Title:CHRISTMAS ON THE INDO-BURMA BORDER [Allocated Title]
Film Number:JFU 228
Other titles:BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
Summary: British soldiers of XV Corps celebrate Christmas 1944 on the Teknaf Peninsula on the Indo-Burma border.
Description: A man leaves a tent; he carries a bugle. Close-up of the bugler playing. A flag blowing in the wind is emblazoned with 'Commando' across the top and 'Primus Inter Pares' ('First among equals') below (the design on the flag is possibly a salamander in flames, the badge of No. 1 Commando). Views of a tented camp. A man dips a small bag into a pot on a stove while another pokes the embers with a long pole. A man wearing a beret with grenade cap badge, pair of shorts and a large kukri on his belt carries a mug and bucket across camp towards camera. He goes into a tent and shouts something; a bald head emerges from behind a mosquito net and the man sticks a cigarette into his mouth before filling the mug from the bucket. A sign reads 'Field Post Office' and the camera pans to an open-sided tent. Interior tent; two men at work with pin-up girls on the walls in the background. One of them takes down a small card calendar and changes the date to Monday 25 December. Outside seated men peel potatoes with close-up on one of them. A sign reads 'No sniping this is your Xmas dinner'. The sign hangs on a wire fence enclosing a team of ducks. A number of men attempt to catch them. A man carrying a duck hands it over to another who, rather ominously, brandishes a machete. Men leaving their tents. A sign reads 'YMCA' (Young Men's Christian Association). Two men look at a blackboard that reads 'Ask here for Monopoly/Totopoly/Chess/Draughts/Dominoes/Cards/Ludo/Darts/Carrom'. Group of men walking through camp; they cross a small wooden bridge over a ditch and walk towards the cookhouse. A sign reads 'Christmas Programme' and lists the various activities for the week from 23 December ('Whist Drive') to 1 January ('Scotch Night') including a carol service, the King's Speech and a concert party. A group of men are entertained by the antics of a small trained monkey. Interior tent; men play darts. Men playing Monopoly. More footage of men watching the monkey; it does cartwheels on command. Sign reads 'The Burma Border Bar'; men stand outside with mugs. Men clink their mugs together. Men pose with a captured Japanese flag. Open-air kitchen; two men prepare a cake mixture while another weighs something on a set of scales. Close-up of an ingredient being added to the mixture and stirred in. Men distributing Christmas post; the men eagerly open their parcels. Close-up shows men opening their parcels; one man's package contains a tin of Harrogate Imperial Toffee. A man beats a dinner gong made from a large shell casing. Men queuing for their Christmas dinner. Sign reads 'Teknaf Tavern'. Men outside. Men emptying sacks of mail and sorting them into piles.
Alternative Title:BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
Production Details: War Office Directorate of Public Relations (Production sponsor)
SEAC Film Unit (Production company)
Marshall, L W (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, XV Corps (regiment/service)
British Army, No.1 Commando (regiment/service)
Keywords: Teknaf Peninsula, Bengal Province, India (geography)
Third Arakan Campaign 1944-1945, Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event)
Welfare and recreational activities and services, Burma 1942-1945, Second World War (event)
Christmas Celebrations, Celebrations (event)
India 1939-1945 (theme)
British Army 1939-1945 (theme)
JFU 229 (CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES AT YAZAGYO [Allocated Title])
FUB 28 (CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES IN THE ARAKAN [Allocated Title])
FUB 27 (CHRISTMAS CHURCH SERVICE IN BURMA [Allocated Title])
FUB 26 (CHRISTMAS PREPARATIONS IN NORTHERN BURMA [Allocated Title])
FUB 40 (WELSH CHRISTMAS DINNER IN NORTHERN BURMA [Allocated Title])
MWY 220 (CHRISTMAS FIELD CHURCH SERVICE IN THE ARAKAN (AMERICAN CAMERAMAN) [Allocated Title])
