BRIEF SCENES OF BLITZ BOMB DAMAGE AND CASUALTY RESCUE [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: BRIEF SCENES OF BLITZ BOMB DAMAGE AND CASUALTY RESCUE [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 6766
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY UNKNOWN CAMERAMAN [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Second World War, colour and black and white, amateur film showing the removal of the dead from the remains of a Blitz bomb damaged building and numerous views of bomb damaged buildings and street areas. All sequences presumed to be London, with a few locations positively identified.
  • Description: Rescue workers, including ARP Stretcher Party Leader (white helmet with SP) removing dead bodies from the remains of a bomb damaged building. Close, high angle shots looking down on the site and the men at work. Men carefully pass rubble, or human remains, from shovel to shovel from the site. Shot of a rescue vehicle with previously removed bodies, wrapped in sheets, lying on the ground to the side of the vehicle. Further shots of men working in the rubble. Two men hold up a sheet between them to provide a privacy screen (one man casually looks up at the camera) while a group of men work to remove a body or bodies. Child’s body, or partial remains of an adult body, is carried away wrapped in a sheet. Close overhead shot of the excavation of a woman's (?) body. A rescue worker peers down in to a pile of rubble. Further shots of the excavation and removal of the body with the men using small pieces of wood to manoeuvre the corpse. Men manhandling the crushed and partially charred body on to a sheet. A metal jug is passed from hand to hand over the body. The body, (or bodies), now wrapped in a sheet, dragged and carried out of the rubble and carefully carried away on a metal stretcher. Shot of the curtains on the rear of a white ambulance (possibly LCC ambulance) being pulled closed. Several men pulling together to move a steel girder. Stretcher Party Leader collecting clothes in a large wicker basket, with a brief shot of a man working overhead. Close overhead shots of men drinking from a shared white ceramic jug. Men working in debris around a collapsed Anderson shelter. Rescue worker using a pickaxe. A group of men look on. Close-up shot of a different man working in the rubble also using a pickaxe. A group of men manhandle a large piece of masonry. Two men struggle to prise upward a sheet of corrugated steel part of a damaged Anderson shelter. Man digging at the base of the shelter. One rescue worker holds up a damaged overcoat and then throws it to one side. Close shots of a worker wearing a waterproof coat and black helmet who looks directly at the camera. Remains of a corrugated steel Anderson shelter. Damaged mattress and sheet pulled from the rubble. Men climbing over a pile of wooden beams and floor boards. A large block of of damaged brick wall. Panning shot inside the damaged building, probably a school room (desks visible). Casualty on a stretcher casualty (probably a child) loaded in to an ambulance waiting in a wide suburban street. A second ambulance is parked nearby. Indistinct and unfocused shots inside of a bomb damaged building. (Black & white), rescue workers clearing rubble. Bicycle of wheel under debris. Two men walk past the bomb damaged building. Small piles of rubble to the side of the street. (Black & white), view looking down inside bomb and fire damaged church, St James' Piccadilly, London, view of pews (hymn books still in place), shot of organ and clock stating the time as 1.35 (no significant damage visible) and brief shot of the damaged church walls. (Black & white), fireman up a ladder to the side of a bomb damaged several storey building. Fireman looking down into the bomb damaged building. Burnt out remains of a car in the street. Second crushed and burnt out vehicle. Very brief shot of a rescue worker working inside a small cavity in a bomb damaged building/crater. Damaged to a three storey building, remains of a stone arched doorway or window. Workers standing by a bomb damaged building. (Black & white), panning shot, view of bomb damaged church, St James' Piccadilly, London, with Belisha Beacon pedestrian crossing in the front of the church entrance on Piccadilly. (Black & white), close-up shots of men working in the rubble. Damaged and blown out shop front with “THE GENERAL WELFARE OF THE (?)” sign above the shattered shop windows. Very brief view along damaged street. Men looking at the remains of a building. Postman and another man look on as they walk past. Close up shots of damaged underground water mains. Burnt shop sign. Large heaps of rubble by a bomb damaged