Tommy Roberts (left) & Bobby Roberts (right)

The modern circus was founded in London in 1768 when Phillip Astley roped off a ring to give trick riding performances near the present site of Waterloo Station. Astley soon added a clown and rope walkers to his show and by the beginning of the nineteenth century the first circuses were entertaining audiences all over the country.

One of the very first circuses in Great Britain was Fossett's, and his family has since become the backbone of British circus. As members of the Fossett dynasty, the Robert Brothers, Bobby and Tommy, are steeped in the traditions of the circus. Their father, Paul Otto, came to England from Belgium when he was 18. He was an all-round circus artiste - tumbler, clown, animal trainer and one of the finest acrobats of his time. He joined Fossett's Circus and married Mary, daughter of the original "Sir" Robert Fossett.

The circus world that Paul and Mary's sons, Bobby and Tommy, grew up in, just after the First World War, was very different to the one we know today. All the shows were horse-drawn and Fossett's was famed for its fine stud of 160 horses. It was a tough live for the young Roberts. Bobby began his carrier as a clown at the age of eight and assisted his father in a hand balancing act. His younger brother, Tommy, was ten when he first appeared as a clown and they shared the daily gruelling routine of getting up at 4am to drive the wagons through to the next town; building up the big top and stables; taking part in the magnificent free publicity parade at noon, either on horseback or riding in fabulous carved tableaux wagons; two shows in the afternoon and evening; and then packing up the circus and ready for the early start the next morning. One day stands were the rule. As Tommy says, "If we stayed more than one day in one place, it was a real holiday!"

Paul and Mary gave their sons a solid grounding in circus skills. Bobby was a solo trick rider when he was a teenager and they rode in the Fossett family riding act as well as for Chapman's Circus and in many theatres. Early in the 1930's, Paul Otto ran his own small show and it was then that Bobby started training ponies and dogs. Ever since, he has worked closely with animals, training many horses, ponies, pigs, different breeds of dogs and over 30 elephants, as well as exotic animals, such as camels, llamas and zebras.

Bobby and Tommy taught themselves acrobatics on the horizontal bars and with Jimmy Scott a partner, they produced a speciality act which was always in demand on the Moss and Stoll theatre circuit of the 1930's.

Tommy and Bobby met their wives while working in variety. Tommy's wife, Marie, comes from an old-established theatrical family. Marie started her career with Terry's Juveniles, a troupe of rising young girl stars, at the London Palladium. She was a member of one of the famous English J.J. Jackson Girls troupes at the Casino de Paris and sang and danced with American Teddy Joyce and his band. Tommy and Maire had three children, Carolyn (born in 1942), John (1944) and Beverley (1957). Tragically Carolyn died in 1968, after a courageous battle against a kidney disease.

During the Second World War, Bobby and Tommy worked for the National Fire Service in Edinburgh. In 1944, they began Robert Brothers' Circus at Falkirk. The show did excellent business but it was a hard time for the young families for, as well as arranging the route, organising the publicity and moving the show they were responsible for many of the acts in the programme. Bobby trained most of the animals and Tommy was the electrician, mechanic and presented the lions. In 1945, Tommy, Marie, Bobby, Kitty and Jimmy Scott appeared at the famous Blackpool Tower Circus as the Ottowa Riders, marking Marie and Kitty's debuts in a circus act.

In the years since 1944, the Robert Brothers have built up a prosperous and entertaining circus. It's a family show - put on by our family to entertain the whole of your family. It's been seen in every part of Great Britain on tour. Special Christmas circuses have been presented in London and Edinburgh and in many theatres. A few years a go, there was even a special unit of our tour in Spain! Our animal acts have been seen all over Europe and in 1969 we opened our wild life park at Thorney, on the A47 Peterborough to Wisbech road. In the grounds of Thorney Abbey (built 1035), the park contained a large number of mammals and birds. Here animals were bred for the circus and others retired there after working on the show for a couple of seasons.

In Silver Jubilee year, we were proud that two of our acts, Bobby with the elephants and John and Tonya with their plate spinning speciality, were chosen to appear at the Royal Gala under the big top in Home Park, Windsor, on 28th May 1977 in front of Her Majesty the Queen and H.R.H. Prince Phillip.

Throughout the 1980's and during the 1990's Robert Brothers have continued to tour the UK, Europe and Asia. They were also commissioned to produce circus shows for Christmas, Easter and the Circus World Championships for the BBC.

In terms of the future … continue big!

We hope to have the pleasure of entertaining you for many years to come and look forward to seeing you whenever you see the magic words "Robert Brother Famous Circus" in your town.