A Colonial Wedding

From the collection of

Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton
Screen Archive South East at the University of Brighton collects, preserves, catalogues and provides public access to its collection of films and magic lantern slides. The collection charts the rise of screen culture in the region and the nation and captures many aspects of life, work and creativity in the South East from the late 19th century to the present day. It is available for research, screenings, creative re-use and commercial access.

A Colonial Wedding


Cloche-hatted wedding guests, armed with confetti, lie in wait for the newly weds as they exit from a Shanghai church while their limousine gets the treatment.

This short film shows an expat wedding in Shanghai. The couple are probably Nancy and George Bowler who were friends and colleagues of William and Charlotte Simpson. It was William who filmed the raucous goings on outside the church while the couple were still inside. The limousine, complete with smiling Chinese chauffeur, and rented from the Joffre Garage, gets the traditional treatment reserved for such occasions.

William Simpson, who made this film, worked for the Bradford Dyers Association in Shanghai, at Number 1, The Bund. His wife Charlotte was born in China's Lushan mountains and she married William, who originally came from Bradford, in Shanghai's St Ignatius Roman Catholic Cathedral. The couple left Shanghai before the city was overrun by the Japanese Army and by 1938 had left China for good.


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