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Resurrecting the Dead: : The Case of the ‘Sappy Sodgers’

The paper describes an outdoor game played by children aged 6-12 years old in urban of Scotland in the 1950’s. It also describes some of the unfortunate conditions experienced by modern children in childhood despite the major technical and societal advances in the last 60 years. The aim of the paper was to demonstrate how children could devise, operate and manage an outdoor activity (game) which self-taught a range of physical, mental and collaborative skills and which naturally facilitated healthy exercise and fostered co-operation and trust. The paper suggested how this game could be resurrected into a modern format. This game was played by Professor Baxter in his teens. The paper goes on to suggest some benefits of resurrecting the original game to counteract these unfortunate anti-welfare practices and it describes a possible refashioning of the game with a modern aspect. It concludes with some reservations on modifying the original child-oriented practices and an invitation to take the issue further.