting large scale events like the Royal Tournament, undercover before a seated audience. It could accommodate military vehicles and even stabling facilities for the horses (it was regularly used for indoor Show Jumping events, including for the 1948 Olympics). For the Royal Tournament it was also conveniently close to a number of barracks, including Chelsea Barracks, home of the Queen's Guards. 

The building itself was also used for Exhibitions, Fairs (above) and award ceremonies like 'The Brits'. Unusually for a big arena (back then), it was very easy to get to by public transport, being directly opposite Earl's Court tube station. It had a striking 'Art Deco' frontage but was controversially demolished in 2017.

 

Jan 2023 - Original Article

Aug 2024 - Updated with cross-reference to Royale Studio in Man Alive and an image of the venue.

Feb 2025 - Enhanced header image added 

Jun2026 - Video links added 

 

Royale Studio and Guys In Uniform

Compare these two images ...

Royale Studio - Tough Schoolmaster

 The first is from Royale Studio's 'Tough Schoolmaster', showing the students turning on their military-style master and giving him a taste of his own medicine. The date is 1960.

 

Guys In Uniform - Unknown Title

This, near identical image, comes from a set of photos published by 'Guys In Uniform' in 1975. Their set (which I have informally named 'Caning by Numbers') closely follows the plot line and imagery of the Royale one, there's a picture by picture comparison in 'Caning by Numbers' at the mitchmen blog. 

 Royale Studio and Guys in Uniform images are often confused. It's easy to see why when comparisons like this are made, but they were actually 15 years apart. The GIU photographer, Charles Koestler, reputedly had been involved in the Royale set-up, and he actively emulated the 'Royale Style'. He even recreated Royale's memorable, rigging prop for a set of Sailor images. Unfortunately, his use of serving Guardsmen as models, as Royale had done, was to prove his undoing (see mitchmen article on the history of Guys In Uniform) 

Stylistically, the colour used by Guys In Uniform in the image above is an obvious differentiator between the two studios (although the Colville Exhibition showed that some of the later Royale/Hussar photos did exist in colour). The differing styles of the footwear and socks are an even better clue to the passage of time. In addition, if you look more closely, the Guys In Uniform shorts are a great deal briefer and snugger than Clavering ever achieved with his sewing machine, thanks to the wider availability of elasticated fabric in the 70s. The numbered singlets feature in a number of 'GIU' photo sets, there are a few Royale images of men in numbered singlets, but they are of a different, less austere style. 

Koestler was not the only photographer who revived Royale-style, British military scenarios in the 1970s, Mike Arlen also produced a selection of homoerotic, photo storyettes (see Soldiers, Shorts and Sexiness at mitchmen blog). 

Click on the label below for more about 'Guys in Uniform' at this blog.