THE UNIT [Main Title]

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  • Title: THE UNIT [Main Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 3386
  • Other titles: THE FRIENDS AMBULANCE UNIT [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Edited, mute, black and white amateur footage recording the activities of the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU), part of the Christian pacifist organisation the Quakers, (The Religious Society of Friends), during the early part of the Second World War. (Version commentated by Stephen Peet also exists.)
  • Description: Reel One. Opening titles "FAU Present THE UNIT". Introductory sequence - brief film sequences between rostrum camera-filmed overlaid titles: "1939" shot of chimneys and barrage balloon in the sky; "1940", "FINLAND" shot of a man digging in the snow; "LCC HOSPITALS" location flags pinned on a map on London, "3RD CAMP", "NORWAY" more shots of digging in the snow; "EXILE IN SWEDEN" shot of a snow drift; "4TH CAMP"; "5TH CAMP"; "EMS HOSPITALS", location flags pinned on a map of England; "AMBULANCE TRAIN", shot of railway signal; "6TH CAMP", shots of buildings in a bomb damaged city. Close-up of the initials FAU on an overall pocket, shot of Henry (Harry) G Hooper who looks at his watch and runs to collect his tin hat and first aid kit. "7TH CAMP", "8TH CAMP", "9TH CAMP", "SWEDEN TO EGYPT" "1941". 10th (Training) Camp, Manor Farm, Northfield, Birmingham, England, 1941. Three members of FAU arrive at the camp gates walking along a country lane, Keith B Lithgow, Charles F Woodhouse and Heber (Roy) Ridgway. Shot of a bugler, Charles F Woodhouse. Low angle shot of men drilling on wet ground following commands given by Ian C Robinson, further shots of the group of about 50 men marching out of the camp and along a suburban road. Close-up of the cover of a St John Ambulance book on Home Nursing. Shot of Jackson R Progin and John C Rose. Lecture by Sister Gibbs, shot of the Sister at a blackboard and her audience of FAU members. Shots of the murals on the wall. Bandaging practice. Bed making practice. Gas mask demonstration by Miss Whitworth. Physical education training (PE) in a hall: jumping on the spot, jumping jacks - PE training led by Alfred White. Unidentified FAU member inspecting boxes of food supplies (boxes marked barley, sultanas, sugar, rice). Thomas (Tom) E Barnsley dispensing medicine. Gordon W R Samuels mending a chair. Frederick (Fred) H Simpson, cobbling, working on a shoe. More shots of PE, men bending forward to touch their toes. Close-up shots of two hands peeling potatoes. Man looking into a tea urn. More shots of PE training, squat thrusts. Man digging in a vegetable patch. Man stoking a fire. Several more brief shots of PE training. Shot of mural on wall. Close-up shot of a simple wooden dining table. Shot of John O Burtt ringing a small bell. Close-up of two FAU members at their meal, one identified as Hamish G W MacEwan. Shot of several FAU members eating at a long table. Shot of a group of FAU members marching. Close-up of cover of a St John Ambulance book on First Aid to the Injured. Lecture by Dr Rutter, shot of Dr Rutter holding a skull and standing in front of a blackboard. Shot of the audience of FAU members. Exterior shot of a small group of FAU members looking at a map and receiving instruction from Ian C Robinson. FAU man lying on the ground by a river and small waterfall; he pretends to be injured. Stretcher party runs through a park to reach the "injured" man. Shot of the bandaging of a splint onto the "injured" man's leg. Shots of the stretcher party, bearing the "injured" man, moving through the park around the edge of a lake. Brief shots of a group of FAU members on the march. Friends Ambulance Unit Headquarters, 4 Gordon Square, London, England, 1941. Keith C Linney walks up to the front door, rings the bell and enters. Close-up of fingers typing. John (Peter) G Leyland retrieves a file. Edna G Bailey sitting at her typewriter. C Brian M Phillips typing and operating the telephone switchboard. Peter J Hume talking on the telephone. Frederick (Freddy) S Temple typing. Richey E Mounsey seated, smoking a pipe, passes a piece of paper to John (Peter) G Leyland. John (Peter) G Leyland reading a document. Thomas (Tom) L Tanner talking on the telephone. Close-up of a telephone switchboard. Close shots of fingers using a typewriter. (Reel Two) The Student's Hostel of the London Hospital, Philpot Street, London, England: the London accommodation of for FAU men, 1941. Shots of men working on bomb damaged buildings. FAU van no 114 (registration number EVP 215) driving along a street past a bomb damaged house and parking outside the London Hospital Student's Hostel, the driver Leslie (Les) G Steed