AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE FOOTAGE [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE FOOTAGE [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 226
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Unedited silent footage showing scenes in the Middle East and North Africa featuring women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) undertaking various activities. Shot by the Army Film Unit for possible use in a film about the ATS; this film was never completed.
  • Description: (Reel 1) Army lorry transporting ATS members pulls up on a street in Palestine and an Arab guide in a fez climbs on board. The Church of All Nations in Jerusalem: the ATS members are taken through the grounds by the guide. The group are also seen walking through the streets, through a market and a courtyard and up to the Dome of the Rock. Scenes at the city walls of Jerusalem where Jewish people are praying. Exterior shots of large headquarters building. Interior shots show a band playing and British officers dancing with their wives. Two couples on a beach (the men are in their uniforms). Street scene. ATS members typing and operating a telephone switchboard. (Reel 2) Scenes at 179 Two members of the ATS at a camp (Palestine): they enter the information bureau, where they talk with the receptionist. Sign gives details of "tours available" (Jerusalem, Nazareth, Syria, Lebanon, Haifa). They then stroll through the camp. Outdoor cafe area in the camp, at the edge of the desert; band plays in a bandstand and people dance. Tennis courts. British personnel relax on the beach in their swimwear; some of them splash in the surf, others play ball. "Race No 4: The Nathanya Derby": men on small horses and mules race along a makeshift course in the sand; bets are placed in a corrugated iron tote building. Members of the ATS, off duty but still in uniform, get into a lorry after handing their tickets to the driver. The lorry exits the camp and drives through the countryside, passing a shepherd, cattle and local children. Driver's eye view as the lorry enters a small town. (Reel 3) Small convoy of three lorries drives through Cairo; street scenes, passing the NAAFI/EFI Women's Service Club. (There is a large amount of traffic, and one of the lorries nearly runs over two fez-wearing Egyptian men.) Lorry drives through an archway and enters a courtyard at the Club. ATS women in uniform disembark and walk through the buildings cloister. They enter their accommodation (shared rooms with beds) and begin to unpack their belongings. Canteen: the ATS line up for food and then sit down to eat. One of the women goes to see a senior officer. Lounge with ATS members relaxing on sofas. (Reel 4) Raiway station at El Alamein: British personnel in uniform arrive and inspect the bell. Leisure scenes at the United Services Club, Heliopolis, Cairo: putting green, large verandah with British personnel relaxing with drinks, cricket match (Digla vs Cairo), United Services Swimming Pool (swimmers, divers and guests relaxing at the poolside). Two men throw a woman into the water. Group poses for the camera. Large house in the suburbs of Cairo; members of the ATS emerge. Interior shots show women relaxing. (Reel 5) Train pulls into a station and large numbers of uniformed soldiers (and the occasional sailor) disembark and move along the platform before getting into waiting lorries. Roadside signpost for "179 Nathanya Leave Camp". Small convoy of lorries arrives at the camp and members of the ATS disembark with their bags and enter the ATS compound. Later, two of the women leave and walk down the road. They chat to a male officer then descend to the beach at Nathanya, where a large number of people are gathered. Two men sit aside a log and try to knock each other off (one succeeds). Beach games: wheelbarrow race, three-legged race. (Reel 6) Wall of military compound: a lorry drives through and two ATS members get out. They go into a restaurant and take their places at a table, where they are served by a local man. A group of women leave the restaurant and collect their waiting bags. Views of military camp: Nissen huts. Cameraman's slate "Army Film Unit Production ATS Date 3-5-45 Script No 1 Scene No 44 Take 1". A group of ATS women walk through the camp past palm trees, then enter a brick building. Inside is a dorm; they choose their beds and begin to unpack. One takes a nap, and is woken up. Exterior of NAAFI/EFI: the ladies go inside and select what appears to be tubs of cosmetics and then sit down to talk. Exterior view of camp: two lorries exit. Interior of large railway station (Cairo ?), where a train pulls in. Among those waiting are two ATS girls and two male soldiers. The ATS leave the platform, their bags being brought behind them on a large hand-pulled cart. They get into the back of a lorry. (Reel 7) Scenes in Cairo: groups of soldiers cross the road and walk down a road and through streets (passing a one point a large building marked "Army Signals Office"). Three of the ATS members enter the building; one enters an office, is greeted and is assigned a desk, where she prepares forms for the microgram service. Other ATS members trim documents as they are printed by mimeograph machines, others are taken to a large switchboard room and set up in their positions. Exterior shots of the General Headquarters, Middle East Forces (GHQ MEF) on a street in Cairo; views of main gate. ATS members get into the back of a lorry; two talk. They are taken into town and stroll around the streets looking in shops before going to the Women's Services Club where they enter the restaurant, take a table by the window and take tea and cakes (and smoke cigarettes). (Reel 8) Large troopship at quayside (Port Said, Egypt). ATS members descend the gangway and pick up their bags. They then get into a small open air ferry which takes them across a river. Gate of large barracks; two Arab horsemen in uniform leave, followed by a platoon of ATS members marching in formation. They march along the street and arrive at Port Said railway station, wher they board a train; they are given mugs of tea, buns and cigarettes. The engine steams up and the train departs; women wave from the window. Views from the train showing the landscape passing by.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: MGH 226
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1945
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Army Film and Photographic 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: 8 Footage: 5230 ft; Running time: 58 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 226

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