1948 Olympic Torch Used During the Relay of Peace

(Lavers, Ralph, des.). Solid fuel torch, aluminum and patinated metal, stamped “XIV^th Olympiad 1948: Olympia to London; With Thanks to the Bearer”; surface dirt, residue, and minor wear. Lacks heating element.

Hampton, Janie,  The Austerity Olympics: When the Games Came to London in 1948 (2009)

A torch used to transport the Olympic Flame during the “Austerity Games” of 1948.  World War II forced the cancellation of the 1940 and 1944 Olympics, and after a 12 year hiatus the British Olympic Committee was determined to revive the Games and bring them to London.  Because of the circumstances, the Games were held under a strict budget: no new venues were built; food and gas were rationed; and athletes boarded in army barracks and college dormitories, where they were afforded bed linens but required to bring towels.  It was a trying set of circumstances, but the spirit of the Olympics would not be quashed: 59 countries sent representatives to the first Games in 12 years.

Relay of Peace.  The organizers of the Berlin Games in 1936 revived the Greek tradition of celebrating the divine element of fire at the Games by introducing the Torch Relay. In 1948, the British Olympic Committee was eager to re-appropriate the Torch Relay from Hitler’s earlier use of it to trumpet Aryan superiority and present a message of sportsmanship and peace.  British architect Ralph Lavers was commissioned to design a long-lasting torch that was inexpensive to make, but a pleasing example of British craftsmanship and thrift. This torch was carried through Belgium for two miles of the 2,000–mile journey from Olympia to London by record holding runner Belgian Gaston Reiff. Because of the symbolic nature of the relay, celebrations were held at the border crossings and the trip became known as “the Relay of Peace.” As the last runner lit the Olympic Flame in Wembley Arena on 29 July 1948, the scoreboard read:  “the important thing in Olympic Games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” (Hampton, p. 18)