British Pathé – Eleanor Roosevelt’s Tour Of Northern Ireland (1942)

Eleanor Roosevelt's tour of Northern Ireland took place on 10th-11th November 1942. The First Lady spent much of her time with US Forces in Co. Londonderry.

Eleanor Roosevelt's tour of Northern Ireland lasted 2 days in November 1942. She landed at Langford Lodge Airfield, Co. Antrim and from there began her journey to Derry/Londonderry via Belfast and Hillsborough.

This video contains no sound, however the accompanying text description contains several errors. The General Hospital in the film is in Belfast, Co. Antrim and had recently come under American control. Rather than a “sabre” and an “umbrella”, Mrs. Roosevelt receives gifts of a shillelagh and a blackthorn stick from the Belfast Telegraph. This came after a visit to the US Navy Repair Yard in Derry/Londonderry, which is referred to as “a factory” in the video description.

Part of her visit to Derry was to the famous city walls. Here, she learned about the history of the famous Siege of Derry. Her position looking out over the Bogside area of the city is incorrectly guessed as “on a rooftop” by archivists. After this, she attended the memorial service at the city war memorial in Derry/Londonderry rather than in Belfast, Co. Antrim.

From Derry, she boarded a plane and departed for Scotland. Find out more about Eleanor Roosevelt in Northern Ireland.