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Bootle May Day Demonstration and Crowning of the May Queen (1903)

May Day revellers brave a wet and windy day in Edwardian Merseyside.

Non-Fiction 1903 18 mins Silent

Overview

Scenes of maypole and morris dancing intermingle with an ornate pageant in this picturesque film. The floats are a fascinating roll-call of local traders, reminding us of the Merseyside town's maritime connections. In one eye-catching example, a man in a diving-suit stands next to his mates who 'fish' for coins on behalf of the lifeboat service. In another, a flotilla of model yachts rolls by.

The weather was inevitably the talking point of the day. Said the Bootle Times (9 May 1903): "The children, in order to avoid the drenching which would have been inevitable had they remained in their respective positions on the uncovered lorries, rapidly dispersed to obtain shelter wherever possible. Thus in a moment was undone the work which it had taken so lengthy a period to build up."

Genres

Non-Fiction and Sport

Country

United Kingdom

Location

Bootle

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

May Day celebrations Entertainment and recreation Calendars Processions Entertainment and recreation Parades and marches May Day Demonstrations May Day celebrations Maypole dancing Spectators Traditional dance Mayors Carriages (horses) Children Traditional costume Cadets Fund raising Street scenes Fire engines Carts Steam engines Marching bands Horse-drawn transport Equestrian sports Tents Funfairs Ponies and traps Judges (Old Testament book) Spectators Array Floats (parades)

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Documentary 1944 7 mins Location: Stanion

An extraordinary and unexpected snapshot of rural life in wartime in which a young black girl is crowned Queen of the May.

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Children's 1956 24 mins

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Amateur film 1952 9 mins Silent

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