RAF 14 SQUADRON IN TRANSJORDAN [Main Title]

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  • Title: RAF 14 SQUADRON IN TRANSJORDAN [Main Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 6898
  • Other titles: AMATEUR FILM BY FLYING OFFICER BRIAN FIELD [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: Amateur film, with some titling, shot by Pilot Officer Brian Field after training at RAF Abu Sueir, records a variety of scenes, filmed from the air and ground, of the activities of RAF 14 Squadron and the RAF Regiment in Transjordan and Egypt, illustrating British power at this period (1929-1931) in the region's history. One later reel (1933) shows how he converted the flying skills he acquired in the RAF into a private enterprise as an aviator.
  • Description: Reel 1: (Kodak edge code - 1929) Aerial view from biplane of Krac des Chevaliers (Krak des Chevaliers, Castle Alhsn), the Crusader castle in Syria, and large town, possibly in the vicinity. Six RAF pilots relax on ground, with Arab servant nearby, next to Hawker Hind (K 6812); later drinking beer beside Lake Galilee (Lake Tiberias). Aerial views over Suez canal. Arab local life scenes in village on banks of Lake. Two Palestine Policemen pass by. Samakh, at end of lake. Scenes of life and buildings in Tiberias: mosque and ruins of former castle; close-up of Palestinian mother and smiling children, shop sign "Druggist" in English, Hebrew and Arabic, The Anglo-Palestine Bank Ltd in English, Arabic and Hebrew. Lakeside views followed by extensive aerial views of Lake Galilee. French Tricolour flies over Acre (French Mandate of Syria). "Mosque of Omar- Built on the site of Solomon's Temple" Pan over Jerusalem's surroundings and the Wailing Wall. British Army truck at the Allenby Bridge over the full River Jordan, en route to Transjordan (British Mandate). (11 mins 6 secs) Reel 2: (Kodak edge code - 1929) King Feisal I of Iraq arrives by car to visit No 4 Flying Training School at Abu Sueir Airfield, Egypt. Fresh Water Canal at Ismailia. "L.G (A Flt) at 4 FTS" Donkey drinking beer. Ibn Saud visits Air Force at Amman. King Feisal I at Amman. Amman village. Fairey IIIF of RAF 14 Squadron on the airfield. Aerial and upside down views; DH.9A (J8100) light bomber of 14 Squadron on Amman airfield and approaching to land. Preparing a land surfer. Detailed views of Airco DH.9A biplanes and hangars at Amman. Important visit. "Amman. Capital of Transjordan" Street scenes, and views in the lower town area, with Arab Legion officers passing. "The Roman Amphitheatre", Amman. "Rush Hour at the Ottoman Bank" British and Arabs queue beside cashier, who wears bow tie. Arab carpentry workshop. RAF airmen enjoy swimming pool, diving in at Amman Camp. Washing dog. Fox outside Officers' Mess, Amman, then drinking beer. (8 mins 53 secs) Reel 3: (Kodak edge code - 1933) Gliding at Thirsk, Yorkshire. Brian Field (after retirement from RAF) in beret stands beside his Avro 552 (G-ACAW) biplane, of Plane Advertising Limited, which then flies overhead on test flight trailing banner "Armchair Science Out Today Now". Man in beret beside biplane. Street scenes in Regent Street, London. White parachutes drop over English countryside. Avro 552 (G-ACAW, registered to C B Field's Plane Advertsing Ltd company based at his estate at Kingswood, Surrey, on 16-11-1932) takes off. Scenes at Cardiff Air Display (27 July 1933) include a Hawker Hart, De Havilland DH.60M Moth (G-ABMZ) and biplanes looping the loop. Brian Field walks towards his Avro 552 and places clock on biplane strut. (Spacing) Three planes lined up on edge of field at Kingswood include Avro 504K (G-ABSN - registered to C B Field's London and Provincial Air Company, 12-1931) and a De Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth (registered on 4-1931, impressed on 10-5-1940). Aerial views of shipping off coastline of Southern England, flying to Jersey. Gloster plane burning at Kingswood. (6 Mins 53 secs) Reel 4: (Kodak edge code - 1930)"Amman to Cairo 1930" RAF pilot wearing Arab keffiyeh headdress climbs into a Fairey IIIF Mk 1 (S1172) of RAF 14 Squadron. Air to air views between Fairey IIIs in flight, and rearwards view from pilot to observer position. "Amman - Capital of Transjordan" Take off and aerial view of Amman perched on its distinctive hills. Over coast and ship. "El Arish - One of the LGs on the Cairo - Baghdad Air Route" Aerial views of the landing ground in North-Eastern Egypt close to the border with Palestine. "Suez canal near Ismailia" Aerial view. "Cairo" Aerial view and street scenes; mosque and other sites. "The Mouski" perfume bazaar in Cairo. "Excavation in progress near the pyramids" "The Giza Pyramids" "Opera Square and Gardens" Egyptian men enjoy café society. "The Zoo" (11 mins 51 secs) Reel 5: (Kodak edge code - 1930) "F.O. Robertson crashes