Saturday 8 October 2011

A living flag




The Sepia Saturday post for this week has a group of women holding banners.  Banners put me in mind of flags, and of this card with people forming a "living Union Jack".  Then I found two more.  I thought they marked the same occasion but it turns out that forming a living flag was quite popular at that time.  The first marked Empire Day (now Commonwealth Day) in 1911 and the second two marked the Royal Visit to Bristol in 1912.

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14 comments:

  1. Oh this is just simply fabulous! I always am so impressed when a large number of people get-together and make these kinds of statements....! Thanks!

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  2. Great postcards, it must have taken some discipline and organisation to get all the children lined up!

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  3. Amazing postcards. From the first one, it is clear that they actually were dressed in the colors rather than holding up placards as is common today. I wonder if each of those outfits was home-made? The colors all seem to match perfectly.

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  4. Is there any clue to where the flag was formed in Bristol? One of my sons lives there.
    Holding placards seems a cheat when you see a scene like this.

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  5. @Karen, it must have looked very impressive.

    @Lisa, yes, how do you stop them running riot. :)

    @Liz, I suspect there was colour added to the picture later.

    @Bob, somewhere in the back of my mind I have Clifton as the venue. I'm sure I read that when I was trying to find out more but now I can't find the link.

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  6. Think how boring this event is for the Germans and the French. The asymmetry of the Union Jack most be especially challenging. Something for the 2012 London Olympics?

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  7. @Mike, I hadn't thought of that! :) There are some very simple flags around, now that I think of it.

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  8. I guess this sort of event has been replaced by the placard-waving efforts of the communist-era rallies, and more recently the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and various World Cup events. Eventually it all begins to get much the same, and I think perhaps it would be nice to return to this sort of participation, slight less polished, perhaps, but more human.

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  9. I really admire this kind of picture of human that represents a symbol or a name, never saw it on postcard before. Thanks for the share Sheila.

    Grace

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  10. Wow! Thanks for sharing these with us. This is one thing that I love about S.S., I get to see things that I wouldn't even otherwise think about.

    Take care,

    Kathy M.

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  11. What a lot of time and effort must have gone into coordinating an event such as this back then. Great card!!

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  12. I always appreciate seeing anything made by the assembly of live people and this one was really great.
    Odie

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  13. Fascinating : and a perfect example of how colour can enhance an early postcard.

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  14. I have one card with a living U.S. flag and would like to find more.

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