BRITAIN PREPARED : a review of the activities of His Majesty's naval and military forces [Main Title]
Metadata
- Title: BRITAIN PREPARED : a review of the activities of His Majesty's naval and military forces [Main Title]
- Film Number: IWM 580
- Other titles: HOW ENGLAND PREPARED (US release title) [Alternative Title]
- Summary: Royal Navy, Army training camps, and Vickers' munitions and shipbuilding works in Britain, autumn 1915.
- Description: (Reel 1) Training the New Army - "cheery non-slackers" undergo PT, drill and bayonet practice, mounting and sabre drill for cavalry. (Reel 2) Manufacture of a 15-inch naval gun and firing trials. (Reel 3) King George V visits Vickers ordnance plant at Aldershot, August 1915. Troops stage mock battles in a system of demonstration trenches. (Reel 4) Cavalry training and care of their mounts. 18-pounder field artillery on the road. Evolutions by mounted machine gun section and cavalry. Royal Flying Corps - aircraft take off, mock aerial combat and bombing. Photo-reconnaissance aircraft returns to base. (Reel 5) Field telegraph and heliograph demonstrated. Wire laying and preparation of signals station. Staff officers plan an "attack". Exercise by motorcycle machine gun battalion. (Reel 6) Operation of field bakery and kitchen. The King reviews 36th (Ulster) Division. Cavalry unit entrained. (Reel 7) Shipbuilding - construction and launch of HMS Revenge, Vickers, May 1915. Manufacture of 15-inch shells and gunnery trials. Minesweeping - Flower Class sloops and paddle minesweepers at work. (Reel 8) Manufacture of munitions and royal visit to Vickers (cf Reel 3). (Reel 9) The Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow and in the North Sea. (Reel 10) Scenes onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth. (Reel 11) Launching of an E-Class submarine, a staged sequence of a submarine attack, and taking on torpedoes at base. Destroyers in the North Sea, including the firing of a torpedo for training purposes. (Reel 12) Further scenes onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth, this time showing firing and other "action" material, with an "All's well" dusk return. HMS Engadine launching and recovering a seaplane (from IWM 130/03+04).
- Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
- Featured Period: 1914-1918
- Production Date: 1915-12-29
- Production Country: GB
- Production Details: War Office (Production sponsor) Wellington House (Production sponsor) Admiralty (Production sponsor) Ministry of Munitions (Production sponsor) Kineto (Production company) Vickers (Production company) Kinemacolor (Production company) Gaumont (Production company) Jury's Imperial Pictures (Production company) Urban, Charles (Production individual) Tong, Edward G (Production individual) Wilson, F (Production individual) Weddup (Production individual)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations: George V, King (person) Dawson, Trevor (person) Hunter, Archibald (person) Nugent, Oliver Stewart Wood (person) Rorison, H G (person) Hope, George Price Webley (person) British Army, Div 36 (regiment/service) British Army, Royal Artillery, Royal Field Artillery (regiment/service) British Army, cavalry (regiment/service) British Army, yeomanry (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Royal Naval Air Service (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Revenge (regiment/service) Royal Navy, DREADNOUGHT (HMS), battleship (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Iron Duke (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Zealandia (regiment/service) Royal Navy, COMMONWEALTH (HMS), battleship (regiment/service) Royal Navy, AGINCOURT (HMS), battleship (regiment/service) Royal Navy, EMPEROR OF INDIA (HMS), battleship (regiment/service) Royal Navy, CANADA (HMS), battleship (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Queen Elizabeth (regiment/service) Royal Navy, B5 (HMS), submarine (regiment/service) Royal Navy, DOMINION (HMS), battleship (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Porpoise (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Victor (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Owl (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Midge (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Moon (regiment/service) Royal Navy, CAMELEON (HMS), destroyer (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Nereide (regiment/service) Royal Navy, Martin (regiment/service) Royal Navy, BRISK (HMS), destroyer (regiment/service) Royal Navy, ENGADINE (HMS), aircraft transport (regiment/service) Vickers (regiment/service)
- Keywords: ships, British naval - battleship: Revenge (object name) ceremonies, British - event-related: ship launching (HMS Revenge) (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Dreadnought & [+] (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Zealandia & [+] (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Commonwealth & [+] (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Agincourt & [+] (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Emperor of India & [+] (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Iron Duke (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Canada (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Queen Elizabeth & [+] (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Dominion (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Bellerophon Class (object name) ships, British naval - battleship: Indefatigable Class (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Devonshire (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Warrior Class (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Boadicea Class (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Arethusa Class (object name) ships, British naval - cruiser: Active Class (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Porpoise (27) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Victor (36) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Owl (31) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Midge (40) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Cameleon (21) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Nereide (74) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Martin (65) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Brisk (70) (object name) ships, British naval - destroyer: Moon (H.C8) (object name) ships, British naval - submarine: B5 (object name) ships, British naval - submarine: E Class (object name) ceremonies, British - event-related: ship launching (submarine, E Class) (object name) ships, British naval - escort: Flower Class sloop (object name) ships, British