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Parade of the Bolton Artillery Volunteers (1901)
The Bolton Artillery Volunteers put on an impressive parade despite the snow.
Overview
It's not known when this parade took place. Clearly it's winter. But are these volunteers on their way to war in South Africa or, more likely, returning after Britain's 1902 victory? The band lead the boys past a terrace of houses in the snow. Many soldiers are then marched past the camera by their sergeants. A further contingent is put through its paces with some very precise drilling.
Mitchell and Kenyon's many military procession films usually featured crowds of potential paying customers. There's a striking lack of public fanfare here, with only the snowy rooftops and a single onlooker (possibly one of the filmmakers' showman collaborators) to spur on the troops.
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