Figure 1.--Here we see a float at an Empire Day celebration somewhere in England during the 1930s. Notice the black face. We are not sure what organization did the floats. Earlier celebratiimns see school based. It was a Magic Laterm slide. Notice that in these and other Empire Day celebrations, we do not see manu girls dressed in saris representing India.

The venerable Queen Victoria would pass away before the first Empire Day was celebrated. It wa not a celevration of British military prowess in forming and holding the Empire. Rather it was a celebration of the many varied people making up a single political unit and the shared benefits. That of course was an idealized view of the empire. Many Victorians believed it ignoring the fact that many members of the Empire did not want to be part of it. It was clearly exploitive, with brutality and attrocities. In our modern PC world the positive aspects of the Empire are commonly excluded from the historical rcord, such as the campaign to end the slave trade and ultimtely slavery. Many Indians today are unaware that institutions like democracy, elections civil liberties, and the rule of law partnof the heritage of the British Raj. Unfortunately The Indian success with democracy was not immediately repeated in many other former colonies. We see Empire Day being celebrated in Clitheroe in Lancashire during 1920 on the previous page. Despite the size and breath of the Britsh Empire, Empire Day was a rather short-lived holiday. Empire Day was not celerated until after Queen Victoria--the very symbol of the Empire-- passed away (1901). The first Empire Day took place on May 24, 1902--the Queen’s birthday. We suspect that seven decade of ceebrating the Queen's birthday on May 24 may have ben a factor in making Empire Day a holiday. It was not officially recognised as an annual event until 1916, but many schools across the British Empire were celebrating it before then. Because of the independence of India (1947) and most of the Empire (1960s) and the increasing disrepute of colonalism, Empire Day ceased to be widely celebrated. It was changed to Commonwealth Day, but we don't think it is widely celebrated because of its imperial asociations and the fact that the British ae not all that interesred in the Commonwealth. Much of the Commonwealth does not have that good of a record. The Dominions have done well, but much of the former Empire has not. Britain certainly shares part of the blame, but the countries that have done poorly are those which have rejected what made Britain so sucessful--namely English law, meaning political freedom (democracy) and ecoonomic freedomm (capitalism).

The 1900s

The venerable Queen Victoria would pass away before the first Empire Day was celebrated (1901). At the vtime, like battkeshios werevseen as an expression of a country's power. It was not a celebration of British military prowess in forming and holding the Empire. Rather it was a celebration of the many varied people making up a single political unit and the shared benefits. The children of course loved it becauise it was an opportunity to dress up in all kinds of intestinhg costums. Looking at the costumes it is possiblde to guess what th cistum sa, but not always. That of course was an idealized view of the Empire. Many Victorians believed the narative, ignoring the fact that many members of the Empire did not want to be part of it. Although nationalist sentiment was not yet pronounced among most of the subject people. The primary exception was India, but eden it India it was not yet a major issue. There would be no real discussion of the issues of empire, except in the United States. The first decade of the 20th century was one of unbrialded opptimism about the future. The British Empire was at its peaks and scientific discoveries were expanding humnan the bounds of understanding and marerial progress. Empire Day was not celerated until after Queen Victoria--the very symbol of the Empire-- passed away (1901). The first Empire Day took place on May 24, 1902--the Queen’s birthday. We suspect that seven decade of celebrating the Queen's birthday on May 24 may have been a factor in making Empire Day a holiday. After Victoria's death, the monarch had a new birth date to celebrate. But May 24th had been a celebration for over six decades, meaning the vast majority of the British population had this date fixed in their minds.

The 1910s

The heady British imperial optimism of the turn of the century was caped by King George V and Queen Mary's state visit to India (1911). We see Empire Day being celebrated throughout Britain and the Dominions. We belive that Empire Day was enthuistically celebrated during the early-1910s. We are not sure what happened after the out-break of World War I. We beleve that a lot of celebrations wre muted during the War. Despite the size and breath of the Britsh Empire, Empire Day was a rather short-lived holiday. Empire Day was not officially recognised as an annual event until 1916, but many schools across the British Empire were celebrating it before then. What ever the extent of celebration, there is no doubt that the Empire was a major factor in sustaining the British war effort during the War. The Germans lzaunched the War confident of a quick victory. If this would have occurred. the Royal Navy nd the Empire would have had little impact. But when the Germans were stopped at the Marne only a month into the War, the German plan had failed and the war would be one of attrition. And this meant that the Royal Navy and the Empire would be important factors in the War. In fact, both would be critical to the British victory. It was during the War that ar the invitatiin nof the natioanlist ledadrs that Mahatma Ghandi arroived back in India (1915). The British Empire would expand as a result of the WAr with new colonies in Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania.