naval - minesweeper: Ascot Class & [paddle] (object name) ships, British auxiliary - aircraft carrier, seaplane: Engadine (object name) ships, British auxiliary - cruiser (object name) ships, British auxiliary - harbour: fleet repair ship (object name) ships, British civilian - fishing (object name) ships, British civilian - harbour (object name) aircraft, British - combat: Royal Aircraft Establishment BE2c (object name) aircraft, British - combat: Vickers FB5 (object name) aircraft, British - combat: Armstrong Whitworth FK3 (object name) aircraft, British - combat: Martinsyde S1 (object name) aircraft, French - early: Farman Shorthorn S11 & [British] (object name) aircraft, French - early: Farman Longhorn S4 & [British] (object name) aircraft, British - combat: Bristol Scout C (object name) aircraft, British - combat: De Havilland DH2 (object name) aircraft, British - combat: Avro 504C (object name) aircraft, British naval - seaplane: Wight 840 (object name) aircraft, British naval - seaplane: Short 184 (object name) weapons, British naval - gun: 15-inch & [R and D] (object name) weapons, British naval - gun [AA]: 3-pounder Hotchkiss (object name) weapons, British naval - torpedo (object name) weapons, British - gun: 18-pounder field gun (object name) weapons, British - smallarm: Vickers machine gun & [R and D] (object name) weapons, British - smallarm: Lewis machine gun (object name) weapons, British - powderless: trench catapult (object name) weapons, British - powderless: sabre (object name) weapons, British - powderless: lance (object name) weapons, British - CBW: smoke grenades (object name) recruitment, British military (object name) training, British military (object name) training, British military - weapons (object name) training, British military - combat (object name) training, British air - combat (object name) training, British air - specialist: photo-reconnaissance (object name) training, British naval - combat: torpedo firing (object name) training, British naval - combat: practice shoot (object name) industry, British - ships (object name) industry, British - guns (object name) industry, British - munitions (object name) industry, British - primary (object name) delegations, British national - state (object name) defences, British - emplacement: trenches (training) (object name) defences, British - passive: camouflage (object name) animals, mammals: horse (object name) animals, mammals: dog (mascot) (object name) animals, mammals: cat (mascot) (object name) communications, British military - wire: field telegraph (object name) communications, British military - direct: heliograph (object name) communications, British civilian - postal (object name) communications, British naval - direct: semaphore (object name) communications, British naval - direct: signal searchlight (object name) communications, British naval - direct: flag hoist (object name) transport, British military - 2/3 wheel: motorcycle combination (object name) transport, British military - utility (object name) transport, British military - rail (object name) equipment, British - fire control: rangefinder (object name) equipment, British - environmental: field kitchen (object name) operations, British naval - mines: clearance (object name) operations, British naval - sortie (object name) operations, British naval - return (object name) operations, British naval - preparation: coaling (object name) operations, British naval - preparation: oiling (object name) operations, British naval - preparation: ammunitioning (object name) operations, British naval - routine (object name) operations, British naval air - return (object name) religion, Christianity - military, British (object name) combat [simulated], British naval - submarine (object name) 31/3(41) (event) 12/3(261.2) (event) GB, England & Aldershot, Hants <barracks> (geography) Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England, UK (geography) GB, Scotland & Scapa Flow, Orkney (geography) (concept) storm (concept) half-light (concept)
- Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: English Subtitle language: English
- Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 12 Footage: 13227 ft; Running time: 221 mins
- Notes: Production: the first major film made by the British government during the First World War, produced at the instigation of the secret (and unnamed) propaganda organisation at Wellington House headed by Charles Masterman. The film was made by Charles Urban, using the resources of his own companies Kineto and Kinemacolor and a number of others. When originally issued, it included some sections in colour (see below), and ran for about 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was first shown at the Empire Theatre, London, on 29 December 1915 Title: the film was widely exported, showing in the USA in a somewhat altered form as HOW ENGLAND PREPARED Technical: when originally screened, sections of the film were presented in Kinemacolor, Charles Urban's early system for "natural colour", which required special cameras and projectors (running at 32 fps, or twice the normal speed) with alternate frames photographed and projected through red and green filters. According to the Empire programme, there were four such sections, all in the parts of the film relating to Royal Navy activities. None of these is present in the Museum's copy. Of the colour sections described in the programme, only those relating to life on HMS Queen Elizabeth recall material present in the Museum's copy. Examination of the surviving nitrate coverage for reel 10 in December 2000, however, confirmed that this reel is definitely not Kinemacolor, and shows no sign of having been derived from a Kinemacolor original. In fact, the material held by the Museum is monochrome throughout, and all derives from a single (originally at least partially tinted) print. The Kinemacolor material was presumably retained by Urban, or kept by whoever had the negative, and must now be considered lost. Content: the length of the copy catalogued suggests (at conventional 'silent' running speed) a duration of about 30 minutes more than that described for the original. There are some obviously non-original later additions, notably the HMS Engadine sequence in Reel 12, and other anomalies such as the repeated inclusion of the Vickers visit material, Reels 3 and 8. Taken together, these suggest this is not an original version of the film, but may be a version lengthened for serialisation at a later re-release Shotsheet: a detailed shotsheet and analysis of the film has been prepared and is held on file in the Film and Video Archive
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