New Documentary about Cecil Wedgwood and Wedgwood Factory Workers

Award winning Stoke-on-Trent film makers, Inspired Film and Video are producing a documentary film and accompanying exhibition about Cecil Wedgwood and the men from the Wedgwood factory who went to fight in the Great War for The Wedgwood Museum.

The film will be presented by Tom Wedgwood and follows his personal journey as he discovers more about his Great, Great Uncle Cecil and the men who followed his lead, leaving their jobs as skilled potters to fight the enemy.

Tom Wedgwood said: “The sacrifice made by these men and the impact that they had, not only on the Wedgwood factory but also on the community is critical to our understanding of the bloodiest conflict of the twentieth century.

“It is vital that we document this important chapter from history at the Wedgwood Museum and, by creating the replica medallions, we have found a unique way of funding the project.

“Inspired Film and Video are renowned for their work in the documentary arena and we are delighted to have found a partner based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, the home of Wedgwood and the Potteries.”

Original peace medallions were given to survivors and relatives of the men who lost their lives.

Cecil Wedgwood (1863-1916) was a towering figure in North Staffordshire history and is celebrated as a war hero, chairman of the iconic Wedgwood brand and the first Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent.

Having previously seen service in the Boer War, Wedgwood volunteered to raise his own battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment and shunned the chance of a strategic role to personally lead his men in the trenches of World War One.

Major Wedgwood died during the Battle of the Somme while leading a battalion drawn primarily from workers at the Wedgwood factory in Stoke-on-Trent.

His last words were said to be “Forward North Staffords” as he stood facing the enemy in the heat of battle. Surviving members of the regiment paid tribute by writing “One of England’s Best” on a wooden cross at his grave in the Baupaeme Post Military Cemetery at La Boiselle.

Meanwhile, a unique replica of a peace medal awarded by the Wedgwood pottery company to honour workers who served in World War One has gone on sale for the first time. Funds from the sale of the Wedgwood Peace Medallions will help to fund a film commissioned by the Wedgwood Museum to commemorate former company chairman, Major Cecil Wedgwood, and the soldiers who fought alongside him in the Battle of the Somme.