FIRST AID TO WOUNDED AND DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD [Main Title]

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  • Title: FIRST AID TO WOUNDED AND DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD [Main Title]
  • Film Number: DRA 826
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Dramatised Army Instructional film in which a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) crew with a Scammell recovery vehicle recover a disabled Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) Churchill tank somewhere in north-west France shortly after D-Day. The REME team are shown checking for mines around the tank using probes and mine detectors, removing and treating wounded tank crew, and recovering the tank itself. Two dead crewmen are buried, their personal effects carefully kept and all relevant information on the men and grave location is noted. An air attack by a Junkers 87 Stuka aircraft is also shown during the recovery operation.
  • Description: (Reel 1) A Scammell recovery crew find a tank hit by an enemy mine with three injured and one dead. While the wounded are seen to, the recovery crew sweep for mines and mark a clear path with white tape to bring the tank out later. One wounded man has caught shrapnel in his leg and field dressed it himself. His wound is dressed again, he is wrapped in a blanket, given a cup of tea and a cigarette for shock. The other injured men are checked for heartbeat. (This is all silent with a voiceover). (Reel 2) One of the injured has head injuries, the other is unconscious with burns. Morphine is administered to the former, taken from the AFV First Aid Box which also contains chloroform. The men are lifted out of the tank using lifting slings dependent on their injury ie. if injury is below the waist, two slings under the arm; if injury is below the waist, two slings joined together are passed under the crutch. The wounded men are then carried to safety and the burns victim is attended to. Both men are kept warm and comfortable. (Reel 3) Field medical card filled out with state of injury, any drugs administered and attached to the injured party. Recovery and repair of the tank is initiated. An enemy aircraft flies low and the crew defend themselves with small arms. A sign is left indicating the presence of mines. Procedure for burying the dead: remove AB64, ID discs, uniform flashes and personal belongings. Red disc kept by the army and green disc left with the body. Mounds must be clearly marked so the Grave Service can locate the dead. Use pencil to write particulars on paper to place in can and half bury in the mound. Senior officer makes report for his unit and sandbags containing personal effects are passed to the next of kin via HQ. Meanwhile the injured men are taken back to the RAMC. by the quickest means possible.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: DRA 826
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1944-10
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Army Kinematograph Service (Production sponsor) Wallace Productions (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 3 Footage: 2576 ft; Running time: 29 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    DRA 826

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