Glimpse history through old images of Crewe, Cheshire, England.
Step back in time with these old images of Crewe in Cheshire, as recorded by filmmakers in the 20th century.
Royal Visit 1928
It’s just a 20 second clip of Princess Mary arriving for her visit to the Crewe Memorial Hospital, but we see glimpses of many staff, children and spectators.
ROYAL: Princess Mary visits Crewe Memorial Hospital (1928): British Pathé (YouTube)
Royal Visit 1940
When King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the parents of Queen Elizabeth II) visited Crewe in 1940, it was wartime. Therefore, many of the men and women in this footage are in uniform. There are very few men present in the crowds of cheering spectators.
King And Queen Visit Crewe – 1940 (1940): British Pathé (YouTube)
Railway Training School 1955
Crewe produced its first railway locomotive in 1943. More than a hundred years later, the newsreels recorded apprentices busy at their railway training school.
Amongst the teenage lads on screen, we see:
- Peter Jones from Nantwich at the lathe
- Fred Nicholls from Crewe scraping a casting
- David Clewes making a core box with chisel
- Kevin Bradley from Crewe pouring from test tube into beaker
Railway Training School (1955): British Pathé (YouTube)
Royal Visit 1962
In 1962, Princess Margaret visited the Rolls Royce factory, where a small crowd stood waiting to greet her. Some good close up shots of local women and children here and we see lots of factory workers inside later on.
Princess Margaret, Lord Snowdon (Anthony Armstrong-Jones) and Dr. Llewellyn-Smith are some of the notables included in this silent footage. Also features an extraordinary hat.
Princess Margaret Visits Rolls Royce Factory At Crewe (1962): British Pathé
