PESHAWAR, WAZIRISTAN - THE NORTHWEST FRONTIER, 1937 [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: PESHAWAR, WAZIRISTAN - THE NORTHWEST FRONTIER, 1937 [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 1979
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY GROUP CAPTAIN ROBERT LISTER [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Scenes of RAF camps and operations in Waziristan on the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan and Afghanistan in 1937.
  • Description: Fort (Khyber Pass). Camels. Polo match. Organised dog fighting. Hunter trials. Peshawar Vale Hunt. Oxen and water wheel. A bucket is brought up from a well. Oxen working, people threshing. Squadron formation. A line of planes outside hangars. Close-up of Paddy Cole. Two men in a plane. Shot of the Hindu Kush mountains 100 miles away. Shot of the airfield from 15,000 feet. Flying low over the Peshawar Vale. Corbal River. Small village. Practicing message retrieval. An aerobatics display. Two planes loop the loop. Parachute drop practice. Plane flying. Planes and pilots. Flying close formation, Paddy Cole in the next plane. Steady flying over the Khyber and border with Afghanistan. [Also on MGH 1978-1] Landing ground and planes (K48-48 on one plane's tail). Three men relaxing. Pilot by tail of plane. Planes with propellers turning. Three men relaxing. Close-up of pilots. Snow peaks and planes. Snow peaks and planes. [Also on MGH 1978-2] Shot of village and camp in the distance. Troops in the valley. Close-up of firing gun. Troops and mules march along the road. Troops prepare guns for firing. General shot of troops, horses and mules. Ground strips indicate their position to aircraft. Close-up of machine gun in use. Close-up of gun being loaded and fired. Ground strip indicates Brigade HQ. General shots of mountainous landscape. Aircraft (K4859) drops message, soldier retrieves it. Troops on hillside look down across the valley where an aircraft attack is just visible. Hilltop fort. Mules and troops on hillside. Vehicles passing on tight bend on mountain road. Shells exploding on distant hillside. Signpost reads "RAZMAK. NARDAL. 7156 FEET." Military vehicles and tents at camp. [Also on MGH 1978-1] "EMERGENCY LANDING AT KHAISORA POST" [First scene runs backwards but is repeated normally] Forced landing plane on ground with group of men standing around it. Union Jack flying over camp. Tents in camp. Close-up of walls and Tochi Scouts on observation. Plane lands, two airmen in the cockpits. "SUPPLY DROP ON CORONATION DAY" A Vickers Victoria on the ground. Close-up of supplies under the wings. Plane takes off. Aerial shot of camp and mules on Shan? Plain. Supplies dropped with parachutes. Shot of plane in front dropping parachutes. Dawn flights. Shot of aircraft taken from adjacent aircraft [bit dark]. Sunrise. View through machine gun sight. Planes dropping leaflets. "MORE SCENES OVER WAR AREA" Groups of RAF men by their planes, including Lister. Plane takes off. Plane flying alongside. Aerial shots of rugged mountain terrain. Shadow of gunner on the aircraft wing. A fort near Razmak. Army tanks on the road. Column of army trucks on bend on mountain road. Army trucks approaching fort. Several shots of the fort. Road damage. Valleys, a column winds up Khaisora Valley. Mountain ridges. Ground strips at HQ. Aircraft attack, bombs explode on the ground. Burning villages and more air attacks. View through gun-sight as place ascends. Planes burning on the ground. Burning villages and air attacks. Plane drops messages [advance warning of bombing]. More burning villages and explosions. "PEACE WITH WAZIRS - JIRGAH AT MIRAMSHS" Large group of men (leaders of tribal villages) arrive at Miramsha for to attend a Jirgah (peace conference). The whole group sits in the shade on the lawn and around a table in the courtyard of the District Commissioner's. The meeting breaks up. Twilight shot of plane landing (very dark). Silhouette of windsock on tower and plane being wheeled into hangar. From inside, a shout of the hangar doors closing. [This section very scratched and often too dark to discern detail] Officers Club at Peshawar, cars parked outside. Band playing before Sunday lunch. Group at table drinking tea? Old city of Peshawar. Archway at entrance to old city. Red-bearded man. Stalls and craftsmen at work. Cattle market, little old streets in Peshawar. Market stalls. One man combs another's beard. Dressmaker. Road, mountains and valley with road sign showing the way for camels and mules one way and cars the other, to the Khyber Pass. Khyber Pass forts and a repeat of the polo match from earlier.
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY GROUP CAPTAIN ROBERT LISTER [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: MGH 1979
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM-OW
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1937
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Lister, Robert (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1586 ft
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 1979

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