Title:RECRUITS FOR THE FREE FRENCH ARMY [Allocated Title]
Film Number:A70 71-2
Other titles:
Summary: General de Gaulle's provisional French government resurrects metropolitan France's army by re-introducing military conscription in the liberated parts of Normandy.
Description: In Bayeux, gendarmes supervise the queue of conscripts and volunteers waiting at the gateway to a barracks taken over by the provisional government's military authorities in Normandy; nearby stand British signs pointing the way to supply dumps outside the city, Arromanches, Port-en-Bessin and the invasion beaches. Relatives bid farewell to their menfolk who are seen arriving at the recruiting centre with weekend cases and bags containing food, clothing etc. The cameraman studies several recruits' faces; one youth is wearing a cap for German panzer troops. Watched by their families, the recruits march out of the barracks and board a lorry for the first stage of their journey to the UK where they will receive military training. The cameraman studies a wall-poster issued by the Free French military authorities announcing the call-up of all men between 20 and 40 years old in the liberated zones for military service. Another batch of recruits parades in the barrack's courtyard and watched by relatives, marches off to climb aboard another lorry and sets off for England in reasonably high spirits.
Alternative Title:
Colour:B&W
Digitised:Yes
Object_Number:A70 71-2
Sound:Silent
Access Conditions:IWM
Featured Period:1939-1945
Production Date:1944-07-07
Production Country: GB
Production Details: Army Film Unit (Production company)
Harris, L W J (Production individual)
