16/09/2026
We're pleased that we have been short listed for the Cinema for All Single Event Award 2026. This was for our event in June 2026, at the Working Class Movement Library (WCML) in Salford, centred around a screening of Love on the Dole, to celebrate 100 years of Salford as a City, just a few years before the Society started.
We chose this venue because the Society’s archive is housed at WCML. We hoped the event would bring together members of the Society, Friends of the Library and local residents to celebrate a joint inheritance. The Society itself was launched in 1930 with a show at the Princes Cinema on Liverpool Street, Salford, and has continued to promote world cinema in the North West. We have nominated one of our founders Reg Cordwell for inclusion in the list of 100 local heroes, created to mark the centenary of Salford’s status as a city.
Before the film Oliver Lomax performed a number of his poems
which were funny, poignant and engaging by turns. He read a poem especially written for the occasion, which was very special as it combined his own experiences with the theme of the film.
Love on the Dole is set in Salford in 1930, and reflects incidents experienced by the founders of both the Society and the WCML. A clash between the police and demonstrators in October 1931 at Bexley Square, the centre-piece of the film was witnessed by Reg who was knocked over by a police-horse in the protest The source-novel by Walter Greenwood was published only two years after these events. This was followed by a highly popular theatrical adaptation by Ronald Gow, who is commemorated by a plaque on his home in Altrincham town centre, close to where the Society’s screenings take place.
After the film we had a chance to look at the Society's archive which was fascinating. We also had a chance to chat with other people attending the event and enjoy a delicious buffet. I can't wait to go back to the WCML again to look at the archive and other amazing items they hold.
