All Saints Church with Parade of the Northamptonshire Regiment (1902)

Northampton
1902
Silent
2m

A company of Edwardian soldiers marches along a cobbled, tram-lined street to join locals at church.

The two battalions of the Northamptonshire Regiment were much travelled and had received battle honours on two fronts, including the Second Boer War of 1899-1902. Only a small part of that regiment is seen here, marching towards the 17th century All Saints Church, which features in the second part of the film. Northampton's tramlines were opened in 1881 but not electrified until 1904.

Back from the War

Britain's troops return from war in South Africa to a rapturous welcome - despite more ambivalent public attitudes to the Boer War itself.

A few adventurous film companies journeyed to South Africa to capture (mostly heavily sanitised) film documents of the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Mitchell and Kenyon, like most others, stayed at home, choosing instead to film reconstructed or dramatised war stories. But as they visited towns and cities across the North, M&K also captured the jubilation that greeted homecoming troops.

There's no sign here of public misgivings about what had been a brutal and hard-won war, nor any hint of disrespect for the military commanders who appear in several films. Instead, the overwhelming focus is the ranks of ordinary soldiers, and the collective joy and relief for their safe return.