With a growing population, the Basingstoke Hospital committee spotted the need to expand to cope with demands, and through consultation, an estimated £40,000 was needed for the project to go ahead. To raise funds for the 'New Hospital Building Scheme' an appeal went out with the core event being a four-day carnival. This carnival took place annually between 1937-1939 and stopped thereafter due to the outbreak of the Second World War. In total, it is estimated that £23,000 had been raised. Following the war, London overspill identified Basingstoke as an area in need of expansion and housing development as part of the 1952 Town Development Act. Ultimately this act provided the funds needed to expand the hospital with the raise £23,000 being diverted to the construction of an outpatients and casualty department which opened in 1955.
The carnival programme features a silhouette of Punch from Punch and Judy watching over a fairground with a carousel, a helter skelter, and a circus tent. Evidently, the carnival was advertised to be a large scale event featuring events from the previous carnivals, albeit on a larger scale.
This object was researched as part of the NLHF Data Hunters and Story Gatherers project,