gets out of the van and enters the hostel. Norman T Pollitt cooking in the kitchen watched by Saphio the kitten. The kitten eats food scraps off of the floor. David A N Tod rings a bell for silence for prayers before a meal. Shot of the kitten. Food being dished out on to plates for a waiting line of men. Shots of groups of men seated at small dining tables. Close-up of a plate of food (fish and potatoes). Scenes in the office of the Student's Hostel of the London Hospital. Clarence Dover using a typewriter in the "London Relief Office". Peter L Gibson standing by Glanmour (Glan) T Davies talking on the telephone. Location flags on a wall map of London. Noel L Ripley seated smoking a pipe. Michael Barratt Brown pining a location flag in the Bethnal Green area of a larger scale wall map of London. Emergency Rest Centre, Bethnal Green, East London, England, 1941. Sign "EMERGENCY REST CENTRE" Kenneth (Ken) E Brown painting an interior ceiling. William P (Bill or Bish) Barnes scraping paint of a window. Rear view of William Barnes and another man scraping paint of windows. Piano being moved inside the centre. Man, woman and child walking along a bomb damaged street and entering the rest centre, greeted by Jack Skeel. Shot of bomb damaged buildings. Man, woman and child having a cup of tea in the rest centre. Shots of a chalk (?) drawing on the wall. Brief shots of bomb damage. Well dressed young woman (identified by the shot sheet as the rest centre organiser) seated at a table writing in a register. Man and woman being handed blankets in the rest centre. More shots of chalk (?) drawings on the wall. Shots of bomb damaged buildings and damaged twisted railings. Friends Ambulance Unit, Transport Section, Raven Row, London, England, 1941. Close-up of the Friends Ambulance Unit insignia on the door of a FAU vehicle. FAU mechanic working on a FAU van. Shot of three FAU vehicles. Kenneth (Ken) Myers repairing a FAU food van. 1941. Shot of a church spire. Shot scenes of bomb damaged buildings. "Shelter S Here" sign. Dark interior shot inside an air raid shelter (noted on the shot list as on the Isle of Dogs, London). Two FAU men arrive, one identified as Donovan (Don) A Gravely. Shot of an elderly man, an elderly woman and two children. FAU member bandaging the toe of the elderly man. Shot of a Corporation of London poster "public shelter for 158 persons". Shots inside an air raid shelter in the City of London in Bread Street. Shot of Patrick D Barr. Close-up of set of playing cards. Patrick D Barr holding the hand of a small girl. Boys playing billiards. Men playing darts. Elderly man playing table tennis. Shot of Muriel B Davis. Posters "Atlantis summer cruises" and "protect your child against diphtheria". Shots of a piano, drum and people dancing. Muriel B Davis and Patrick D Barr looking on. More shots of people dancing. Brief silhouette shot of a fire watcher on a roof. Dawn shot over roof and chimney pots. Small group walk along a bomb damaged street, small fires visible in the background. Friends Ambulance Unit, Women's Hostel, FWVRC (Friends War Victims Relief Committee) Hostel, Canonbury, Islington, London, 1941. Marjorie Wittles enters the hostel. Shots of chimneys and barrage balloon in the sky. Group of FAU women at a meal. One FAU woman sitting and writing, another FAU woman asleep in a chair. The Student's Hostel of the London Hospital, Philpot Street, London, England, the London accommodation of the FAU men, 1941. Kitten (probably Saphio) seated on a copy of the magazine "Punch" on a leather settee. Kenneth A G Griffin moves the kitten of the magazine and picks up the copy of "Punch" and sits and reads it. Shot of the kitten walking away. Barnet Evacuation Centre, "Oakdene", East Barnet, North London, England, 1941. Sign "EVACUATION CENTRE", girl runs in from the street. Shots inside the first aid room showing bottles of medication on a shelf including a bottle of "Dettol". Small boy has his thumb bandaged by John M Saunders. Shot of a female cook ladling food into a large metal dish. Small boy standing at the foot of a wooden staircase banging a gong. Children running down the stairs and sitting at the dining table. Louis J Dore carves a joint of meat. More shots of the small boy banging the gong. Adults walking down the stairs. Tray of food being carried by a woman. Richard S Peters serves food to a small boy (the same boy with the injured thumb and the gong). Shots of group eating at the dining table, including a man with a eye patch. Chicken pecking at food on snowy ground. Louis J Dore and two children feeding the chickens. Brief shots of a snowball fight. Exterior shots of the large family house. David Tait working on the account books for the centre. (Reel Three) Shots of a tree and clouds in