The Officers
The Officers
In the 1919 film the Officers were shown mustering in line before the start of the parade, and are seen later chivvying and organising the ranks, all very much in good humour and with a definite holiday spirit. Even as they pose for the panning shot below (reworked into a composite picture for this webpage) some of them dissolve into laughter as one arrives late and sprints across the shot to his place.
Captain W. Aldworth
You may notice that in the panning shot above one man is standing a half-step forward in front of the others, and also is generally taking the whole proceeding rather more seriously than the rest. (Number 6.) He also carries a riding crop.
According to the North Berks Herald (9th August 1919) "The men who had served mustered..under the command of Capt. W. Aldworth, Essex Regt., an Abingdon man who was serving in India with the 2nd Royal Berks when war was declared, and after receiving rapid promotion during the operations was recently invested by the King with the Distinguished Service Order." The Herald also notes that he was mounted so he is easy to spot when he reappears in the film as the parade sets off and again as the parade passes the new memorial, where he salutes smartly, but on both occasions he seems to be having a little trouble controlling his horse. It was passed down in the family that he and the horse had only met that day!
Captain Aldworth certainly was an Abingdon man. His family included parents William and Charlotte and numerous brothers and sisters, shown here in this family portrait from before the war. The family lived at 15 West St Helen Street. Our Captain, William, or Bill, can be seen in the close-up - he had already started working on the impressive moustache! Two of the young men in this photo had died in the War in 1918, and one had lost his leg, so this Homecoming Parade must have been a day of mixed emotions for this family as for so many.
Other Officers
Again according to the Herald "the officers included Capt. H. A. L. Donkin, M. C., Lieuts. Thorburn, G. H. G. Shepherd, J. G. Shepherd, Hyde Parker, A. L. Lewis (R. A. F.), H. V. Ellison, C. Viney, N. Chivers, O. E. Cullen, V. Whitehead, and others. We have 13 shown in the shot above and only 12 names including Aldworth so one name is missing.
It is interesting that some of the officer names are also the names above some of the town centre shops. Families that ran well-established retail businesses appear to also have been families that expected their sons to be leaders rather than rank and file. In the film we see Shepherd & Simpson and Viney Brothers, both on East St Helen Street. The name Cullen is linked to several shops in Stert Street.
Putting Names to Faces
From this article we were able to identify Capt. H.A.L. Donkin as our officer number 5 above. He is the only other officer described as a Captain, so probably next in rank to the leader, and it therefore makes sense to find him standing at the right hand of Capt. Aldworth in the line-up and apparently taking a leading position in the parade as it sets off. He was decorated (Military Cross) but seems to have been someone who was quick to find the humorous side of any situation.
Capt. H.A.L. Donkin turns up a few more times in the film if you watch closely, as do the other officers. They are busy in the Market Place ensuring that the men form up correctly into the "hollow square" formation in front of the County Hall ready for the men's speech. At this point we can see that Donkin now has the riding crop which has presumably been handed to him when Aldworth dismounted to join the Mayor's group under the County Hall arches.
