BRITISH MILITARY PERSONNEL DISEMBARKING ON TROOPSHIPS FOR DEPLOYMENT OVERSEAS [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: BRITISH MILITARY PERSONNEL DISEMBARKING ON TROOPSHIPS FOR DEPLOYMENT OVERSEAS [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: BTF 74
  • Other titles: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: British service personnel disembarking on troopships for deployment overseas, and military vehicles being prepared to be shipped from Southampton Docks. There is also a record of the operational work carried out by the “RPB Control Room”, administering sections of the Southampton Docks managed by the Southern Railway.
  • Description: (17 January 1940) A convoy of military lorries and motorcycles are loaded into sheds 108 and 106 at Southampton Docks, the South coast of England. Vehicles are then shown being moved out of the sheds, starting with is a Daimler Mk II Scout Car, pushed by several British Army personnel. Followed by, two combination (Norton 633) motorcycle and sidecars being lifted onto a pallet by dockside crane. The reel continues with an assortment of British military vehicles and artillery around the quayside, including; a row of Karrier CK6 ‘Bridging’ 3-ton trucks, Bedford OYD 3-ton trucks in storage and 18-pound field guns on flat railway wagons. CH5 (17 January 1940) A truck is loaded onto the DINARD Hospital Ship, followed by the vessel in dock. A sequence shows the “PRAGUE” troopship, with its decks full of troops due for departure, being hauled from dock by tugboats and then sailing out of harbour. Close-ups of the vessel show the troops wearing lifejackets waving as the vessel cruises past. (1 min 48 sec) CH6 (17 January 1940) Opens with the “DUKE OF ARGYLE” troopship, its decks full of service personnel wearing lifejackets and waving as the vessel cruises past. Additional scenes are from an elevated angle, showing the vessel’s masts surrounded by a flock of seagulls. (3 min 35 sec) CH7 (18 January 1940) British military trucks are lifted from the dockside onto cargo vessels, beginning with an AEC Marshal 3-ton truck. The scene then cuts to the “RPB Control Room”, where a row of clerks sit at desks taking notes and receiving telephone calls from a verity of lines, labelled; “ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS”, “FIRE STATION”, “STORM WATER PUMP HOUSE 101 SHED”, “No. 7 PUMP STATION”, and “DOCKS ENGINEERS”. The scene then cuts again to a row of Light Tank Mk VIC (minus armament) tanks in a storage shed. They are manoeuvred off their storage pallets by British Army personnel and into rows, along with some Mk II Universal Carriers. The Universal Carriers are then driven to the dockside and parked in rows to be loaded aboard cargo vessels. Ending the sequence, a Light Tank Mk VIC is loaded aboard a vessel from the dockside by crane. The scene then cuts back to the “RPB Control Room” sequence, as a note is delivered by hand to a separate room, and pins are stuck into a map of; “Southampton docks, owned and managed by the Southern Railway”. (4 min 21 sec) CH8-11
  • Alternative Title: RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: BTF 74
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (BTF 74)
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1940-01
  • 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: 861ft ; 9 min 12 sec
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    BTF 74

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:
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