A ‘BEAUTIFUL’ badge featuring the Saddleworth Rushcart with rolling hills in the background was picked as the winning design for this year’s Rushcart badges.
The sale of badges is vital to the survival of Saddleworth Morris Men’s popular annual Rushcart event and each year a new design is sought.
This year, for the first time ever, Saddleworth Morris Men invited children at Holy Trinity Primary School in Dobcross to come up with an eye-catching design.
They were spoilt for choice with ‘wonderful designs’ and picked out a winner from each year group and then an overall winner which was Max (year 4).
Saddleworth Morris Men Squire Dave Biggs said: “We have talked about involving a school to help design a Rushcart badge for a while and this year we finally got round to doing it.
“The idea came from Paul Hankinson when he noticed the high standard of artwork on the walls at Holy Trinity when picking his own children up.
“We visited the school in February to show the children some previous badge designs and to talk to them about the history of Rushcart in the area. We asked them to have a go at designing a badge for this year.
“Choosing a winner was very difficult. There were many designs that would have made excellent badges but ultimately only one could go on to be this year’s badge.
“Many people collect these badges and even contact us for one when they can’t make it to the ‘Cart.
“We picked the best from each year group and had their badge made up into a real leather Rushcart badge.
“We then had to choose the overall winner from those six badges. This again was a difficult task and caused much discussion before we finally agreed on the design by Max in year 4.
“Max’s design incorporates a beautiful image of a Rushcart with the rolling Saddleworth hills in the background. The sky reminds me of a late August scene where you are not quite sure which way the weather will turn – something I have seen many times.
“All the children were presented with their badges at a school assembly earlier and Max’s design is now in production to be on sale in the run up to Saddleworth Rushcart and over the weekend.
“This was an experiment and so far it has worked out brilliantly. We thank the teachers, pupils and parents for getting involved and supporting this process.”
The winners from each year group were: Robin (year 1), Edie (year 2), Anna (year 3), Max (year 4), Arthur (year 5) and Nell (year 6).
The Saddleworth Rushcart festival will take place on Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24 and will include the traditional procession of the Rushcart through the villages along with music and dancing and a church service.
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