NEW ZEALANDERS & THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION PASS THROUGH LONDON [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: NEW ZEALANDERS & THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION PASS THROUGH LONDON [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: BTF 11
  • Other titles: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: The New Zealand Expeditionary Force arrive into Waterloo Station, and the French Foreign Legion at Victoria Station, London. An ARP training exercise, and bomb damage on the South coast of England.
  • Description: (24 June 1940) New Zealanders from the 2nd Expeditionary Force arriving at Waterloo Station, London. Signs on the concourse for; the “UNION JACK CLUB” and “YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) – OPEN TO MEMBERS OF HM FORCES”. Close-up shots as they file past the camera in immaculate uniforms. One soldier is shown in dialogue with a civilian on the station concourse. Māori service personnel are amongst the crowd of troops, most likely members of the 28th (Māori) Battalion (attached to the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force). They leave the station via the main entrance (Memorial Arch). The sequence finishes with close-ups of the troops outside. MH74 – 75 (30 June 1940) The ARP (Air Raid Precautions) practise fire drills at an urban location, a small crowd is gathered to watch. The camera picks out three fires in different locations as the ARP wardens rush out to tackle them. They use hoses, water buckets and specialised hand pumps fitted to their bike frames. The sequence then cuts to scenes of mock casualties laid out on the ground. The ARP wardens rush over to assist, closely followed by an LCC (London County Council) ambulance. The mock casualties are removed by stretcher. (3 min 6 sec) MH78 (14 July 1940) Bastille Day at Victoria Station, London. French flags hang from the ceiling and the French Foreign Legion form a line in front of a Southern 'Schools' class 4-4-0 tender locomotive, before marching through a watching crowd of civilians on the concourse. The crowd is a mixture of men, women and children, marshalled by several policemen. (4 min 48 sec) MH82 (24-26 July 1940) Eastleigh Works depot, Hampshire, carpenters work on a wooden framed ALC boat (Assault Landing Craft, later known as Landing Craft Assault or LCAs). A sequence of shots show some of the various techniques used in shipbuilding. Towards the end a finished boat is shown being wheeled out of the workshop. (6 min 55 sec) MH84 – 85 (13 August 1940) Air raid damage at Portsmouth Harbour Station, South coast of England, following a daylight raid by the Luftwaffe on the 12 of August 1940. Shots from inside the railway station show a single carriage, severely bomb damaged, at the station platform. Workmen begin the difficult task of clearing the debris. Shots reveal only a shell of the original structure remain in parts, giving an almost unobstructed view of the harbour. More shots of the destruction show trains caught in the blast, entangled with fallen debris. (10 min 09 sec) MH86 – 87 (14 August 1940) Air raid damage at Southampton Docks, South coast of England. A fireman directs water from a ladder into a bomb damaged building; belonging to the “INTERNATIONAL COLD STORAGE COMPANY”. Several fireman preside over two mobile water pumps, the air round them is thick with smoke. Another building, next to a “HARLAND & WOLFF LTD.” hut, has partially collapsed. Separate from the previous sequence; a policeman inspects the bomb damaged floor inside a large storage shed. (11 min 12 sec) MH88 – 89
  • Alternative Title: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: BTF 11
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (BTF 11)
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1940-06 1940-08
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Southern Railway Film Unit (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1313ft ; 14 min
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    BTF 11

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
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