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Title:COMPO RATION DUMP; MAINTAINING RAILWAY COMMUNICATIONS IN NORTH AFRICA; FOOD FOR THE TROOPS IN TUNISIA; CANADIAN OFFICERS [Allocated Title]
Film Number:AYY 370/1/2
Other titles:BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
Summary: A ration dump situated in a cutting at the base of a hill forty miles behind the front line at Bulla Regia, from which troops collect rations daily. Men of the 150th Railway Construction Company, Royal Engineers working to repair the main railway track at Souk el Arba, Tunisia. Canadian officers and senior NCOs leaving Tunisia at Souk el Arba for England via Algiers after three months' experience in North Africa.
Description: 14 March. A panorama of the ration dump showing the valley of Souk el Arba and the mountains in the background. Native workers unload rations from two Royal Army Service Corps trucks onto a large stack. British troops superintending the unloading and stacking. Native workers carrying boxes of rations. Close-up of a man carrying a box and placing it on the dump.
15 March. A section of men working on the line, drilling, screwing and hammering with the Souk-el-Arba station building in the background. Men fastening the track to the sleepers. Close-up of two men drilling holes in the sleepers. A man finishes drilling the hole and another man inserts a screw and taps it down with a hammer. Two men turning in a screw. A rail is moved out of position by two men with crowbars. A Section of men lift a rail onto a trolley. The loaded trolley is pushed along the rails. The rail is lifted off the trolley and dropped into position on the track. The rail is adjusted and bolted.
16 March. Further scenes at the Compo dump with the 250 Pioneer Company. Rations are unloaded from a lorry and placed on the dump.
16 March. Canadian officers and NCOs transporting their baggage to the train. One Canadian carries a box of oranges as a souvenir. An officer climbs in at the other door. A box of rations is thrown onto a truck. The officer wipes his brow.
Alternative Title:BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
Production Details: War Office Film Unit (Production company)
West, J A (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, Royal Engineers, 50th Railway Construction Company (regiment/service)
British Army, Royal Army Service Corps (regiment/service)
British Army, Pioneer Corps, 250 Company (regiment/service)
Canadian Army (regiment/service)
Keywords: Bulla Regia, Tunisia (geography)
Souk el Arba, Tunisia (geography)
Tunisia 1942-1943, North Africa, Second World War (event)
North Africa 1939-1945 (theme)