the sky. Gloucester City General Royal Infirmary, Gloucester, England, 1941. Ian Kilvert pulling a cart containing pig buckets (large buckets containing food waste intended for the consumption of pigs) in the grounds of the hospital. Kenneth G Taylor preparing medicine in the hospital dispensary. Unidentified FAU man applying a plaster cast to a patient. William (Bill) Brown pushing a patient in a wheelchair along a hospital corridor to the massage department. Shots of two nurses massaging patients' legs in the massage department. More shots of men moving pig buckets in the hospital grounds. Man collecting a wooden wall clock from the porters' lodge (?). Interior of a hospital ward, David C Merchant takes the temperature of a patient. Two men moving a hand cart containing pig buckets past wooden huts. FAU man stoking a boiler in the hospital boiler house. More shots of the men and the pig bucket cart. View of the skyline of Gloucester, including a church tower. View down Sherborne Street, Gloucester, showing the terraced houses. Two FAU men enter one of the houses. Several FAU men and women seated in a room relaxing, listening to the gramophone, reading and one woman darning a sock. Ambulance Train no 22, Newmarket 1941. Shot of a railway signal followed by shots of the stationary ambulance train. Train passes on another track. Thomas (Tom) C Newby exits the train carrying a bucket. Basil B D Whitworth fills hurricane lamps handed to him out of the ambulance train by a nurse. LNER water tank pushed along the platform by Newby and Whitworth. Shot from above of another train passing the ambulance train. Shots of water being pumped in through the roof of the ambulance train by Newby and Whitworth. Another shot of the railway signal. Stretcher practice, nurse overseas as stretcher is loaded on to the ambulance train. Another shot from above as a train passes the stationary ambulance train. Alverstoke Emergency Hospital, Gosport, England, 1941. Shots of clouds, trees and telegraph poles. Notice MINISTRY OF HEALTH EMERGENCY HOSPITAL. William (Bill) J Westover operating the hospital telephone switchboard. Ambulance arriving, patient on a stretcher being removed from the ambulance by John (Jack) E Thompson, Henry (Jim) F Cottrell and Oliver Beckett. Further shots of the telephone switchboard. Doctor examines a patient assisted by nurses and a FAU man. "Theatre" notice on door. Shot of the anaesthetic equipment. Nurse (?) scrubbing up. Patients on wheeled stretcher pushed through the hospital grounds. Shots in the operating theatre, doctors putting on surgical mask, instruments laid out, brief shots of the operation in progress including a close-up shot of the anaesthetic mask on the unconscious patient. Patient being returned to the ward on a wheeled stretcher, nurses preparing the bed, nurses and FAU men transferring the patient to the bed and close-up of a nurse tucking him in. Title "TRAINING FOR CHINA" Oxford, England 1941. Henry H Rodwell, Reginald (Tod) E Lawry and Michael Harris listening to a "Linguaphone" record. Shot of Professor E R Hughes in his rooms at Oxford University. Prof Hughes and a group of FAU men. Duncan Wood and Eric Chirgwin (smoking a pipe) writing Chinese characters. Panning shots to the Chinese motif on the carpet on the floor. Manor Farm, Northfield, Birmingham, England 1941. Cockerel strutting across the ground. Shot of a van "Chinese Convoy" headed notepaper. Shot of Peter Tennant. Van driving in to the training camp and chickens running in every direction. Close-up shot of a hand operating a vehicle hand brake, moving to a wider shot showing the hand brake in pieces on a mechanics work bench. Panning shot around the workshop. FAU man emerges from working under a car and finds a metal nut in his hair. Shots of one of the murals inside of Manor Farm. Hsiao Ch'ien and Dr Walter Simon in conversation with W Jack A Harris, George W Parson and W Antony (Tony) Reynolds listening. Long shot of two people walking by the side of a lake. Two people using sticks to write Chinese character in the muddy ground. End titles THE END A FILM BY STEPHEN PEET.
  • Alternative Title: THE FRIENDS AMBULANCE UNIT [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: MGH 3386
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1941
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: FAU Films (Production company) Peet, Stephen (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 3 Footage: 825 ft; Running time: 33 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 3386

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    MGH 3385 (FRIENDS AMBULANCE UNIT 1939 - 1946 [Main Title]) MGH 3433 (FAU CHINA CONVOY MATERIAL 1941-1943 [Main Title])
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