IT LOOKS a little congested around this crib.

Poor baby Jesus seems to be in danger of being smothered as children crowd around.

This was the scene in 1972 when Kidlington Nursery School presented its annual Nativity play.

The children, aged from three to five, had spent three months learning the script and the songs.

As the big day approached, it was time to try on the costumes their mothers had painstakingly created in their spare time.

Then came the final dress rehearsal and the following day, the first of two performances at Kidlington Baptist Church in High Street.

Parents and grandparents crowded into the church to see and hear their little ones – and no doubt, as usual on these occasions, a few tears were shed.

The children had been coached by their two teachers, Beatrice Barrett and Norah Fouracre.

And while they were performing, they would have spotted a special visitor in the audience – Father Christmas.

The following day, the children returned to the church to entertain a second audience.

We don’t know the names of any of the children in the picture. Can anyone identify them?

 

 

More Nativity photographs