Salt and Sauce facts for kids
Salt (born around 1900, died 1952) and Sauce (born around 1900, died 1960) were two very famous and well-known performing elephants in Britain. They were known for their amazing tricks but also for their strong personalities.
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Amazing Elephant Performers
Salt and Sauce were owned and trained by many famous people in the entertainment world during their time. Some of their owners included Carl Hagenbeck, George William Lockhart, and Billy Butlin. They also had talented presenters like Ivor Rosaire.
Their Many Owners and Trainers
These elephants were part of a group called "The Cruet," which was owned by George William Lockhart. Salt and Sauce were believed to be the longest-living members of this group. They were featured in many books, newspapers, and magazines. There is even a special book about them called The Legend of Salt and Sauce.
Famous Tricks and Tough Moments
Salt and Sauce were famous for the many different tricks they could do. However, they were also known for being a bit moody sometimes. Sauce, often called "Saucy," was involved in an accident where her owner and trainer, George William Lockhart, was fatally injured at Walthamstow Station. Later, Salt was involved in an incident that led to the death of an elephant groom named William Aslett in 1957 while touring with Rosaire's Circus.
The End of Their Journey
Even though Salt had a health issue that had caused two other elephants from "The Cruet" to pass away, she lived for about 50 years!
Salt's Final Days
Salt's death was written about in the local newspapers in Cambridge. It happened in 1952 when she accidentally got stuck in Vauxhall Lake in Sturry, Canterbury, Kent. She was touring with Ringland's Circus at the time. After seven hours, with the help of a crane, she was finally freed from the lake. Sadly, she then got pneumonia and died a week later. The local newspapers reported that over a hundred flower wreaths were left for her at the circus.
Sauce's Long Life
Many people thought that Sauce, Salt's lifelong friend, would also die soon after Salt. But Sauce lived much longer, until 1960, and passed away from natural causes.
Where They Appeared
Salt and Sauce performed in many famous British circuses and venues.
Circus Stars
They performed in well-known places like The Lyceum, Norwich Hippodrome, Blackpool Tower, and Great Yarmouth Hippodrome. They also appeared with many famous circuses, including Tom Sylvester's, Bertram Mills' Circus, Billy Smart, Sr.'s Circus, Broncho Bill's Circus, Rosaire's Circus, Paulo's Circus, Ringland's Circus, and Cody's Circus (Sauce only).
On the Big Screen
According to an article in the "World's Fair" newspaper, these two elephants also appeared in the movie Elephant Boy.
Books About Salt and Sauce
- Grey Titan: The Book of Elephants, W. Bosworth and G. Lockhart, 1938
- The English Circus and Fair Ground, Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake, 1946
- The English Circus, Ruth Manning-Sanders, 1952
- The Circus Has No Home, Rupert Croft-Cooke
- Fairs and Circuses in the Black Country, Ned Williams
- The Victorian Arena: The Performers Volumes 1 and 2, John Turner, 1995 and 2000
- The Legend of Salt and Sauce, Jamie Clubb
See also
- Samuel Lockhart, Victorian elephant trainer
- List of individual elephants
