Hanging up his pram after 40 years

Geoff Evans stepped down from the committee which runs the Boxing Day frivolity, after 40 years of membership.

His fellow committee members presented him with a small-scale old-fashioned pram, which was specially made for the occasion, at a recent meeting.

Mr Evans had been the longest serving working member of the committee for many years. Only former racing driver Derek Bell can boast a lengthier association, though he frequently works abroad to mean he is absent from most of the committee gatherings.

Pagham Road resident Mr Evans said: 'It was Derek who got me involved with the pram race. I've been a close friend of his for many years. He suggested I might help out with the race. That's what I did, initially as a committee member.

'I was then the secretary for many years and became the chairman for six years before I retired the year before last.

'The pram race is a lot of fun and there is a lot of tradition to it. I have very happy memories of my time with the race.

'There has been a pram race around Pagham for 60 years. It was my concern when I retired that the race needed to be kept going but I felt I was getting stale towards the end and, with many new committee members, I felt it was time to go.

'The race last Christmas was still as strong as it has ever been. I'm pleased it was a success.'

Mr Evans (73) can recall the days when the first prize in the race was a cake and just a few pounds was raised for charity.

The current first prize is a nice-sized cheque, though the majority of winners donate the money to boost the amount for fundraising into a few thousand pounds. Another change has been the size of the crowd. It has grown during the past few decades to number several thousand cheering on the entries. The racers peaked at about 60 pairs of entries during Mr Evans's involvement.