History Society Meeting 15th Nov 2018

AUDLEM AND DISTRICT HISTORY SOCIETY meeting was held last Thursday 15th November in the Scout Hall.

Chairman Jeremy Nicholls conducted a very fast and efficient AGM. The Committee was joined by two new members Mary Haines and Charles Cavill; Sarah Hill stepped down after many years of serving on the Club Committee, she will be greatly missed, but will still see her at the monthly meetings. The History Society has a full programme for the next year and is going from strength to strength.

Following the AGM the audience was entertained by a film show organised by Jeremy Nicholls. There were 7 short films from the North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University.

We started with a very funny film advertising 'Gossages Soap' from 1920, a telegraph boy ends up doing the weekly laundry. Cleans In A Flash!, then 'Down By The Sea' (1938) followed the River Mersey from source to the sea.

The third film was 'Gaumont Graphic North West Newsreel Highlights' 1929, a silent film of a meeting of the Cheshire Hunt on Nantwich Square. Nantwich has changed a bit, but still recognisable as we watched horses ride through the streets.

'Weaver Navigation', a 1951 silent film, showed what it was like working on the boats loading and unloading cargo and going up and down the Anderton Lift.

These last two films, although silent, were accompanied by appropriate music organised by Mr Smethurst.

The next 'Summer On The Farm' was an information film from 1943 showing working on the farms of Cheshire and Lancashire during the war, harvesting the crops and sending produce to Manchester.

'School Life In The War'. The headmaster of Elsworth School, Arthur Hulme, made this very entertaining film showing school life during the war. I am sure teachers of today would wish for such well-behaved pupils. All the children looked as though they enjoyed making this film.

The last film 'Building British Railway Construction, Crewe Works', 1910, showed how a railway engine is put together and how much work goes into it. Health and safety not in evidence.

A very enjoyable evening showing how people lived and worked in the last century and a very good start to the History society's year of informative and entertaining talks.

I hope you can join us.

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