Pontypridd Armistice Day Parade and Service 1952 and Coronation Festivities 1953

‘The Brave Don’t Cry’ shouts a poster advertising a film of the title, as Pontypridd citizens march past, commemorating the dead of WW1 and II. By contrast, the Coronation is fun.

Commemoration and celebration. Pontypridd remembers the dead of two world wars with a parade/service with the band of the 5th Battalion The Welch Regiment (Territorial Army) and the unveiling of a WWII plaque on the town’s WW1 memorial. Coronation celebrations call for formality and fun and Pontypridd rises to the challenge with a 21 Gun Salute, a carnival with fancy dress procession, fun races, tug-of-war, jazz bands/majorettes and the lighting of Coronation beacons.

Shot by amateur film-maker, motor-cycle enthusiast and member of Cardiff Ciné Society, Evan Morgan of Pontypridd. The original memorial commemorating servicemen slaughtered in WW1 and WWII gave no names but in 2011 a Roll of Honour was unveiled in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd, listing the actual names of all the servicemen from Pontypridd who died in the two world wars and subsequent wars.