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Synopsis :

1. 'Japanese Raid On Singapore - 1942' (01/01/1942; Mute)

Various shots of British families, mainly women and children, embarking aboard troopship at Singapore harbour ready to leave as the Japanese attacks increase.

Various shots of Colonial troops fighting fires in a village on outskirts of Singapore after Japanese air raid.

2. 'Mountbatten And Others Off Plane' (01/01/1945; Mute)

Possibly Singapore.

VS Lord Louis Mountbatten arrives on plane. He is seen with other senior military figures including General Sir William Slim.

Lord Mountbatten in dress uniform inspects sailors.

3. 'People & Places In The News' (04/02/1946; English)

Jerusalem. Police H.Q. in Jerusalem damaged by sabotage - Jewish terrorists are responsible for the attack. Various shots of damaged buildings. Arabs clearing debris by hand. Street view with damaged police building. Funeral of 4 British soldiers passing the Citadel. Coffins draped with Union Jack being borne by soldiers. Graveside scenes at the burial.

Malaya (Malaysia). Malayan natives, mostly women, sorting salvaged rubber. Bales of rubber dance about after being dropping from lorry. Bales of rubber being hauled by crane to ship. Rubber tree with cup receiving the gum. Natives carrying pails of raw rubber.

Hamburg, Germany. Cutting torpedoes with oxy-acetelene burners. Close up shot of burner cutting through. Cutting hulls of U-boats. Yard of scrapped U-boats.

London. British singer Gracie Fields sitting in armchair talking into camera. She speaks of her future plans and says she is a bit tired.

London. Don Juan, pretender to Spanish throne, arrives with wife at London Airport. Don Juan and his wife walking down London street, they enter car.

Croydon Airport, Surrey. Trygve Lie, Norwegian Foreign Minster leaving car, speaking to ATS driver. Close up shot of Mr Lie speaking.

Portsmouth, Hampshire. Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) with open umbrella walking up gangway of HMS Victory. Princess arriving on deck escorted by Admiral Layton. Looking at the spot where Nelson fell.

Union Jack flying at the mast of the Victory. Sign of NAAFI club at Portsmouth, Princess speaking and declaring the club open. Good shot of audience listening to Princess.

Shot of radar range finder. Shot of radar mast. Various stages of operating radar set. Close up shot of volt and amp meters working. Close up shot of radar screen showing pulses striking the moon.

4. 'Jap POWs On Work Parties' (01/01/1945; Mute)

Captured Japanese soldiers put to work in Singapore.

Japanese POWs at work stacking and handling petrol tins, cutting grass around fuel dump, stacking barbed wire, unloading and stacking stores bags of cement and filling in slit trenches.

5. 'The Mint' (01/01/1946; Mute)

British Instructional Films Ltd presents a Classroom Film. Acknowledgements are made to the Royal Mint.

Men in cloth caps unload bullion from the back of a van. A supervisor checks a piece of paper on a clipboard. The bullion is stacked on a trolley then pulled along. Inside the foundry. The bullion is dropped into fiery vats and melted. Vessels are pulled from the kilns by winches, men work wearing protective clothing. The molten metal is poured into moulds. A man knocks a nail into metal bars once they come out of the moulds. The bars are rolled by machine to the required thickness. "Blanks" are cut out by a press. The blanks are cleaned and polished in a machine - it looks like the drum of a washing machine and the coins are seen going around in the drum. They are poured out into a barrow then into sacks and weighed. Images are then stamped on the blanks. Women work the stamping machines. C/U of the coin - a half crown with the image of King George VI.

Coins are pumped from machine. We also see C/U of Palestinian coin, a British penny and a square one cent coin. A bowl of shiny coins is seen. Coins are weighed. Women watch a conveyor belt of money go by and pick out any damaged coins. C/U of bent coin. The coins are counted. Women work on large machines. Small sacks are filled with coins. Top of sack is tied with string. Sacks of coins are piled on to a barrow. Bags of coins go to the Bank of England (not seen). Boxes of coins are sent abroad. Men load sacks on to a lorry. Other men bang nails into boxes which are then sealed with packing tape and stacked in piles. Names visible on sides of boxes: Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Bank of British West Africa, Pay Office Singapore.

Money poured from a sack into tills at a bank. We then see a woman buying cigarettes in a shop. She pays and the shopkeeper places her change on a glass tray.

6. 'More Reinforcements For Singapore' (10/11/1941; Mute)

Various shots at British soldiers arrive in Singapore and disembark, the camera pans across ship full of Indian troops, the people from Singapore drag the ship in. Various shots as the Indian troops disembark. Various shots as big guns are fired and Commander in Chief of the Far East Sir Robert Brooke-Popham watches. Various shots as tanks bounce over obstacles.

7. 'Japan Runs Amuck' (11/12/1941; English)

L/S of a map of the globe showing which countries are at war. M/S's of America and Japan. M/S of a sunset. Various shots of Nomura, Japanese Ambassador in the USA, and Kurusu, Japanese diplomat, smiling and shaking hands. M/S of the Mikado "Son of Heaven" Emperor Michinomiya Hirohito riding on a horse.

