Peace Celebrations at Haslingden July 19th 1919

Haslingden
1919
Silent
13m

Charming, fun and heartwarming portrait of a Lancashire town coming together to celebrate Peace Day.

Across Britain the country came together to celebrate Peace Day, but few portraits of the events could be as charming as this one, filmed in the Lancashire town of Haslingden. From the delightful giggle fits during the opening titles to the exhausted infant at the end, there's an unpolished and playful quality to the way these scenes were filmed that lets them reach across the years.

Eight months after the armistice and three weeks after the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the decision to co-ordinate a day to celebrate peace was not without its critics. As the Cenotaph (or a temporary version of it) was unveiled in London, elsewhere there were riots and protests about the lack of opportunities and help for returning soldiers. If that sentiment was felt in Haslingden, it's not apparent here, as the citizens pose and perform for a cameraman with a playful spirit. Look out for the backwards scenes and an appearance, of sorts, of Charlie Chaplin.

The First World War: Remembrance

These poignant films return us to a time when the war was still fresh.

The First World War came to an end at 11am on 11 November 1918 - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - a day that was immediately commemorated as Armistice Day (Remembrance Sunday was an innovation of the Second World War). The annual parades and wreath laying became a staple of the newsreels, and subsequently television.

But the act of remembrance began long before the guns stopped firing. During the war, cinemas across the country regularly screened 'Roll of Honour' films, paying tribute to members of the local community who had been killed, captured or wounded in the conflict. And of course, while the war itself faded into history, filmmakers would revisit those world-shattering years for generations after.