This film is part of Free

Funeral in Manchester (1904)

Crowds line the streets of Edwardian Manchester to send off an unidentified military hero.

Non-Fiction 1904 2 mins Silent

Overview

The scale and formality of this funeral procession, with the flag-draped coffin carried on a gun carriage, indicates that the departed was a military man. Six horses and police riders in ceremonial uniform lead the coffin out, with carriages conveying mourners following. A field ambulance with police escort brings up the rear. But whose death are the crowds mourning?

A press article from the Liverpool Daily Post (31 May 1904) makes reference to a screening of the funeral of crew members of the A1 submarine, which met a tragic accident in the Solent in March 1904 and sunk with the loss of all hands. Research suggests, however, that the funeral for the A1 victims took place at Haslar in Hampshire. Clearly there is only one coffin being carried in this film. Could it be a local victim returning home?

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