Figure 1.--Here we see a school Empire Day celebration, probably in the early-1920s although the lare-1910s is possible. The childre have covered an impressive number of colonies. We are not sure what colony the witch represents. Notice that there is no girl wearing a sari and representing India -- the most important colony of all.

Empire Day continued to be an important event in the 1920s. We see a host of Empire Day school photographs from the 1920s. We note Empire Day being celebrated in Clitheroe in Lancashire during 1920 on the previous page. These were always costumed events. That was a big part of the interest on the part of the children. That made it difficult to fate the manynundated images we have found. One interesting aspect of the 1920s is that children were now being exposed to images of far aay plaversd that previous genatiiond had only read about -- the movies. Movies had appeared un the 1910s, but it was in the 1920s that the movies went big time. And some of those films were sent in the colonies. We are not sure how many of the British films were set in the colonies. Or what the the themes were. We do not have much information in British films in the 1920s. We suspect, however, that it was not the Empire that made the nost impression with children at the movies. And for boys that meant Hollywood Westerns. Of course American cowboys did not show up in the Empire Day costumes. The British Empire at the time streached around the globe and incuded every continent except Antartica. For the first time since the American Revolution, the British Empire lost territort--and territory close atb home. The Irish Free State essentially ended British rule in southern Ireland. Of greater imprtance, Mahatma Ghanndi enrgized the Inian natioinalist movement and concessions leading to a degree of home rule were made.

Created: 3:47 AM 2/23/2022
Last updated: 3:47 AM 2/23/2022