Summary: Captured intact on September 4th-5th 1944 by the 11th Armoured Division and the Belgian Resistance, Antwerp's vast dockyards remain idle until 21st Army Group succeeds in clearing the Schelde Estuary of its tenacious German defenders.
Description: The cameraman surveys deserted quaysides and idle dockside cranes in the Leopold Docks, bereft of all activity save for the unloading of cargo from a large canal barge. A section of British army pioneers marches over a swing bridge at the entrance to the adjoining Albert Docks. Two barges are seen moored along the harbour front on the Schelde. The cameraman studies signs put up by the "Red Star Line" and the British LNER steamship company on their warehouses and dockside buildings; civilian workmen are seen performing maintenance work on a set of points on the quayside railway line.
In the deserted shipyards at Hoboken, the cameraman discovers merchantmen and coasters (in various states of completion) lying unattended in dry dock, on slipways and in fitting-out basins; equally inactive shipbuilders' cranes dominate the peaceful scene.
Alternative Title:
Colour:B&W
Digitised:
Object_Number:A70 188-2
Sound:Silent
Access Conditions:IWM
Featured Period:1939-1945
Production Date:1944-10-21
Production Country: GB
Production Details: Army Film Unit (Production company)
Collins (Sergeant) (Production individual)
