Chester Zoo officially celebrates its 90th birthday today.
So to mark this momentous occasion, the UK’s biggest charity zoo – which first opened its gates to the public on 10 June 1931 – has decided to have a look back through its library of historical documents and photo files to share some of the most significant moments in the conservation charity’s history.
Some of these photos have been in storage for decades, and the zoo said it believes that some have never ever been shown to the public before.
They include an image of visitors entering the zoo for the very first time, letters and postcards sent to congratulate its founder George Mottershead on the award of his OBE for services to conservation, and a picture of a giraffe which featured in the Guinness Book of Records in the 1960s for being the tallest ever recorded.
Speaking on what is undoubtedly special day for the zoo, Jamie Christon – CEO at Chester Zoo – said: “What started off as a family run zoo in Chester back in the 1930s, has now grown into a globally-renowned centre for conservation and scientific excellence, and one of the UK’s biggest and most popular visitor attractions.
“From first becoming a charity in 1934, to opening the first zoo-based endocrinology lab to closely study animal hormones in 2007, to unveiling the UK’s biggest ever indoor zoological building in 2015, and to launching an ambitious Conservation Masterplan to prevent wildlife extinction as recently as this year, we’ve often led the way in terms of creativity and innovation.
“Conservation has long been at the heart of everything we do.”
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He continued: “Looking back at our incredible 90-year history puts us on solid foundations – but as the world reaches a tipping point in the biodiversity crisis, what we do next in our fight to prevent extinction has never been more important.”
Fancy a trip down memory lane then?
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1931
Founded by George Mottershead and his family, Chester Zoo welcomed its very first visitors on 10 June 1931.
When the zoo initially opened, visitors were so few and far between that they had to ring a bell on arrival at the then main entrance to summon a staff member to take their money – one shilling for adults and sixpence for children.
Three years later, Mr Mottershead registered the zoo as a non-profit making organisation to be run as a charitable, educational and scientific institution.
A membership scheme was also launched and in its first year, 155 members – whose subscriptions totalled £216 – signed up.
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Today the zoo has over 127,000 members who support its mission to prevent extinction.
1940s
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, right?
Well, in this case, it became apparent that a dog can be friends with any animal as in 1942, a 15-month-old lion attracted a huge amount of attention after developing an unlikely companion – Peter the dog.
The lion – which was named Mowgli after the character in the film ‘Jungle Book’ – lost his two siblings and was said to have almost died from the grief, but Peter kept him company and the pair became inseparable.
So much so, when George Mottershead separated them in order for Mowgli to begin spending more time with the other lions, he had to reconsider letting them live together again as they both were pining for one another.
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They were a huge draw to the war weary public who flocked in large numbers to see them playing together.
Peter sadly passed away in 1948.
1960
Believe it or not, in 1960, the tallest giraffe ever recorded at the time was a Masai bull living at Chester Zoo – and his name was George.
He featured in the Guinness Book of Records, and measured just under 20 feet in height.
A total of 14 Pere David’s deer that were bred at Chester Zoo were returned to their native range in China where they had previously become extinct in 1920 – a very significant moment for conservationists at the zoo.
A year after their reintroduction to the wild, they too were discovered to be breeding.
Scientists discovered that the world’s largest lizard – the Komodo dragon – was capable of “virgin births”, and two cases of where female Komodo dragons produced offspring without male contact were reported.
One of the reptiles associated to the groundbreaking discovery was Flora – who was a resident at Chester Zoo.
Zoo conservationists turned a barren seven hectares of land into a new nature reserve, which enabled rare and declining UK wildlife to flourish.
Camera traps positioned around the site have captured images of lots of rare species that have since made the nature reserve home, including invertebrates like beetles, newts, dragon flies, hover flies, Essex skipper butterfly – which has only been recorded nine times in Cheshire since records began over 150 years ago – pole cats, birds, and barn owls.
Chester Zoo opens ‘Islands’ – the largest zoo development ever seen in the UK.
The ambitious project features six islands linked by bridges and a boat trip to see threatened plants and animals from South East Asia including critically endangered tigers, orangutans and crocodiles.
Throwing an important spotlight on the zoo’s vital conservation efforts in South East Asia, Islands also features ‘Monsoon Forest’, which is the UK’s biggest indoor zoological building.
A unique tuatara – a species believed to have pre-dated the dinosaurs – hatched at the zoo, and it was the first ever breeding of tuatara anywhere in the world outside of its native New Zealand.
Tuataras are ancient reptiles that once flourished as long as as 225 million years ago.
Sadly, around 70 million years ago, the species became extinct everywhere except New Zealand – where it now has iconic status as the animals are steeped in Māori culture and are highly revered, with the islands on which they live now protected and very few people given permission to visit.
Six pairs of one of the world’s rarest bird species – the Javan green magpie – were flown to Chester Zoo from Indonesia in a bid to create a new breeding programme save them from extinction as there are around only 50 remaining in the wild.
Chester Zoo became the first UK zoo to successfully breed the species to give a vital boost to its global population, with the eventual goal of returning birds to their natural habitat.
