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| Chaplin addressing the crowd at Plymouth. Photo courtesy of Dominique Dugros. |
Chaplin attended the open-air Thanksgiving service, held at the place where the Pilgrims embarked on their voyage to America, as the guest of Lady Nancy Astor, who represented Plymouth as a member of Parliament. So dense was the crowd to see Chaplin that women and children were pushed to the edge of the Fish Quay, the scene of the service, causing one ten-year-old boy to fall 20ft into the sea (he was quickly recovered by another man who jumped in to save him). Ten thousand people crowded around a truck bed that was used as a platform. On the truck stood, Chaplin, Lady Astor, and the Bishop of Plymouth. Astor asked Chaplin to address her constituents. Holding a megaphone, Chaplin told the crowd that he sympathized with fisherman in their arduous work. "Still, we all have our tribulations," he said. "Even millionaires have their tribulations, and we must just put up with them."1 Chaplin went on to tell his fellow countrymen that "the more I see of England,* the more I love her. But the only thing I can do for her is to make her laugh."2 After the speeches, Chaplin did some tricks with his bowler hat much to the delight of the audience. Later, he danced with Lady Astor, "enjoyed himself in a barn dance, and delighted several partners."3
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| Chaplin with Lady Astor, right, and Toraichi Kono, left, in Plymouth, November 1931. |
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1The Times (London), November 16, 1931
2Milwaukee Sentinel, November 16, 1931
3The Indian Review, Vol. 33, 1932
*This was Chaplin's second visit to England (and to Plymouth) during his 1931-32 world tour. He arrived in Plymouth from New York aboard the Mauretania on Feb. 19th, 1931. On February 27th, he attended the London premiere of City Lights (his guests were Lord & Lady Astor & George Bernard Shaw). After spending most of the year in the south of France, he returned to England in September 1931. It was during this second visit that he met Gandhi (on Sept. 22). Learn more about Chaplin's time in England (& other exotic locales) in my World Tour Revisited series or in the newly published A Comedian Sees The World, Chaplin's 1933 account of his world tour.