Description: The first scene shows the mayor in his office. A secretary walks in and the mayor signs some letters followed by a close up of him signing a letter and blotting it. A soldier opens a cupboard and retrieves the mayor's ceremonial robes and regalia, and then helps the mayor to put them on. The mayor stands at his desk and in full regalia and smiles at the camera. We see an exterior shot of the mayor and officials leaving the Town Hall, followed by Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, Air Raid Wardens etc.They cross a road. The next shot is an interior of what appears to be a church hall where a church service seems to be occurring. They then leave the hall and are seen to enter another building. The mayor is seen outside the building talking to various people and a young boy.
Colour: A close up of the may in his robes and chains of office followed by shots a woman and children (his family) smiling at the camera.
Comments
(Alderman) George NORMAN Shackleton b.1895 - d.1973, his wife Beatrice Adelaide Louise (Louie) Shackleton b.1895 d.1969, his daughter Doreen Louise Shackleton b. 1928 and son Brian Norman Shackleton b. 1936.
The film is the occasion of the Mayoral Civic Service (presumably Nov 1940 as the term ran from November for a year). The procession assembled and left from Heston Senior School and walked just across the road to Heston Methodist Church. This was the family church of the Shackletons, where Norman Shackleton was a Trustee and Church Treasurer.
Louie Shackleton had become severely hard of hearing some ten years before the Mayoral year but despite this major handicap was fully supportive of Norman in his civic engagements. Because it was war-time this involved attendance at a large number of fundraising events in support of some branch or other of war effort charities.
Because of the scarcity of petrol there was no mayoral car. The family cycled to these civic duties - three bicycles ridden by Norman, Louie and Doreen, with Brian in a special seat attached to the back of his Dad's bike.
Norman worked in the Civil Service and became Secretary of the Boot and Shoe Benevolent Society. He was the son of George Shackleton, who before retirement had a draper's shop in Hounslow High Street. Norman's brother, Aubrey was a dispensing chemist, with chemists shops on Hounslow High Street, Lampton and Heston. George lived at 1 Sutton Rd, Heston and Norman and family next door at number 3. In September 1940, on the first day of daylight raids, at lunchtime a bomb was dropped on the semi-detached houses. Aubrey, who was visiting his father at the time, sadly was killed and the houses were damaged beyond repair.