How did British people celebrate Empire Day?

Empire Day was a day of national celebration for Britain and her colonies. It took place on the 24th May every year between 1904 and The Empire Movement was spearheaded by the Earl of Meath who became a close personal friend of Baden- Powell leader of the scout movement.

Consider the four watchwords of the Empire Movement from the poster above and discuss their relevance for the early Twentieth century and today.

Study the 15 points for British citizens to observe in the poster above and discuss which you consider are still relevant to society today.

Empire Day was usually celebrated by patriotic gatherings, public luncheons, church services and special ceremonies in all state schools in the Commonwealth. The photograph above shows crowds gathered in the Market Place, Romsey, to listen to speeches about civic duty the Empire. Discuss what types of public gatherings take place today and if they are made up of people from any particular social class. Does the photograph above reveal anything about the make-up of this crowd?

This photograph shows a typical Empire Day scene around 1910 of people wearing patriotic outfits and carrying flags. Discuss in what situations today people would be seen either carrying flags or wearing clothing designed from flags such as the Union Flag, St George’s, St Andrew’s, St David’s or St Patrick’s. What do these flags symbolise for people today compared with the early part of the last century? Discuss what you think it meant in the past and today be ‘patriotic’.