This amateur film records the commemorative Victory Parade that took place in central Newcastle upon Tyne on 8th June 1946. The parade includes men and women in the Royal Air Force, Army and Navy, auxiliary forces, voluntary and civil defence services (for instance, the Land Army), and North East industries, along with the Allied and Commonwealth forces in World War Two. Civilian representatives and floats also celebrate the role of The People's Theatre, Reyrolle, and the coal industry...

This amateur film records the commemorative Victory Parade that took place in central Newcastle upon Tyne on 8th June 1946. The parade includes men and women in the Royal Air Force, Army and Navy, auxiliary forces, voluntary and civil defence services (for instance, the Land Army), and North East industries, along with the Allied and Commonwealth forces in World War Two. Civilian representatives and floats also celebrate the role of The People's Theatre, Reyrolle, and the coal industry (soon to be nationalised), as well as military and North East history. A firework display closes out the day. The film was a Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association (ACA) production. Title: Victory Parade Newcastle upon Tyne 8 June 1946 Titles: The Parade is Marshalled Parade Marshall Major Harold S. Dodds 2nd Cadet Battalion RNI Various groups prepare for the marching columns of the Victory Parade in Newcastle upon Tyne. A police band congregate on Barrack Road and some of the band members hold their brass instruments at the ready in front of the Darnell Hotel (a Vaux Breweries owned bar). Some young children gather on the street to look at the different groups taking part in the parade. Royal Navy marines stand in line along a cobbled street of terraced houses, two marines in the foreground beside a piece of naval equipment on two wheels. A Royal Navy crew stand to attention with guns. A group of British Red Cross nurses get ready for the parade. A British army platoon stand in line down a cobbled street. A small group of men are waiting for the start of the parade, one man putting on a cagoule. Some men adjust the sail on the Royal Navy lifeboat (seen later in parade). Women in costume stand on a float ready to leave along the route. Title: 3pm Saluting Base Eldon Square Title: The Salute Taken by the Rt. Hon The Lord Mayor Alderman J A Clydesdale & Representatives of HM Forces Crowds are gathered at Eldon Square as the Lord Mayor’s party, with military Chiefs of Staff, assemble at the saluting base. The procession of mechanised military units begins, huge crowds lining the route. A motor cycle patrol (or army despatch riders), a towed army gun, military trucks and more armoured weaponry drive by. Military Chiefs of Staff and the Lord Mayor’s civic party watch from the saluting base. A small dog sits on the road in danger of being run over by the procession. The parade of mechanised units continues with a series of command tanks. A soldier salutes from one tank. The little dog scampers around in the road as two army tanks, side by side, head towards it in the parade. Two civil policemen on horseback lead the marching columns of British military and Allied Forces. A military brass band march along the route. A brief shot follows of a Royal Air Force plane as it flies low overhead. Back to the parade, Royal Navy officers march past and salute. Units of Royal Navy marines and women auxiliary forces (possibly WAAF unit) pass by in the parade. Soldiers carrying rifles are next in the procession. Three army drummers stand with the crowd beside the parade route. Another band of Women’s Auxiliary Services forces march by, followed by a military brass band. The Chiefs of Staff salute the passing forces. A band of Jewish ex-servicemen (?) all in civilian suits follow. The Victory Parade continues with many more marching columns. There’s a brief shot of a man perched half way up a lamp post for a better view at the corner of a street. Units of nurses, and a Boys Brigade group head for Eldon Square in the parade. The next marching units are representatives of the different Allied and Colonial Forces that fought against the German National Socialists and fascism, led by men carrying first the Union Jack, then the United States of America’s Old Glory (Stars and Stripes) flag. A figure in traditional national costume accompanies each group. After this contingent, a series of pageantry floats represent British history, including St George in knight’s armour and troops of Beefeaters. A viewpoint from the corner of Blackett Street takes in the parade of floats, carrying costumed figures such as Francis Drake, Queen Elizabeth I, Nelson, groups of historical navy and army personnel. An overhead shot captures the large crowd on the route, all looking up at the Royal Air Force fly past. One man perches at the top of a lamp post. Next up in the parade, a series of floats represent the North East region’s organisations, industries, and county histories. Miners in working clothes lead pit ponies hauling coal tubs along a street, Dents shop in the background. A recruitment float drives by next pulling a scary piece of military artillery. Placards on the truck read “Now As Then We Need You”. Another truck follows with a placard stating “Jobs for All Coal and Success”, which pulls a trailer holding mining equipment. A band of miners in helmets with safety lamps march along behind. A Blyth coal company lorry drives by with signs that read: “A Worthy Peace Means Coal. Coal Spells Victory”. A shot of a plane involved in the Royal Air Force fly past follows. A truck advertising The People’s Theatre drives by carrying actors in costumes. A religious service with monks takes place on another historical float, with a banner reading “Border Wars”. A single land Army girl walks down the street, leading a float of Land Army women and rural women, or farm labourers, seated in piles of straw, celebrating the role of the women’s voluntary service in agriculture on the home front. The next truck is decorated with flags and displays of telecommunications equipment with several Royal Navy (?) officers, which may pay tribute to the Mobile Wireless Telegraphy Units. The Reyrolle trade float pays tribute to women workers in heavy industry during the war and Tyneside’s industrial support in manufacturing machinery. It advertises “Reyrolle – Fighting Craftmanship […] Fighting Services” and the truck carries women in classic 1940s factory work clothing. Two wartime fire engines (?) are pictured in the procession next. There’s a brief shot of the wooden Royal Navy lifeboat or rescue ship to close the film sequences on the Victory parade. The final scenes are of the firework display, including Catherine Wheels, which closed out the day for the Newcastle upon Tyne Victory Parade celebrations.