When Lever Brothers went to the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Port Sunlight Village Trust’s collection is always growing, and our latest acquisition couldn’t be more timely as the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris gets underway.

We have recently acquired a collection of objects which relate to Thomas Woodfine, a Lever Brothers employee who lived in a Lever Brothers’ owned house in Bromborough, just around the corner from Port Sunlight, from around 1917 until 1970. Woodfine was also a member of the Lever Brothers Athletic Club which was based at the Bebington Oval. In 1936, Woodfine attended the Olympics in Berlin with other members of the Athletics Club, where he meticulously documented the event in a photo album. The album contains images taken by Woodfine and others in his party and include shots of the group in the stadium, general views of the crowds, events on the track, other scenes of the stadium, and general sites in Berlin.

Due to the political nature of Berlin at the time, some images do show Nazi representation, and therefore the material will be treated sensitively. Other items in the collection include memorabilia from Berlin and the Olympics, including a handkerchief, as well as plaques and images which relate to Woodfine’s own competitions as a member of the Lever Brothers Athletic Club.