Conservationists from Chester Zoo – alongside its partners at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation – helped to reintroduce a population of 14 wild giraffes to an area of Uganda, where they had previously been declared extinct due to poaching.
Extensive work to ensure the area was protected was undertaken beforehand and recent reports the group is now thriving.
A number of births has since seen it expand to 50 individuals, which is vitally important as giraffe numbers across the African continent have plummeted by 40% in the last 30 years, with only 2,250 remaining.
Five critically endangered eastern black rhinos that were bred in European zoos were carefully transferred to Rwanda’s Akagera National Park.
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It was in the largest ever translocation of rhinos from Europe to Africa, and the move was part of a major international collaboration overseen by conservationists at Chester Zoo.
Black rhino populations have dropped by more than 95% in Africa over the last 100 years due to a global surge in illegal poaching for their horns, and just 12 years ago, they completely disappeared in Rwanda – where they were declared extinct.
Experts hailed the reintroduction as an historic moment for eastern black rhino conservation and a huge boost to the future of this iconic species.
It comes as experts warn that the planet is facing its biggest climate and biodiversity emergencies in a millennia.
The zoo’s new ‘Conservation Masterplan’ – which aims to make a significant contribution to tackling the global extinction crisis – draws on the zoo’s decades of experience of working with wildlife, both at the zoo and with its field partners in the wild, and its expertise in science and conservation.
Experts at the zoo say the plan is committed to the recovery of endangered species, tackling the challenges faced by wildlife both in the UK and globally, and empowering communities to pursue pro-conservation behaviours.
You can read more about the Conservation Masterplan here.
Manchester Marathon to host the 2025 English Championships
Danny Jones
More running pedigree beckons for 0161 as this year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon has been officially selected as the host of the 2025 English Championships.
Set to take place on Sunday, 27 April, which is now the UK’s largest day of running in recent history with the London Marathon taking place simultaneously down the other end of the country, Greater Manchester is once again set to transform into one of the most popular races in Europe.
Known as favourite personal bests given its ‘fantastically flat’ nature, an estimated 36,000 runners are set to descend on the city centre and beyond, with countless more expected to spectate.
With the Manchester Marathon officially being selected for this year’s national championships by England Athletics, there’s even more reason to line the streets.
We are delighted to announce that England Athletics have selected us to host the English Championships 2025! 🏆We’ll be welcoming some of the best endurance athletes to the iconic 26.2-mile course in April.
As per an official update on the race website, the elite competition is due to see more than 50 athletes compete for titles, including 22 participants currently in the Men’s Category and 29 in the Women’s.
The line-up at present includes 2024 Men’s winner Adam Clarke, who finished the event in a ridiculous 02:16:29 last April and, fingers crossed, Women’s champion Charlie Arnell is expected to defend her title this year too.
Arnell, who won on her marathon debut, completed the Women’s race last year in a stunning 02:37:12 – a feat she trained for all whilst full-time for the NHS clinical systems team.
Simply staggering stuff.
The fierce competition between the elite waves will begin first thing on event day before the hordes of runners eventually follow in their wake, and we’re sure it’s going to be an absolute blockbuster.
As well as hosting the English Championships, this year will also mark the first new finish line in some time as the 2025 Manchester Marathon as the home stretch has been changed from the familiar tarmac of Talbot Road.
Last year’s Manchester Marathon was one of the biggest ever, not only seeing record numbers of participants but nearly £30 million raised for the local economy and £3.7m for charities alone.
A member of The Manc or two may or may not also be taking part again this year – by which we mean they definitely are – so watch this space and we hope to see you cheering on the sidelines.
Public places for this year’s marathon have well and truly sold out but you can still register your interest for 2026 HERE.
Better Man has bombed at the box office – but is the Robbie Williams biopic any good?
Danny Jones
So, Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man has been out for a little while now and the question on many people’s lips – you know, apart from ‘why is he a monkey?’ – is, quite simply, is it any good?
Many of you may have already seen it, others may have absolutely no interest in hearing about Robbie‘s already well-publicised exploits (be they in ape form or otherwise), or maybe you’ve just been waiting to hear whether it’s any good before heading out to the cinema.
Well, if you’re judging it purely by the current headlines circulating online, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s absolute rubbish. So far, Better Man has ‘tanked’ at the box office, making just over $1 million compared to a budget of nearly $110m (£90.8m).
However, given how pivotal the US viewing figures are, a big chunk of the commercial disappointment has come down to Americans largely not knowing who Robbie Williams even is and it’s no surprise that it’s done a little better here in the UK – though still not stellar. But again, ticket sales aside, is it good?
Better Man – Review
I wasn’t sure a (very good) CGI monkey Robbie Williams film was going to be any good either based solely on the trailer, but they nailed it.
*Once again, some spoilers ahead – though it is his life story, so we’re not really spoiling anything…
I’ll start this off by admitting that for all his foibles and controversies of the years, I am a Robbie fan; his music was always on in my house as a kid and well into my teens. Being born in the mid-90s, he was probably one of the first big pop stars to ever enter my world.
