The way we were

Mule spinning in one of Oldham’s many mills in 1919

Oldham people will be able to travel back in time and see the town as it was at a North West Film Archive premiere.

The showing of “Oldham on Film” at the Blue Coat School, on March 30, features a series of recordings which explore the lives, industries and celebrations of the town throughout the 20th century.

They feature travel by train through the mills and chimneys of Oldham, right into the heart of the cotton trade in 1919 — and how the raw cotton was spun into thread and woven into cloth.

Highlights include the borough’s centenary celebrations in Alexandra Park and the wakes fair of 1949.

See how some of the locals prepared for their holidays with the help of the police, and join the revellers at the 1963 Oldham Carnival.

In more modern times the film shows the arrival of the world’s first trest tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978, in a BBC news item of the day.

The North West Film Archive is based at Manchester Metropolitan University.

The showing, at 7pm, is in aid of the Friends of Blue Coat, and as the Archive’s service manager Marion Hewitt said: “This is a great opportunity for the people of the Oldham area to enjoy an evening with a difference, and take a look back at life in their borough in the past century.”

The show will be presented by the Archive’s collections assistant, Geoff Senior.

Tickets are £4 and can be obtained in advance from the Egerton Street school or by calling 0161-624 1484.