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The original Anglican Maundy ceremony celebrated Jesus washing the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper, and involved senior clerics washing the feet of more junior churchmen. The practice of the monarch handing out money to the poor dates back to at least Edward II in the early 14th Century. From the end of the 18th Century, the money - a value of silver pennies given to a number of men and women equivalent to the age of the monarch - was distributed on the monarch's behalf, until George V assumed personal responsibility in 1932.
In 1917, George V was 52 years old, meaning 52 men and 52 women each received 52 pennies in specially minted 1, 2, 3 and 4 penny silver coins at a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Puzzlingly, the titles of this Topical Budget item talk of "Notes being substituted for gold [sic] for the first time", even though recipients are seen displaying their coins after the ceremony.
Mark Duguid
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Complete film (1:00)
