THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF THE WOMEN'S AUXILIARY AIR FORCE ARRIVES IN INDIA [Allocated Title]
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- Title: THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF THE WOMEN'S AUXILIARY AIR FORCE ARRIVES IN INDIA [Allocated Title]
- Film Number: ABY 53
- Other titles: ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
- Summary: Scenes of the first Women's Auxiliary Air Force personnel arriving in Bombay and sightseeing in Delhi.
- Description: Troopship approaches dockside in Bombay. Women's Auxiliary Air Force personnel (WAAF's) onboard smiling and waving. Close-ups on WAAF's waving and leaning out of portholes. Women peeling oranges, presumably a rare treat at home. Close-up on group of WAAF's smiling for the camera. A senior WAAF officer walks up the gangway. British airmen disembark with women cheering from portholes and the deck of the ship. View from the deck looking over the quayside. A member of the RAF Film Unit with camera introduces himself to the senior WAAF officer and presents his credentials. WAAF's making their way down a companionway and along the gangway to disembark. The first woman to disembark is greeted by Wing Officer Gauld and named on the dopesheet as Corporal Moyra Bish of Enfield. More women disembark and the contingent marches off along the quayside. A military train laid on to transport the WAAF's to Delhi pulls away. Footage from onboard the train. Leading Aircraftwoman (LACW) Margaret Dearlove of Newport seen writing a letter home. Brief shot of the train's kitchen and staff. WAAF's arrive at their new billets in Delhi and dismount from a lorry. In the background onlookers lean from windows to wave. Establishing shot of WAAF's seated outside a canteen. Close shot of women being served tea. A group of WAAF's go to meet two naval women of the Women's Auxiliary Corps of India, who have invited them to go sightseeing. Landscape shot of the Jama Masjid, Delhi's principal mosque. Party of WAAF's climb the mosque's steps and enter the courtyard. WAAF's walking through an archway at Delhi's Red Fort before stopping to admire a stone elephant. Group of WAAF's dwarfed by the All-India War Memorial. Camera pans up to show inscription: 'INDIA'. LACW Bowen and Dearlove take camel rides. WAAF's climb into a horse-drawn 'tonga' with the parliament building, secretariate and state office buildings in the background. WAAF's go on a shopping expedition, LACW Dearlove tries on a hand-embroidered coatee from Kashmir. Other WAAF's admire a display of decorative handbags. Group of WAAF's with mixed expressions watch a snakehandler and his collection of cobras, who appear to strike him several times. Series of portrait shots of a number of WAAF's.
- Alternative Title: ROYAL AIR FORCE OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR [Allocated Series Title]
- Colour: B&W
- Digitised:
- Object_Number: ABY 53
- Sound: Silent
- Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
- Featured Period: 1939-1945
- Production Date: 1944-12-26
- Production Country: GB
- Production Details: Air Ministry, Directorate of Public Relations (Production sponsor) Royal Air Force Film Production Unit (Production company) Goozee, S (Production individual) Clot, Dennis Francis Emile1919-07-04 (Production individual)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations: Royal Air Force, Women's Auxiliary Air Force (regiment/service)
- Keywords: Bombay, West India, India (geography) Delhi, North Central India, India (geography) India 1939-1945 (theme) Far East 1939-1945 (theme) Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (theme)
- Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent
- Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 436 ft; Running time: 5 minutes
- HD Media:
- Link to IWM Collections page:
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Related IWM Collections Objects:
GEN 12 (THE GEN NO 12 [Main Title]) ABY 58 (WAAF PERSONNEL ARRIVE BY AIR IN CEYLON [Allocated Title]) ABY 73 (SO THIS IS INDIA [Allocated Title]) ABY 117 (WAAFs AT WORK AND PLAY IN INDIA [Allocated Title]) ABY 175 (LADY WELSH VISITS CALCUTTA [Allocated Title]) Documents.17155 (System.Xml.XmlElement) APY 37 (LIFE IN AIR COMMAND SOUTH EAST ASIA [Main Title]) 11381 ()