RAF SCENES IN THE CANAL ZONE, EGYPT [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: RAF SCENES IN THE CANAL ZONE, EGYPT [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 6591
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY LEADING AIRCRAFTMAN ALAN DUDLEY [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Amateur film shot by LAC Alan Dudley while serving with Royal Air Force 107 Maintenance Unit at RAF Kasfareet in the Canal Zone (Egypt).
  • Description: (Reel 1) "ROYAL AIR FORCE 1953-1955". Shots in and around RAF Kasfareet: tented accommodation area, Astra cinema, YMCA buildings. LAC Dudley poses for camera. Shots of old Bristol Beaufighter aircraft, disabled by sand. Early morning guard duty. Control tower (which would later be destroyed by British aircraft during the Suez conflict). Kasfareet camp. Sunset shots. Buzzards. Airfield scenes: test pilot flies overhead in aircraft (possibly Vickers Valletta). Egyptian railway running through camp: train belches out black smoke. General views of tents. Camp opposite - El Hamr ? - where cricket and rugby are being played. LAC Dudley smiles for camera. Local Egyptian man raids dustbin: shots also of Egyptian workers, who do not like being photographed and throw sand towards the camera. Sudanese (?) personnel are searched by guards before going into the guardhouse. Panning shot of landscape and fence at the base. Poses for camera on Christmas Day. Guards. Travelling shots of desert taken from bus (to Ismailia ?). LAC Dudley posing on hut roof. Football match. Three men pose for camera. RAF Kasfareet maintenance station with Egyptian village opposite. CO talks with Egyptian man nicknamed "Goldtooth" (neither wanting to be photographed). Great Bitter Lake: British personnel swimming, sunbathing and larking for the camera. RAF officers' sailing club; ships on horizon in background. Board warning of "Sharks". "Goldtooth" on donkey - other local people seen (including women). Vickers Valletta aircraft on tarmac at Kasfareet, covers on their windows and open parts of engines (to keep sand out); also seen are Beaufighter seen earlier, and aircraft in flight - possibly Fokker Friendship. Take-offs and landings. Aircraft on tarmac including hull of a crashed aeroplane, and Gloster Meteor trainer. (Reel 2) RAF Kasfareet: brief shot of NAAFI wagon in background. Meteor on ground being refuelled; Auster spotter plane and De Havilland Vampire also seen. No one wears hats (in the early days they were often sucked into engines). Bristol aircraft take off; Short Sunderland flies overhead. Guard duty: guards assemble for inspection, then march. Lowering of flag. Guards march past church, then assemble before getting into trucks to be taken to their guard posts. "PORT SAID OUTING - SEPT 1954". Scenes along canal: local Egyptian sets up stall (he objects to the camera). Scenes in Port Said: ships in dock. "Scot" poses with Egyptian soldier in fez. Horse drawn buggy: shots from buggy in motion as it travels down Port Said streets. Egyptian Army personnel play football. Dhows (fishing fleet) and other vessels at canalside. Statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps. Dudley poses with two friends. Dhow with sail raised. LAC Dudley and SAC Austin, each wearing a fez. Motorcycle event, using motorcycles left by the Italian Army during the war: "crash wagon" ambulance in attendance. Shots of motorcycle scramble races over desert course, including dips and ridges. Bikers crash, no injuries. Cup is given to winner (the lateness of the hour clear by the long shadows). (Reel 3) "SPORTS DAY". Members of RAF and WRAF march past during Royal Air Force (Egypt) Athletic Championships (April 1954). Various events are shown, including WRAF hurdles race, relay race, pole vault, track events. Prizegiving ceremony by CO (in civilian clothes). "DOWN BY THE RED SEA". Shots from fuel train coming up from Suez to the Red Sea, past storage tanks and refineries. Truck of 107 Maintenance Unit arrives to distribute water. By the Red Sea: pan across horizon then up beach to tented RAF camp. Dhow at sea. LAC Dudley and friends pose for camera on the beach. Close up of jellyfish washed ashore. Sunset scenes (border with Israel in the distance). Tank transporter pulls into vehicle park. Travelling shot of return journey - shots of long road. "CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS" (1954). RAF men at play, dressing up as Boadicea and Ben-Hur for chariot races using wooden chariots. Airmen in fancy dress, including one as a tramp. Chariot is set aloght. Rugby match. Servicemen doff their hats for the camera. Corporal Clark poses in uniform, as do LAC Dudley and two comrades. Brief shot of decorations inside tent. (Final scenes show various animals at London Zoo.) (Reel 4) "CAIRO". Street scenes in Cairo, taken on a day's leave. Interior shots of Museum with Tutankhamen's treasures (underexposed) and exterior shot of miniature sphinx. Salesmen on street peddling swordsticks. Camel riders. Scenes at the Pyramids: close shots of those climbing the Great Pyramid (?), also general views, including the Sphinx. LAC Dudley on camel. Cairo street scenes. Close up of minaret on mosque. High angle shot of cityscape including shots of (Mohammed Ali ?) mosque. Interior shots of mosque building (slightly underexposed). Returning protective shoes at the end of visit to mosque. [Very end of film has animation saying "Paris".]
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY LEADING AIRCRAFTMAN ALAN DUDLEY [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: Colour
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: MGH 6591
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1954
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Dudley, Alan (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: Std 8mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 4 Footage: 800 ft; Running time: 67 mins (ca)
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 6591

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