Growing up obsessed with football too, a charismatic, mainstream rock and roll-spirited figure in the mainstream who also loved the beautiful game and even took influence from chants heard around the grounds in his songwriting always made him extra appealing to me.
All that is just to say that I’m fully aware there’s probably some bias here, so I’ll still try to be as impartial and ‘objective’ as you can be with a film review. But back to the point, the short answer is yes: it’s good – very good, in my opinion.
If you’re similarly fond of the frenetic, funny and ferocious showman, you’ll obviously have a vested interest in looking back on his career thru a (somewhat simian) Lens, but even if you’re not, I still think you can get a lot of of the film and a greater insight into a captivating life story.
Monkey see, monkey do—make me sad, very sad…
This scene (among many) had us welling up. (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
For starters, put simply: as daft as it may seem, the monkey thing does work. It may come across like a strange gimmick when you first see the trailers but it doesn’t take much digging to realise that there’s quite a well-thought-out three-pronged approach behind it.
One of the first things the 50-year-old singer said on the press tour for this film is that he’s always felt “unevolved” and it’s something that’s brought up a couple of times in the film itself, so making him an ape rather than a modern Homo sapien is one way to way to communicate that.
Plus, not only does it obviously make any sad moments – and there are a lot of them – even more emotional and tear-jerking, especially during the scenes during Robbie’s childhood, but it also plays into the sad reality that he’s felt like a performing monkey for the majority of his life.
When you stop and think about the reasoning behind it feels a lot more considered than on first impression, and it certainly helps you empathise and, more importantly, sympathise with the troubled character you’re seeing on screen.
Robert vs Robbie
A very clever movie poster to boot.
And that’s pretty much the rub right there: this was always going to be at least a somewhat self-indulgent watch, not just because it’s a biopic but because it’s Robbie and that’s what his persona is about – but it is and always has been a performance in every sense of the word and the film does a great job of trying to distinguish ‘Robbie’ from Robert.
From seeing the origins behind being given that name specifically, his younger years and affectionate albeit mostly fraught relationship with his father; how the boom of Take That engulfed his entire world and even more so once he went solo, as well as the version of himself he’s shown to the world for last three decades, it’s clear he’s often struggled to find the line between the two himself.
It’s also very important to state the cheeky, cocksure Robbie Williams you were expecting to watch the rise of throughout this biopic has wrestled with a much lower opinion of himself than you could ever imagine. It’s a driving force behind the film and manifests in all manner of problematic and unpleasant ways, just as it did in real life. You see him see a lot of them in the crowd throughout the duration, in fact.
Because for anyone who isn’t aware, a lot of Robbie’s experiences are problematic and unpleasant; the early days as a boyband commodity, his substance abuse, struggles with mental health and beyond are all laid bare on screen in fairly graphic detail at times. A lot of the situations these issues spring from would feel hard to believe were it not for the fact it’s a true story with very little embellishment, if at all.
Manchester references are a bonus
One of the things that did stand out as a particularly surreal aspect of the film was the handful of references to Robbie’s intersection with Mancunian culture, which simultaneously felt familiar and somehow like going back in time to peep behind the curtain at a world that very few saw first-hand.
Again, the behind-the-scenes examination of how Take That transpired and those very dangerous, inappropriate and frankly unlawful series of events in nightclubs over on the likes of Canal Street feels like a fever dream (as it did for Robbie).
Perhaps the biggest buzz we got was the not-so-surprise appearance by the Gallagher brothers and ‘The Robster’s obsession with Oasis. The look is exactly what you’d expect and Liam‘s accent might not be perfect but it still gave us a thrill without feeling like pointless lip service.
All that being said, is the much-talked Robbie biopic a good enough film to warrant popping out to the pictures? Well, I’d certainly say so. Not only are the visuals and the CGI itself pretty flawless, but the motion capture is done so well that it never felt like I was taken out of the film at any point – even the very particular Stoke and Cheshire accents of Robbie and Gary Barlow are very convincing.
We knew there was going to be lots of humour too but there’s also a lot of impressive stuff the director does that I wasn’t expecting.
One of those is the transitions: there are lots of clever tonal switches done with great camerawork and effects (particularly during one driving sequence and some of the flashback frames) and they really do help covertly shift the mood so some of the darker moments don’t give you full on whiplash.
And lastly, the director’s fingerprints can be felt all over the movie as Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman pedigree certainly makes sections of the film feel more like a musical than I was expecting – but in a good way. Big bold cabaret choreography fitting of the man himself.
After all, we all know most Robbie tunes are bangers but seeing them brought to life in these new and interesting ways really does make Better Man a better film than we’d even hoped for and it’s certainly good enough to be performing a lot better than it is at the box office right now. Maybe give it a go.
As far as I’m concerned, big stunning set pieces like this are just the tip when it comes to what makes the Robbie biopic a good film.
Emily Sergeant -
10th June 2021 
