WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 78 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 78 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 78
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
  • Description: I. 'NEWS FROM ENGLAND.' British Prime Minister Winston Spencer Churchill reviews a civil service battalion of the Home Guard made up from Whitehall offices. Churchill inspects a guard of honour armed with Lee-Enfield Mk III .303-in rifles and then gives a speech (live) honouring the dedication of the million and three-quarter men who do their regular work but at the same time are available at very short notice to fight for hearth and home. Members of the Home Guard are drawn up on a parade ground near St James's Park (Wellington Barracks ?) waiting to march past a podium with Churchill standing on it. Churchill takes the salute as hundreds of members of the Home Guard march past. II. 'CHURCHILLS IN LANDING PRACTICE.' A Churchill Mk II tank (2-pounder gun and full mudguards) is reversed up the embarkation ramp of Royal Navy (RN) Tank Landing Craft (TLC) 126 in anticipation of tank landing exercises at an undisclosed location in the British Isles. The commentary outlines the need for timing, practice and training if any combined operation is to be a success. TLC 163 is shown at sea, and unidentified tank landing craft make for a suitable landing spot in a sheltered bay. British infantry wade ashore from LCA's (Landing Craft Assault) carrying personal weapons, supplies and stretchers. A Universal Carrier drives off the disembarkation ramp of TLC 163 and past an emplaced Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun. The commentary states that Britain knows that victory is not yet in sight but that she can take justifiable pride in the design and building of new weapons such as the Churchill tank. A Churchill Mk II tank (2-pounder gun) negotiates the soft sand of the landing area as it heads inland in support of advancing infantry contingents. III. 'THE EIGHTH ARMY ATTACKS.' British and French national flags fly as General Harold R L G Alexander decorates the Free French defenders of Bir Hacheim. High ranking Free French officers look on as Alexander decorates a member of the French Foreign Legion. Following the awards ceremony members of the Foreign Legion perform a march past armed with Lee-Enfield No 4 .303-in rifles and Fusil-Mitrailleur mle 1924/1929 7.5mm light machine guns. Soft-skinned vehicles tow Canon de 75 mle 1897 artillery pieces (pneumatic tyres, no shields) as they drive past the reviewing podium. The commentary introduces the activities of the first Greek contingent involved in the fighting in North Africa over views of Greek Army Engineering officers consulting maps and using a theodolite in a desert terrain. Greek infantry dig defensive positions in the desert as a Greek gun crew man an Ordnance 25-pounder howitzer under the cover of camouflage netting. A Greek infantry contingent march past a torn Greek flag as the commentary states "The flag of Greece may be torn but the spirit of her people is undaunted." Elsewhere, General Bernard Law Montgomery awards Sergeant Keith Elliott of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force with the Victoria Cross for his heroic actions against enemy machine gun posts at Ruweisat, Egypt. Following the awards ceremony the guard of honour present arms. A retrospective look at the start of the Second Battle of El Alamein follows, using stock shot material that includes an artillery barrage by Ordnance 25-pounder howitzers, British infantry in the desert and a bombing mission carried out by Allied North American B-25 Mitchell bombers.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 78
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1942-11-02
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor) War Pictorial News (Production company) Martin, Charles (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer (person) Alexander, Harold (1st Earl Alexander of Tunis) (person) Montgomery, Bernard Law (person) Elliott, Keith (Sergeant) (person) New Zealand Army (regiment/service) Free French Forces (regiment/service) Hellenic Army (regiment/service) British Army, Home Guard, Civil Service Battalion (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: training, British military (object name) prisoners of war, Italian - movement (object name) prisoners of war, German - movement (object name) casualties, German dead - battlefield (object name) Second World War, North African Campaign & El Alamein, Battle of & 23/10/1942 (event) Egypt & Western Desert (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: French & Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 943 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 78

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