at Kolundia Jerusalem" Crash-landed biplane is inspected by RAF personnel. Another Fairey IIIF Mk 1 (S1182) of RAF 14Squadron. RAF personnel washing in desert. "Crash near Petra on 3.11.30 - Fairey S1183" Detailed views of all parts of the crashed plane, as a seated Bedouin tribesman looks on. Shield badge on front of fuselage. "Aircraft dismantled and taken by mules to Wadi Musa" RAF personnel and Bedouin tribesmen accompany mules laden with parts, manhandled on to their sadles. Agnes Conway [daughter of Sir Martin Conway, first director of the Imperial War Museum, and creator of the IWM's "Women's Work in WWI Collection"] stands with her future husband George Horsfield, Chief Inspector of Antiquities in Transjordan, during their archaeological excavation of Petra, March 1929. F/Lt Atcherley ("in green bath" - can note). "Loading parts of machine at Wadi Musa" Avro 625 Avian monoplane (G-AAYW) performs aerobatics. Pan over Fairey III biplanes outside hangar; pilot gets out of cockpit. Whole squadron (14 Squadron RAF) of Fairey IIIs [from November 1929, for reconnaissance during civil unrest in Palestine]. RAF pilots sport Arab robes. Large car stuck in watery sand is unloaded to ease rescue. (13 mins) Reel 6: (Kodak edge code - 1930) Camels in desert; RAF personnel inspect salt flats area. RAF Regiment Rolls Royce armoured cars marked with RAF roundels stationary beside military encampment, then passing a Fairey III and racing at high speed across the desert, apparently in Army-RAF cooperation trials. More Rolls Royce armoured car scenes, stopped beside Bedouin seated on ground (policing operation?). RAF comrade shaves in tent, then standing on armoured car in order more easily to repair or service the engine of a Fairey III. "Maan from the air. Shewing TJFF and RAF camps" Aerial views of the Transjordan Frontier Force and RAF camps comprising villages and tents. "Jaffar Fort and Bedouin Tents" Aerial and ground level views of fort and black tents of Bedouins. Fuselage of a Fairey IIIF minus wings, and Fairey III Mk 4 (J9643) and J9642. RAF airmen play soccer (football) in the desert. Fairey silhouetted against the sunset, and aerial shot forward from pilot's viewpoint, showing distinctive landscape of Wadi Rum. Union Jack flies over desert fort; Fairey III stands framed through fort window. "Akaba" On road towards the coastal town of Aqaba in southern Transjordan. Scenes of RAF airmen sharing the company of Bedouin seated in shade, joking by gesture. Bedouin elder with RAF airmen. Various scenes inside town of Aqaba include street leading towards beach, small castle and RAF airmen consorting with Arab children, beside the shore where fish is offered. RAF airman wearing keffiyah headdress rides camel beside sea. (11 mins 13 secs) Reel 7: (Kodak edge code - 1930) RAF Squadron organises a humorous day at its base (in Egypt?) on a wet and windy day: donkey named Flattie, donkey races outside hangar in setting designed to evoke Royal Ascot ("Officers' Enclosure") with men cross-dressed in glamorous confections. Two men carry a humorous banner (possibly legible) while Arabs look on from behind barrier, presumably astonished by the behaviour of their British masters. Black and white minstrel show follows, then donkey races, and donkey races for the black and white minstrels. Returning to UK from Port Said (1931): street scenes in Genoa, Italy; port area of Algiers, with French advertisements on the passing trams; approaching Gibraltar. (10 mins 13 secs) The term "minstrel" described traditional musicians and performers in the middle ages, but since the nineteenth century it tends to be used in reference to a “blackface” performer. In 1828, Thomas Dartmouth Rice introduced the song ‘Jim Crow’, which he performed pretending to be an exaggerated, stereotypical Black man. Rice was one of the first performers to wear “blackface” makeup, using burnt cork. Rice's success with the song spurred other performers to impersonate and mock Black people on stage. At first the minstrel show was a uniquely American type of performance, most popular between 1845 and 1870. In the UK, The BBC’s Black and White Minstrel Show was a popular light entertainment show that was broadcast from 1958 until 1978 and also featured performers in “blackface”.
  • Alternative Title: AMATEUR FILM BY FLYING OFFICER BRIAN FIELD [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: No
  • Object_Number: MGH 6898
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions:
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1929
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Field, Charles Brian (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: 7 Footage: ca 2600 ft; Running time: 72 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 6898

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