The annual Lord Mayor’s Show was always a popular part of the calendar in the 1960s with inventive and colourful floats advertising various organisations, businesses and industries. This one dates from May 1965 when William Jenkins held the position and there are many more held within the Digital Film Archive, including amateur footage shot in colour.
A
German sailor can be seen in the crowd at one point. There had been controversy
that year when one of the councillors refused to attend if the German sailors
were taking part in the procession. This was in contrast to the very warm
welcome extended to Queen Elizabeth II on a tour of West Germany at the same
time. In the end, the Germans withdrew from the parade. While the behaviour of
the councillor drew widespread condemnation in the letters pages of the Belfast
Telegraph, it goes to show that the Second World War was still an emotional
subject twenty years later.