THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY'S ROLE IN THE MILITARY SUPPLY CHAIN [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: THE SOUTHERN RAILWAY'S ROLE IN THE MILITARY SUPPLY CHAIN [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: BTF 7
  • Other titles: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: The Southern Railway transport military freight and its staff practise air raid procedures with the Wimbledon ARP. The BEF are on the move from Waterloo Station, London, sharing troop trains with foreign nationals headed for internment.
  • Description: (27 April 1940) Loading trucks (Bedford O-Series), motor cars and anti-aircraft guns from railway trucks, at Farnborough North Station (Hampshire). Farnborough North Station from the opposite side of the track. A steam locomotive is held at a signal whilst an anti-aircraft gun is towed over the level crossing. A british Cruiser tank being unloaded. Military motor cars are untied from a railway truck (No. 4140215). MH39 (27 April 1940) Anti-aircraft guns are unloaded at Farnborough North. Followed by a Southern locomotive pulling a cargo of trucks (Bedford O-Series) and military motor cars. (2 min 10 sec) MH40 (2 May 1940) Combined Southern Railway and Wimbledon ARP (Air Raid Precautions) air raid demonstration, in Wimbledon (South London). Civilians disappear into an air raid shelter, in front of a heavily sandbagged building, as the ARP wardens look on. The wardens then enter the shelter, before the film cuts to them remerging to tackle a fire. Equipped with gas masks and hoses they successfully extinguish the fire, under guidance from an instructor. Mock casualties are carried on stretchers, before being attended to. A fire engine arrives (identification plate; "LIGHT – R LONDON – WIMBLEDON"), along with a motor car towing a water pump. An ambulance and its female staff also arrive. A man with a “CAUGHT LOOTING” sign is escorted away by a policeman and an ARP Warden. (3 min 15 sec) MH41 & 42 (10 May 1940) Southampton Docks, South coast of England, anti-aircraft guns on Macaw wagons (a type of flat railway wagon). Hospital ships in dock. Shots from the exterior of the Southampton Terminus Station, the camera pans round to a Southern locomotive troop train as it pulls into the station (No. 120). A group of children in the foreground wave and the troop’s wave back as they lean out of the carriage windows. A low angled shot of a different Southern 'T14' class 4-6-0 (?) locomotive (No. 460) coming into the station. (7 min 30 sec) MH43 (11-13 May 1940) New emergency notices for whitsun holiday train cancellations, Waterloo Station in London. BEF (British Expeditionary Force) on Waterloo concourse. A large gathering of troops as they prepare to leave. Troops fill the concourse directly in front of the 'Main Line Arrivals' board. Coaches parking at the front of the station. (9 min 37 sec) MH44 (13 May 1940) The BEF then file into the carriages for departure. Followed by foreign nationals, described as “enemy aliens”, leaving for internment. Guard’s standby but the men appear unperturbed, many are carrying luggage and are dressed in ordinary civilian clothes. (11 min 50 sec) MH45 & 46
  • Alternative Title: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: BTF 7
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (BTF 7)
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1940-04 1940-05
  • 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: Footage: 1201 ft ; Running time: 13 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    BTF 7

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