Oddfellows Procession in St Helens (c.1901)

Members of this Friendly Society stream past the camera.

Before the rise of trade unions and the arrival of the welfare state, membership of a mutual Friendly Society, such as the Oddfellows, provided some protection for families against illness and injury. The bowler-hatted and sash-wearing members of the St Helens order march past, but the young spectators, ushered out of view by an umbrella-prodding commissioner, are more interested in the camera.