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Summary: Scenes in 59th Division's sector of 12th Corps' Orne bridge-head following the capture of Thury-Harcourt.
Description: A panorama over the Orne valley from its steep-sided west bank takes in a Class 9 folding boat bridge built by 59th Division sappers linking the west bank to the bridge-head between the Fôret de Grimbosq and the town of Thury-Harcourt at La Bagotiere. Despatch riders and lorries belonging to 59th (Staffordshire) Division's 197th Brigade cross into the bridge- head over the Class 9 bridge manned by sappers keeping constant watch on its locking pins. A panorama over the fiercely-contested town of Thury-Harcourt shows buildings still on fire after being set alight by British artillery although now it is in 56th (Independent) Brigade's hands. Three men walk through a newly-dug cemetery containing approximately 100 graves of men from the 2nd Battalion Gloucester Regiment killed in the fighting for the town.
Production Details: Directorate of Public Relations, War Office (Production sponsor)
Army Film and Photographic Unit (Production company)
Gordon, J (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations: British Army, Bde 197 (regiment/service)
British Army, Royal Engineers (regiment/service)
British Army, Div 59 (regiment/service)
British Army, Gloucester Regiment, 2nd Battalion (regiment/service)
British Army, Bde 56 (regiment/service)
British Army, Corps 12 (regiment/service)
Keywords: engineering, military, British: Class 9 folding boat bridge (object name)
transport, British military - truck: Morris 15cwt 4x2 (object name)
war graves and milit cemeteries (object name)
Orne (River), France (geography)
Thury-Harcourt, Calvados, France (geography)
Normandy, France (geography)
Notes: Note: See A70 111-5, 112-5 and 6, 113-4, 5, 6, 15, 18, 19, 116-6, 118-3 and 4, 124-2, 3, 6, 126-8, 10, 11 for showing 12th Corps' formations in action near Villers-Bocage, in the Orne bridge-head at Goupillieres and during the advance towards Falaise. The 56th (Independent) Brigade, of which the 2nd Gloucester Regiment was a part, joined 49th Division when 70th Brigade was disbanded in late August 1944.
Remarks: The panorama shots over the Orne valley was shot out-of-focus. Parts of this material suffer from light flickering along the edge of the ciné frames. Best seen with A70 124-2 for similar material and the other items of ciné footage listed above.
Documentation/associated material: for a bibliography, refer to the publications listed in A70 111-5.