building. Steam roller standing nearby, registration number XN 249. (Black & white), water seeping through the building rubble and damaged corrugated iron sheeting. Piles of wood beams and building rubble. Bomb damaged ground by railings. Shot of a rubble and a bomb damaged doorway. (Black & white), bomb damaged shattered shop fronts. Very short sequences – damaged Anderson shelter, upturned pram lying in rubble, clothing in rubble, shot looking down on the remaining beams of a burnt out roof, rescue workers peering in to a damaged house and worker seated in rubble . (Black & white), very brief, unsteady shot of a street. Brief close up shot of bomb crater. (Black & white) workers outside of a damaged house. View inside the now open sided rooms of a bomb damaged block of flats. (Black & white), downward panning shot of remains of a bomb destroyed buildings in Holborn Viaduct, Holborn, London. Large number of men working in the rubble. Destroyed building near HENRY J FITTER & SONS and THWAITES AND PENN. (Black & white), brief view of a bomb damaged church, a crashed car – bonnet covered with fallen bricks, bomb damaged building, bomb damaged Anderson shelter. Rescue workers digging. Rescue workers and onlookers in a bomb damaged wide residential suburban street. Shot of damage to a detached house – blown out windows and damaged slates on roof. "To Let" sign boards outside of the damaged house, Large fallen tree in the road – two men using a double-handed saw to cut up the fallen tree trunk. Mattresses and bedding piled outside of a bomb damaged building. Panning shot over wrecked buildings. Brief shot of rescue workers by a damaged Anderson shelter. (Black & white), bomb damaged shop front DANIELS, next to BLUSTONS Kentish Town Road, Kentish Town, London, some passers-by looking at the damaged window whilst others walk past without looking. (Black & white), bombed out shop next to BOOTS THE CHEMISTS. (Black & white) view inside exposed rooms of damaged buildings. Panning shot across several damaged houses. Piles of rubble including fallen roof. Dark shots of row of small, bomb damaged shops. (Black & white), view of a brick built street air raid shelter. Exposed interior wall of bomb damaged buildings – wall dresser with crockery and saucepans miraculously still intact. Downward panning shots over bomb damaged buildings. (Black & white), rescue workers beside a large bomb crater. Panning shot across the huge crater. White helmet Rescue worker leader looking on. Brief, dark night shot of distant fires. Panning shot over exposed interiors of bomb damaged buildings including shots of a bath dangling precariously from a blown out top storey bathroom. Close shot of exposed fireplaces and closer shot of the hanging bath tub. Rubble and rescued wooden furniture in the street outside of damaged shops. (Black & white), same damaged three storey building as seen earlier. Horse drawn cart A WILLETT manoeuvred by the side of the piles of rubble. Rescue worker manhandling a round wicker basket of bricks. Panning shot of damaged building. View inside of the exposed bedroom and bathroom of a bomb damaged house. Further views of the house and piles of bricks, fallen roof, smashed tarmac road and close shot of a pool of water. View of the side of a brick built commercial building. Rescue worker carefully removing a piece of cloth and digging in the rubble. Group of rescue workers at work. Shot of a pair of binoculars gently swinging from side to side, followed by a man’s hand holding pieces of shrapnel and then lengths of Std 8mm film (presumably the cameraman's hand). Kodak Safety Film logo. Final brief scene of men working in bomb damaged area, smoke (or dust) rising from the rubble behind them and a panning shot over bomb damaged building and crater.
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY UNKNOWN CAMERAMAN [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: Colour (part B&W)
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: MGH 6766
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1940
  • Production Country:
  • Production Details:
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: Air Raid Precautions (ARP) (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: Holborn, London, England, UK (geography) Kentish Town, London, England, UK (geography) Piccadilly, London, England, UK (geography)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour (part B&W) Sound format: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: Std 8mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 200 ft; Running time: 10 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 6766

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