Save £15 - Subscribe annually today using voucher code BLACKFRIDAY24

This film is part of Free

Stoke-on-trent City Status Ceremony

Crowds turn out to welcome George V and Queen Mary to the Potteries.

Non-Fiction 1925 2 mins Silent

Overview

King George V arrives in Stoke-on-Trent to officially elevate it from a county borough to a city. The anticipation of the crowds waiting outside the King's Hall is palpable - note how one police officer doesn't refrain from using brute force to contain a particularly buoyant group of middle-aged ladies! The provenance of the film is unknown, but it's likely to be unedited newsreel footage.

While the film focuses on the crowds, the King, wearing a morning suit and a grey top hat, can be glimpsed inspecting a guard of honour from the North Staffordshire Regiment, entering the King's Hall and laying the foundation of an extension to the North Staffordshire Infirmary.