FESTIVAL OF WOOLWICH [Main Title]

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  • Title: FESTIVAL OF WOOLWICH [Main Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 5112
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY ARTHUR GREEN [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Amateur film shot by Arthur Green, a Greater London Council Assistant Scientific Officer, recording the visit of HRH Princess Margaret to the Woolwich Town Hall, London, during the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich's Festival of Woolwich celebrations (20 - 27 October 1951), part of the 1951 Festival of Britain.
  • Description: The film opens with an exterior view of Woolwich Town Hall and the superimposed titles "Festival of Woolwich" and "Photography by A F Green". View of a Town Crier standing in the middle of Wellington Street reading an announcement. View of Wellington Street with large crowds of onlookers, lined with policemen on the pavements; a mounted policeman passes by. The royal car pulls up outside the Town Hall. HRH Princess Margaret Rose alights from the car and is seen with the Mayor; the Princess reviews a small contingent of uniformed women (a photographer is seen moving quickly past her in order to get into a good position). The Princess, accompanied by the Mayor and other dignitaries, watches a parade from the steps of the Town Hall. The parade passes along Wellington Street and includes military bands, contingents of soldiers, Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC), the British Legion, nurses (and St John Ambulance personnel ?), two Morris Quad tractors towing 25-pounder artillery pieces, AEC Matador towing a 155mm "Long Tom" gun followed by several fire engines. A large number of people watch the parade from both sides of the street and from buildings. The street is lined with flags, and lampposts in the street are decorated with crowns and flags bearing the Festival of Britain logo. The Princess, the Mayor and other dignitaries are seated in the entrance hall of the Town Hall. The Princess makes a speech and is presented with a bouquet of flowers. The Princess is then shown around the civic exhibition in the Town Hall accompanied by the Mayor and other dignitaries and preceded by the Mace-Bearer. The exhibition includes model houses, the work of the Borough, sections on the the Electricity Board, Standard Telephone and Cables (?), Public Baths, books and libraries and an exhibit including a live sewer rat. The Princess signs a visitors book using a quill pen and speaks with a policeman and is shown around a section on the work of the police, which includes a police radio and a Metropolitan Police box with its light flashing. HRH Princess Margaret Rose then leaves Woolwich Town Hall, led by the Mace-Bearer, and is driven away through waving crowds. The film ends with a brief shot of one of the panels from the exhibition superimposed with the title "The End".
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY ARTHUR GREEN [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: MGH 5112
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1951-10
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Green, Arthur F2001 (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 195 ft; Running time: 8 mins (16 fps)
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 5112

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    Documents.14985 (System.Xml.XmlElement)
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