War Weapons Parade, Middleton, 1941, filmed by Fred Pedley

© Fred Pedley
War Weapons Week, Middleton, 1941. Filmed by Fred Pedley using 16mm cine film.
The object of War Weapons Week was to raise £250,000 to fund the war effort. The total reached was an astounding £431,000. As part of the week a Services Parade took place on the 24th of May, 1941, along Manchester Old Road past Central Gardens and the Palace Cinema. The parade includes the bands of Bury & Middleton Home Guard, Middleton ATC (Air Transport Command), the British Legion, Special Constables, Fire Brigade & Auxiliary Fire Service, Air Raid Wardens, the Women's Voluntary Services, the Scouts, Guides, Church Lads & Boys Brigade, the Mayor & Mayoress Mr & Mrs T.Heywood, Mr J Lees-Jones MP, Caption E.E.Gates MP, First Aid & Casualty Services Mobile Unit, Rescue, Demolition & Decontamination Squads, Gas, Electricty & Water A.R.P Squads, British Red Cross Detachment. At the end of the film, Fred adds a montage of stock footage of weapons and artillery including his own film of a PBY Catalina flying boat or seaplane taking off from the Menai Straits, Wales.
Please contact me if you would like to use, embed or link to this film and please always credit Fred Pedley when doing so.

[@19bob53]

My Dad was in the Middleton Home Guard, Ben Crabtree who later lived at Lyndhurst, Manchester Old Rd, was one of the officers

[@fredpedley8737]

That’s really interesting to hear - he’s in there somewhere. I’m incredibly impressed with how much was raised, I’m assuming it was nationwide.

[@NickRatnieks]

We get a glimpse of the top deck front of a Manchester Corporation bus- probably a Crossley Mancunian from the 1930s.