WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 121 [Main Title]

Log in to create clips, download free screeners and save clips/films in Collections. Click here to find out more.

  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 121 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 121
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'AROUND THE WORLD-PERSIA.' Iranian infantry goose-step in formation at a military review. An Iranian Army communications team use a cumbersome two man shoulder-carried radio transmitter during mountain exercises. A radio message is received by a radio operator in a small tented communications centre which has a large frame aerial erected. A detachment of Iranian Household Cavalry, described as the flower of the Iranian Army, demonstrate their horsemanship by jumping hurdles with drawn sabres. Iranian infantry supported by (CKD/Praga) TNH light tanks run across rough ground during tank affiliation exercises. The commentary stresses the efficiency and war-like qualities of the Iranian Army. II. 'THE LEVANT.' Levantine field workers use hand scythes to cut corn as the commentary outlines the work of the Anglo-French OCP organisation that was formed to regulate production and distribution of cereals in Lebanon and Syria. Arab grain producers congregate in the yard of an OCP depot as British and French Army officers check the quality of the produce. Soft-skinned vehicles are loaded with sacks of flour, produced by the OCP's own mills. Arab workers stack grain sacks in vaulted store that also houses grain sifting machinery. Panoramic views show the Homs Aqueduct and waterwheel in Syria. Bare chested miners working for a South African mining company emplace wooden props in a Syrian mine shaft near the Litani River. The commentary highlights the work of the Allies in developing efficient irrigation systems as part of an overall programme to turn the Middle East into a self-sufficient cereal crop producing area. A Spears Mission mobile clinic is driven to a remote Syrian region, where waiting patients at risk from malarial infection, receive medical examinations and treatment. III. 'INDIA.' Panoramic views show the rugged and mountainous territory of the Punjab. Sikh mine workers carrying bitumen torches file into the entrance of a salt mine. A Punjabi mine worker uses hydraulic jacks to secure the roof of the mine shaft. A rock salt crystal is displayed in close up. Fragments of rock salt are loaded into mining carriages and towed away by mules. Other carriages are pulled by chain creeper to sorting depots. Container tubs holding the rock salt are placed into unloading machinery that turns the tubs on their horizontal axis, dropping the rock salt onto conveyor belts. The rock salt is then loaded by wheelbarrow onto waiting railway carriages. IV. 'AUSTRALIA.' Female volunteers wearing sun hats tend vines in Queensland, Australia. Cut bunches of grapes are loaded into the rear of a horse-drawn carriage. Elsewhere, in a region of tobacco cultivation male field workers use a mechanical pump to draw water from a river, The flow of the water is directed to the required spot by tin irrigation channels. Field workers harvest tobacco leaves which are later taken to a curing barn for drying. Female volunteers take dried tobacco leaves from the curing barn to start the cigarette manufacturing process. Interior views at an Australian ordnance factory show the lining of an 8-in gun barrel being recast in a fifty foot deep furnace. The newly cast lining is quickly transported by overhead hoist to a cooling oil bath. Male factory workers use a very large lathe during the production of 4-in naval guns. A male factory worker tests the traverse mechanism of a newly completed 4-in gun.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 121
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1943-08-30
  • 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 cast)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Iranian Army, Household Cavalry (regiment/service) Spears Mission (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: agriculture, Syrian - arable (object name) medical, Syrian civilian - preventative (object name) medical, Lebanese civilian - preventative (object name) combat [simulated], Iranian (object name) communications, Iranian military - electronic (object name) agriculture, Syrian - arable (object name) medical, Syrian civilian - preventative (object name) medical, Lebanese civilian - preventative (object name) industry, Indian - primary: salt mining (object name) agriculture, Australian - tropical (object name) industry, Australian - munitions (object name) Australia & Qld (geography) Iran (geography) Syria & Homs area (geography) Lebanon (geography) India & Punjab (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 924 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 121

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
Register