WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 30 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 30 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 30
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'LYBIA.' (sic) British armoured troops run to their vehicles from a desert dugout. The tank commanders hold an impromptu meeting and maps are consulted. Tank crews board their A9 Cruiser tanks at the start of a patrol in the vicinity of Tobruk. Matilda Mk II tanks move in a line-abreast formation across rough desert terrain. Commentary points out that British tank numbers are steadily increasing in the Western Desert and that they are ready to face the German panzer divisions. II. 'NEWS FROM LONDON ; THE KING INSPECTS ARMOURED DIVISIONS.' King George VI inspects a division of the Royal Armoured Corps (Eastern Command). The King is met by General Sir Alan Brooke (Chief of the Imperial General Staff) and Lieutenant-General Sir Gifford Martel (Commander Royal Armoured Corps). The Royal party retires to a raised viewing podium as massed armoured crews stand to attention in front of their vehicles. The mixed armoured and reconnaissance force is reviewed by the King from the back of a lend-lease White 4x4 M3A1 scout car. Vehicles reviewed by King George VI include Matilda MkII tanks, Daimler Mk I armoured cars, and A9 Cruiser tanks (The reviewing location and date may possibly be Lakenheath in Suffolk on 12 December 1941). The King's scout car moves past scores of Universal Carriers, field tractors and QF 25-pounder field guns. An aerial view of the proceedings shows the extent of the massed armoured force below. The combined mobile force sets out on a drive-past of the reviewing podium. Artillery tractors (Ford FGT 4x4 ?) towing limbers and field guns drive past the podium, as Universal Carriers and motorcycle troops bring up the rear. III. 'SPITZBERGEN EXPEDITION.' A combined force of Allied troops raid the Norwegian island of Spitzbergen (Royal Navy Force K under Vice-Admiral Sir Philip Vian, 31st July 1941). Commentary stresses that the war has by-passed the islands until now as they are at such a Northerly latitude. British troops arrive in what appears to be an armed trawler as resident Norwegians and guest Russian coal miners unload rations and equipment from the ships. Explosives are loaded onto a narrow gauge railway locomotive which sets off to its destination. The raiding party apparently consists of British, Canadian and Norwegian infantry. Panoramic views of snow capped mountains on Bear Island with an isolated radio station and transmitting mast in the foreground. Commentary states that the radio station is the most Northerly in the world, and that it provides vital meteorological information to the Germans. Canadian sappers lay explosive charges on the radio mast and adjacent buildings which are totally destroyed in the resultant explosions. A Canadian sapper takes cover from falling debris as he views his handiwork. Norwegian and Russian civilians wait to board a naval landing craft (LCA) in order to leave with the Allied raiding party. British infantry dressed in artillery style leather jerkins carry petrol cans up a massive pile of coal. The troops construct strategically placed ignition points around the coal dump, which are then ignited using phosphorus grenades. The slagheap smoulders as the Allied troops prepare to leave. Commentary points out that one hundred and fifty thousand tons of coal was destroyed in the raid. A thick pall of dense black smoke hangs in the sky as the fires take hold. Back on board the ships, civilians and soldiers mingle as Norwegian children play on the decks. A Norwegian national flag flies as dusk falls over the fjords.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 30
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1941-11-03
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor) War Pictorial News (Production company) Martin, Charles (Production individual) Keating, Rex1910-02-142005-01British newsreel commentator, WW2 period (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: George VI, King (person) Brooke, Alan Francis (person) Martel, Giffard Le Quesne (person)
  • Keywords: ceremonies, British - customary (object name) operations, British military - sortie (object name) refugees, Norwegian - flight (object name) operations, British military - mines: laying (object name) operations, British military - amphibious (object name) Second World War, Norway & Spitzbergen Expedition & 8/9/1941 (event) Norway & Spitzbergen (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: English Subtitle language: French & Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 660 ft; Running time: 7 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 30

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