The signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty at the end of June 1919 meant that a national celebration could be arranged for 19th July.

Thousands turned out to salute the returning troops as they marched through Trafalgar Square, in London. Nearly 15,000 troops took part in the march, led by the victorious Allied commanders. A concert was held in Green Park and a choir of 10,000 voices joined with the massed bands of the Brigade of Guards, in Hyde Park. The King and Queen paid a surprise visit during the afternoon.

The Honley Peace Day was one of mixed emotions for the villagers. Pleasure at the end of the war was tinged with the inevitable sadness of the number of young men who had been lost in conflict. Added to this was the feeling that enough military strength had been demonstrated over the past five years.

However, the village folks never missed an opportunity to celebrate. Banners were erected over Church Street and Market Place and bunting was strung across Westgate. An effigy of the Kaiser was placed over Ernest Dodson’s Allied Hotel in Church Street, to the amusement of passers-by.

Honleyers assembled in Market Place and walked through the streets of the village no doubt in common with citizens in many towns and cities across Britain. The happy parade then set off down ‘the gate’ to Honley Bridge. The natural destination for many would have been Hope Bank Pleasure Grounds, where entertainment awaited them.

The National Association of Discharged Sailors and Soldiers, Comrades of the Great War and the National Federation of Discharged and Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers were all established by the end of 1917. They unified to represent and support all ex-Servicemen in May 1921. They, too, held a celebratory walk through the village on 16th August, 1919.