WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 14 [Main Title]

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  • Title: WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 14 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: WPN 14
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: I. British Aid to Greece. II. Mr Anthony Eden Speaks. III. Keren Besieged.
  • Description: I. 'BRITISH AID TO GREECE.' Quayside views of Greek docks with heavy-lift cranes unloading British military supplies for use by the Greek military. British 4x2 trucks are unloaded. Cut to the interior of a ship's hold as an unloading crew prepare a Universal Carrier for its crane lift. A smiling Greek docker displays the crane winch mechanism as a Universal Carrier is lifted to the dock. Greek dockers load military trucks with British .303-in rifle ammunition and 44mm high explosive shells. Coiled barbed wire is stacked using a gaff. Cut to a warehouse and storage area of the docks, with Greek troops preparing vehicles for use. An Austin 8 HP light utility car is pushed to a petrol pump. A British sound direction indicator is carefully uncrated by troops as commentary stresses the vital role of British supplies in enabling the Greeks to continue the heroic defence of their country. Universal Carriers with Greek drivers leave the dockside area. Item ends with shots of vertically stacked heavy artillery shells. II. 'MR ANTHONY EDEN SPEAKS.' Views of the well-tended British Embassy gardens in Cairo. Anthony Eden (British Foreign Secretary)is involved in a formal photo-session with high ranking British and Commonwealth officers including General Sir John Dill (Chief of the Imperial General Staff), General Sir Thomas Blamey (CinC Australian Army Corps Middle East), Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham (CinC Mediterranean fleet) and a smiling General Sir Archibald Wavell (CinC Middle East). Eden chats informally with Sir Miles Lampson, the British Ambassador to Egypt. III. 'KEREN BESIEGED.' An RAF Vickers Wellesley Mk 1 bomber returning from a raid on Italian held Asmara, lands and taxies. The RAF groundcrew, wearing Pith helmets, prepare General Purpose 40-lb bombs for loading. Detailed views of the winching and loading of bombs into the aircraft's bomb-bays. The Wellesley then taxies out for another sortie to an undisclosed location. Cut to British Universal Carriers moving through a village in an arid region, with Indian infantry supporting the advance. Commentary stresses the antiquity of some of the captured Italian military matériel over shots of 1850's small-calibre cannon. Panoramic views of abandoned Italian equipment including 75mm 75/27 modello 12 field guns, M11/39 medium tanks and Fiat 4x2 heavy trucks. Cut to British Chevrolet 4x2 trucks moving along the strategically important road to Keren. Indian troops attempt to mend a damaged bridge reportedly blown up by the retreating Italians. Shots of British infantry carrying supplies by hand illustrating the difficult nature of the terrain over which the campaign is fought. A British observation post communicates by field telephone with an artillery position which then fires on an Italian-held mountain ridgeline. Smoke rises from the British barrage. Cut to a field kitchen as British infantrymen line up expectantly for their morning ration of porridge. Views of the cooking fires and improvised camp layout.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: WPN 14
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
  • Featured Period: 1939-1945
  • Production Date: 1941-03-24
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Information, Middle East (Production sponsor) War Pictorial News (Production company) Martin, Charles (Production individual) Keating, Rex1910-02-142005-01British newsreel commentator, WW2 period (Production individual)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: English Subtitle language: French & Arabic
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 659 ft; Running time: 8 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    WPN 14

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