36TH DIVISION OPERATIONS BEFORE PINBAW [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: 36TH DIVISION OPERATIONS BEFORE PINBAW [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: JFU 144
  • Other titles: BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: A convoy of jeeps sets out to resupply 36th Division at Mogaung via the Ledo Road before the village of Pinbaw is shelled and cleared by British troops.
  • Description: Part 1: Jeeps with trailers cross a Bailey bridge. A sign reads 'Speeders beware! Mark my words / Wait and see / You'll get caught / Just like me' and gives the speed limit as 25mph next to an image of a naked woman covering herself with a towel. Motor vehicles drive up a steep slope with a tented camp in the distance. Jeep drive along a hillside road; the slope has been revetted with logs and stakes to prevent slippage. Jeeps on a wide road with trees either side. Shot of a very long bridge, apparently still under construction, with a pontoon bridge alongside. Motor transport cross the pontoon bridge. A jeep, towing a trailer, turns off the road and crosses rutted ground. Tents can be seen in background. A second jeep follows; it is marked with the insignia of 36th Division (two overlapping rings) and has 'Military Police' written on the bumper. Two officers talking; one appears to be wearing overalls and the other, sitting in a jeep, has a 36th Division patch on his hat but appears to be wearing RAF wings on his shirt. Further he wears a non-RAF rank badge on his epaulette which appears to be a crown or coat of arms. The man in overalls salutes him. Jeeps leave camp followed by various views of jeeps on dusty hillside roads. Shots of two roadsigns which both feature pictures of women; the first reads 'Go Easy On The Curves' and the second 'I Love My Soldier - Drive Carefully. Speed limit 25mph'. Jeeps are loaded onto rafts. A jeep is reversed onto a raft. A log is tied across the barge to keep the jeep in position. A trailer is loaded aboard. Part 2: Abandoned wooden carts, possibly Japanese artillery limbers. Men advancing through the abandoned village of Pinbaw; their posture is heavily stooped as if expecting action. One checks underneath a house built on stilts while two others go to check a ramshackle shelter or bunker. Men advance cautiously beneath a building. An Ordnance 3.7-inch Mountain Howitzer is manhandled into a firing position in thick undergrowth at Pinlon. Series of good views of the howitzer being loaded and fired. Panning view of Pinbaw with shattered trees and damaged buildings. Second view of Pinbaw; a dog wanders around in the middle distance. Soldiers board an assault boat to cross a river. One man in British uniform appears to have an American M1 Garand rifle, rarely seen in use by British troops and usually only in Commando units. The boat is hauled across and men step ashore. Men file along a track. A battalion conference hosted by an unnamed Lieutenant-Colonel; one of the officers attending has a 29th Brigade patch on his bush hat. View of the colonel's map. A jeep crosses the river seen earlier. The jeep gets bogged down; a British brigadier and an American soldier stand on the bonnet of the jeep along with a small black dog. The brigadier wades across the river. The jeep is hauled out. A large American howitzer (M114 155mm?) crewed by Chinese gunners, is loaded and fired several times. American trucks tow 3.7-inch howitzers along a muddy road. Close-up of truck wheels squelching through mud. Column of jeeps. The jeeps negotiate rutted roads.
  • Alternative Title: BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: JFU 144
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-08-18 1944-08-19 1944-08-20 1944-08-21 1944-08-22 1944-08-23 1944-08-24 1944-08-26 1944-08-27 1944-08-28
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: War Office Directorate of Public Relations (Production sponsor) SEAC Film Unit (Production company) Govan, Harold WilliamBritish Army sergeant-cameraman with South East Asia Command Film Unit (British) and No.9 Army Film & Photographic Unit, formerly Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), service number 7662913, BEM in London Gazette 37576 published 21 May 1946, pg 2. (Production individual) Park, RolandArmy Film and Photo Unit/SEAC Film Unit cameraman/photographer. (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, 36th Division (regiment/service) British Army, 29th Infantry Brigade (regiment/service) Northern Combat Area Command (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: Pinbaw, Burma (geography) Operations in Northern Burma 1943-1945, Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event) India 1939-1945 (theme) British Army 1939-1945 (theme)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 933 ft; Running time: 11 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    JFU 144

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    Documents.5834 (System.Xml.XmlElement)
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