Mills, Cyril Bertram

This collection was part of the Bertram Mills family archives relating to the history of the family's circus business, used by Cyril Mills (1902, 1991) to write his 1967 book Bertram Mills Circus: Its Story .

Bertram Wagstaff Mills (1873- 1938), a keen horseman, founded the annual Mills Circus at Olympia in 1920, famously creating his “Quality Show” in response to a bet. The Circus at Olympia revived circus as a form of entertainment, re-elevating the performance art to attract the cream of high society, gaining worldwide respect. After Bertram Mills’ death, the circus was run by his sons Cyril and Bernard, until it closed in 1966. Besides its famous winter residency at Olympia, Bertram Mills Circus also toured the UK as a tenting summer circus, starting with a collaboration with Harry Cameron's Carmo Circus (also known as The Great Carmo ).

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