The 1920s

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 weremade.

The 1930s

Here we see an Empire Day celebration in the 1930s with street floats (figure 1). New threats would appear to the Empire in both the Pacific and Europe durung the 1930. And a Britain weakened by World War I would have great diffculty in defending its empire and even itelf from those challenges. Germany and Japan would be the greatest challenge, but the Indian natioalist movement was another challenge. Mahatma Ghandi would come to Englland to negotiate with the British unsucessfully. Notive that their is no student dressed in saris as part of the grouop here (figure 1). Of all the destintive womens gowns worn by colonized peoople, surely the sari was the most beautiful and one that little girls would have loved to wear. Not to many boys would have liked to have frssed like Ghandi, but the girls would have been a whole other matter.

The 1940s

The greatest challenge to Britain and its empire would come in the 1940s. Prime-Minister Churchill was committed to the idea of Empire. It would be the ine issue that he and Roosevlt had to agree bot to suscuss because their ideas wre soi divergent. The Empite woud lay an even greater role in World War II than World War I. We do not know about Enpire Day celebrationsd during the War. Indians were by the tume of the War committed to jndeopendence. And they launched the Quit India campaign (1942). But the biggest tauma in the history of the Emoire was the ease wityh which the Japanese displaced British and other European colonial regimes. yha Indian demands and the electoral victory of the Labour Party (1945) meant that India would become independemt after the War. India was the Jeewel in the Crown and became independet (1947).

The 1950s

Indian independence was the death knoll of Emoire many other coloninies soon folloswed (1960s). With the increasing disrepute of colonalism, Empire Day ceased to be widely celebrated. A British rader writes, "Thete was no Empite Day celebrations when I was at school (1952 to 1963). Schools and businesses traders and organisations had floats.I think this was replaced with Town Carnavals more focuse on local and British history. These happened. I took part in some of them. I was dressed as a parson. In an Easter pageant I was in a team that carried the cross and we had a street drama.I van think of many examples. Preston Guild have a parade every 10 years. Clitheroe has a Folk Festival in May or June.Country dancing and plays such as George and the Dragon. Leigh has a town carnival in June. Wakefield has a Rhubarb festival in February. Ramsbottom as a Chocolate Festival. York Chocolate Festival. Lots of towns have traditional open air markets. Many towns have theme festivals ie Howarth 1940's Festival.lots of these weekend days of nostalgia. ST Anne's Kite Flying Festival. Pontefract liquorice Festival. Fleetwood Tram Festival. Tatton Park Flower show. St Anne's carnival and Family day. Kettleworth Scarecrow Festival. Morecome Vintage Festival. Ulverston Dickensian FestivalBeverley Festival of Christmas. Bath Jane Austin Festival. This year there will be lots of celebrations being held all over the UK to celebrate 70 Years of the Queen's Reign. Many of these festivals involve dressing up in costume." There was some attempt to reinvebnt Empoite Dauyb asnCommonwealth Day, but it does not seem to have been widely observed because of its imperial asociations abd the fact that the British were not all that interesred in the Commonwealth. Much of the Commonwealth does not have that good of a record. The Dominions have done well, but much of the former Empire has not. Britain certainly shares part of the blame, by the countries that have done poorly are those which have rejected what made Britain so sucessful--namely English law, meaning political freedom (democracy), and ecoonomic freedomm (capitalism).

Colonial Historical Record

The Empire was clearly exploitive, with brutality and attrocities--although minor in camparison to what was to come with the great socialist totalitarian powers of the 20th century. In our modern PC world the positive aspects of the Empire are commonly excluded from the historical record, such as the campaign to end the slave trade and ultimtely slavery. Many Indians today are unaware that institutions like democracy, elections, civil liberties, and the rule of law are part of the heritage of the British Raj. Unfortunately The Indian success with democracy was not immediately repeated in many other former colonies. There were three stunning matters that were revealed as the British abd other colonial empires weere dusmanntled, although it would take some tine vfor both colonial and colobized people to realize. First, Europans did not need empires to succeed and prosper. Second, ousting colonial rule did not automatically ressult in prosperity. Third, socailism was a failed economic system.

Created: 1:03 AM 8/15/2020
Last updated: 7:20 AM 2/23/2022