WITH THE SIRMOOR SAPPERS: INTERNAL SECURITY ON NORTH WEST FRONTIER AND BRIDGING AT DERA ISMAIL KHAN [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: WITH THE SIRMOOR SAPPERS: INTERNAL SECURITY ON NORTH WEST FRONTIER AND BRIDGING AT DERA ISMAIL KHAN [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 4828
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY MAJOR MASTERTON [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Amateur film without titles shot by Major Masterton of the Sirmoor Sappers of the Indian Army, showing bridging activities at Dera Ismail Khan and (possibly) internal security duties near Wana, on the North West Frontier of India.
  • Description: 00:44:34:00 On a flat plain with mountains rising in the background, a group of British officers stand together in conversation; they wear greatcoats against presumably cold weather. A lorry draws up next to them. A group of (local?) people walk across shot and an Indian soldier directs them with a stick. Group of officers, one of whom appears to be Indian, with a number of low buildings in the far background. Wide shot with a road leading away to a mountain range in the far distance; two men walk along it (away from camera) of whom one appears to be a British officer who returns a salute, the other wears Indian headdress. Camera pans to the right to show more mountains with a telegraph line in the foreground and figures moving in the midground. Camera pans; there are Indian soldiers present and a number of local people who appear to be mostly sat on the ground (under guard?). Two shots showing a number of local men, seated with troops standing over them, but the soldiers’ posture is not aggressive and the local men seem to be in a good mood. The local people board a (possibly armoured) lorry with troops watching; pan along the lorry shows a white badge showing a ram’s head with S.W.S for South Waziristan Scouts. Indian gunners man a 3.7-inch Mountain Howitzer at the roadside; the lorry can be seen in the background. Another shot of the gunners at the ready. An open lorry with Indian soldiers on board; they stand up for the camera. A number of local men sitting on the ground; one or two appear to be tied by the wrist to a soldier who stands over them. Pan of a column of motor vehicles on a road with a strikingly camouflaged armoured car (probably Crossley-Chevrolet Armoured Car, India Pattern) in front. Another view of the column. View from a moving vehicle, presumably a lorry, directly behind the armoured car as it passes through a steep-sided road cutting. Further shots taken along the road showing the barren nature of the terrain. The armoured car apparently stuck behind a lorry. View of a distant hillside with a square stone (?) tower on top. Further road shots, often showing the road bounded by steep hillsides or boulders. Looking down on a narrow river. Static shot (taken at a halt?) with a parked staff car. Across a wide river (probably the Indus at Dera Ismail Khan) spanned by a floating bridge a horse-drawn tonga passes. Indian troops at work, apparently constructing a floating bridge; a large wooden beam is positioned. A wooden A-frame is erected; the boat bridge can be seen in the background. Men pulling on a rope. Men at work in fading light. View from the boat bridge; another boat is in midstream laden with building material and on the deck of the bridge men hold a rope. Pan of the bridge with men apparently hauling the boat across the river (the current appears considerable) with the rope. Views from the water showing the bridge and the boats. The cameraman’s boat draws up the bank where another boat acts as jetty. Fading light; working on the bridge. Men working on a road with pick axes. Men sitting on the ground eating. More of men pick axing a road with a steamroller in the background. Men at work; some shovel dirt through upright grids. Levelling a surface. Steamroller passes. A man starts a generator or pump. Filling a water tank on a lorry. Soldier standing next to what looks like a mill of some kind. Hosing down the road from the lorry; local people including children watch. A laden camel train passes over the floating bridge. A loan lorry driving. Lorry parked in shade with troops about. Troops eating. Pan parade ground; troops sitting on the ground with mules waiting behind. Camel train followed by mules. Men and mules on the move. 01:01:44:12
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY MAJOR MASTERTON [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: MGH 4828
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1941
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Masterton, W F (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Indian Army, Sirmoor Field Company (Indian State Forces) (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: Dera Ismail Khan, North West Frontier, India (geography) Wana, North West Frontier, India (geography) South Waziristan, India (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: None Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 430 ft; Running time: 18 mins (16 fps)
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 4828

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