Summary: I. Newsreel item on the wedding of Field Marshal French's son, London, January 1916.
II. Newsreel item on British Cavalry practising a canal crossing in Belgium, December 1915.
III. Newsreel item on the Austrian port of Cattaro in Dalmatia, supposedly late 1915.
IV. Newsreel item on British troops on the Salonika Front, late 1915.
Description: The Honourable John R L French leaves Saint Paul's church, Knightsbridge, after the wedding ceremony with his bride, the former Miss Olivia John. The pair are later shown with Lady French (the Field Marshal's estranged wife) walking in the garden of Lady French's home. The camera keeps a discreet distance from them.
The captions say the film has been taken by permission of the Belgian government. British horsemen, on foot, lace up inflated groundsheets and planks to make rafts and use these to take themselves and their saddles across a canal.
The film shows a pan of the port from the sea with Mount Lovtchen behind it. The captions say that the port was the object of recent bombardment from the sea (by the Italians). The film itself shows no sign of war activity, and the view is presumably pre-war.
The captions say the film has been taken by permission of the French government. British soldiers move around their tented camp at Zeitenlick, unloading stores and cooking meals. They are probably rear echelon troops and tend to hog the camera.
Personalities, Units and Organisations: French, John Richard Lowndes (person)
John, Olivia (person)
French (Lady) (person)
British Army, cavalry (regiment/service)
British Army (regiment/service)
Keywords: ceremonies, British - event-related: wedding (John R L French and Olivia John) (object name)
society, British military - romance (object name)
training, British military - specialist: cavalry (object name)
engineering, military, British (object name)
operations, British military - routine (object name)
31/3(41) (event)
01/3(4-15).4 (event)
First World War, Salonika Front & 1915 (event)
GB, England & London, SW <Knightsbridge & Saint Paul's Church> (geography)
Belgium (geography)
Austria-Hungary & Cattaro, Dalmatia (geography)
Greece & Salonika area, Macedonia <Zeitenlick> (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Silent
Soundtrack language: None
Title language: None
Subtitle language: English
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 254 ft; Running time: 4 mins