This film documents Salute the Soldier events in Todmorden as well as the Youth Organisation of Todmorden presentation of a pageant of English History during the visit of Lady Mountbatten in May, 1944. Title - Todmorden Salutes the Soldier ~ May 13th 20th, 1944 Photography by: John Barker, Maurice Costelloe, Keith Cockcroft. The film opens with street scenes in Todmorden.  Crowds line the road watching as a military band marches by.  The band is followed by a troop of soldiers with tin hats...

This film documents Salute the Soldier events in Todmorden as well as the Youth Organisation of Todmorden presentation of a pageant of English History during the visit of Lady Mountbatten in May, 1944. Title - Todmorden Salutes the Soldier ~ May 13th 20th, 1944 Photography by: John Barker, Maurice Costelloe, Keith Cockcroft. The film opens with street scenes in Todmorden.  Crowds line the road watching as a military band marches by.  The band is followed by a troop of soldiers with tin hats and rifles.   The Mayor and local dignitaries stand, watching by on a platform, and an officer salutes the parade.  Back in the parade, an RAF band is followed by nurses and young medical cadets from the St John’s Ambulance.  People watch from windows above the shops, and crowds are gathered in front.  Visible is a chemist (Hartley?), at number 4, and Haigh’s at number 2.  Army cadets pass by, followed by RAF, police, and local defence volunteers.  A lorry drives in the parade with an effigy of a Swastika covered Squander Bug ‘CAUGHT IN TODMORDEN’. Three boys ride in the trailer at the back, and someone throws money into the trailer.  Other processors include:  Older veterans dressed in civilian clothing and wearing medals, Women’s Auxiliary Forces, Girl Guides and Boy Scouts.  Another lorry is visible at the back of the parade. Now at a park, tennis courts are visible at the bottom of a slope, behind the watching crowds. The various elements of the parade have lined up neatly on the slope.  The nurses line up, and the crowds wait.  The Mayor and other dignitaries walk past, followed by the nurses, and the camera pans across towards the crowds.  The Mayor makes a speech, followed by Lady Louis Mountbatten in St John’s Ambulance uniform, and two men in civilian clothes. The various Officers chat to each other, and to those taking part in the parade. Lady Mountbatten chats to the nurses, and one of the men takes a photograph of her and the nurses. (Kodachrome)  The Army band begins to play as veterans line up.  Behind the band can be seen open countryside, trees and a view of the Pennines behind. The camera pans over paraders lined up, the Army band playing, and the crowds. Behind the nurses the Mons Mill is visible. On the stage Lady Mountbatten makes a speech. Title – Gold letters on blue background. ‘The Youth Organisation of Todmorden present A Pageant of English History.’ Title – Messenger Service. Girls Friendly Society. St. Peters Fellowship. Air Training Corps. Girls Training Corps. Todmorden Youth Centre. Army Cadet Corps. St John’s Nursing Cadets. Scouts: troupe nos 1, 5, 8, 20, 21 &22. Title – Our heritage: when I stand up for England/A thousand years are mine,/I’m one with all the heroes/Of her unbroken line. The pageant opens with three children on stage:  a girl, a boy in an Army uniform, and another boy in a suit. The boy in the suit stands in front of a microphone and talks, and the other two follow. They are replaced by a group in Roman dress:  two soldiers, another in a finer, purple and gold uniform, and a fourth in a brown shift.  A group of cavemen stand at the side of the stage under the gaze of another Roman soldier. The cavemen, who have had their hands tied, are set free by the soldiers under the order of their general or Emperor. A brightly dressed King, Queen, and two followers descend from the stage, followed by a line of monks. The Queen kneels and is blessed by the monks.  A group of peasants arrive, a proclamation is read, and the peasants revolt.  On the stage, another King, surrounded by noblemen is forced to sign a document. He signs and throws down his quill (King John signing the Magna Carta). Peasants and noble folk skip around and dance on the grass in front of the stage, and two boys wrestle. Queen Elizabeth I mounts the stage, flanked by ladies in waiting, and sits on her throne. A nobleman kisses her hand, and another brings a scroll. Militia in red coats run across the grass in front of the stage. The Duke of Wellington stands behind him with a Union Jack. The militia kneel at take aim against the enemy before charging past the crowd. Wellington draws his sword. A troop of poor and injured men and women walk past the stage carrying a banner with ‘LOOK AND WEEP’ written on it. A group of girls in contemporary dress play hockey and other games under the gaze of a minister. Some of the girls mount the stage and present bouquets to the minister. Shots of Lady Louis Mountbatten and the Mayor in the crowd. The bouquets are presented to her. With her lamp, Florence Nightingale is on stage, overseeing Victorian nurses helping wounded soldiers. A group of Scouts erect tents, cook over a fire, practice semaphore, and wrestle. Boys dressed as British soldiers in tin hats and with rifles are on the stage.  One is wounded, with a bloody bandage around his head. Helped along by his friends, he collapses. Surrounded by people from each vignette, the three narrators return to the stage and speak.  A representative from the St John’s nurses, girl guides, Army cadets, and Scouts take it in turns to salute the narrator in battledress.