C/U's of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. M/S of Japanese soldiers marching and planes flying over in earlier campaigns, aerial shots of bombs dropping. M/S of map again. Various shots of British troops in Malaya wading through muddy water. M/S of actor dressed as Japanese warrior cutting through the map with a sword. Various shots of Singapore. M/S of Japanese flagship "Idzumo" firing. C/U Roosevelt speaking, American Stars and Stripes flag is superimposed over him. Various shots of plane flying over San Francisco. Aerial shots of Hollywood and oilfields at Long Beach. Various shots of American planes flying and naval ships steaming ahead. M/S of Stars and Stripes flag. Various shots of allied antiaircraft guns firing.

8. 'From Our Cameramen In The Far East' (22/12/1941; English)

Various shots as more allied reinforcement troops of different nationalities arrive in Singapore. Gurkhas advance through the jungle to fight the Japanese.

9. 'Operation Larder' (11/02/1946; English)

Sir Ben Smith. Food Minister, seated at desk speaks of the food crisis. M/S showing a family seated at breakfast table, we hear the housewife's voice complaining about the lack of food and things she has to serve. M/S's as plates of bread and dried egg are served to the children at table. The woman pours cup of tea whilst husband reads paper. C/U small boy eating. Various shots as they eat. She cuts loaf of bread. C/U hands buttering slice of bread. Various shots women queuing at English shops. C/U feet of people queuing. Interior shot woman buying fat in butcher's shop. C/U of British ration book with points being marked off. M/S's woman looking into shop window. C/U of the people with empty shopping baskets. Various shots of queues outside Lyons Restaurant in Oxford Street, London. C/U woman looking into shop window full of tinned food.

Various shots threshing machine at work in cornfield, we hear Ben Smith talking about shortage of grain. Various shots binding the corn. Various shots people working in the rice fields of Malaya. M/S people silhouetted against a light appealing for food with upraised hands. Various shots of the famine in Bengal with pictures of the emaciated starving and dying. Various shots of locals eating paper and straw. Brief shot of the dead laid out. Various shots of large numbers of people with utensils in hands, they appeal to camera for food. M/S as Ben Smith speaks again telling people not to waste food.

10. 'Japanese Surrender And Local Shots' (01/01/1945; Mute)

Singapore.

Various shots of Japanese troops in streets. Shots of signing of Surrender documents in Singapore - various Japanese and British military officers. Shots of group of fairly cheerful British Prisoners of War (POWs). More shots of signing. British troops put up posters announcing surrender. Streets almost deserted, Local inhabitants jubilant but keep on pavement. Shots of sad looking Japanese troops. Landing crafts come in to harbour. More shots of guards. Shots of Allied POWs being given cigarettes, some of them look very thin. More celebrations. Union Jack British flag flies over building. Allied POWs wave from behind wire fence.

11. 'Empire Troops At Camp' (01/01/1946; Mute)

CU side views showing shoulder flashes on uniforms of Empire / Commonwealth Troops including some from Bermuda, Australia, Malaya, Fiji and Hong Kong. They are seen resting and cleaning equipment, smoking and reading inside Bell Tent. CU Dominion & allied soldiers strolling around camp.& doing odd jobs. CU sign boards in camp pointing to the whereabouts of the various contingents. They may be preparing for VE or VJ Day parades. Sailors are there as well as soldiers.

Old record suggests date as 09/07/1946.

12. 'Views Of Singapore After The War' (01/01/1946; Mute)

Various shots of Singapore showing harbour, buildings, some destruction, street scenes, people in rickshaws and on bicycles, families eating outdoor on street, small barges in the harbour. Some taller buildings are seen but the town is generally close to ground.

13. 'That Other War' (02/06/1941; English)

China.

Japanese army heads towards Singapore.

Various L/Ss of a large convoy of Japanese merchant ships at sea. Air to air M/Ss of a Japanese bomber releasing its load, pan down to an aerial view of the bombs exploding on the banks of a Chinese river. Various shots of Japanese troops entering a burning town in China, soldiers carry Japanese flags.

14. 'News In A Nutshell' (18/10/1936; English)

'Bavaria' (Germany) - M/S of a cow with bell and collar as well as harness wrapped around its horns. M/S as a calf is lifted onto a cart and covered with a blanket. Cows walk out of a shed and through the snow towards the village where it is warmer. Various shots as they continue their journey. M/S of an elderly lady leading them into the village. M/S of one cow's head. C/U of the lady smiling.

'Pembroke' (Dyfed, Wales) - M/S of 5 royal air force flying boats on the water. M/S of the crew. Various shots of the aeroplanes, men get onboard and one taxis along the water, M/S of propellor spinning. Various shots of the aeroplanes on their way to Singapore.

'Brooklands' (Surrey) - L/S of fans at the motor races. C/U of John Cobb in his car. MS as they set off, various shots as they race around the course. C/U of the winner Raymond Mays in his car.

'Golden telephone presented to London's Lord Mayor.' - M/S of Post Master General making a speech declaring there are now 1 million telephones in London. He presents a gilded telephone to P. Vincent, the Lord Mayor of London, for use in the Mansion House. C/U of the telephone. The mayor makes a call on it.

15. 'Tojo On Trial' (20/05/1946; English)

Tokyo, Japan.

M/S of former Prime Minister of Japan, Hidaki Tojo entering court. He is one of 27 Japanese war criminals. Various shots of large court room, including shot of Dr. Shumei Okawa praying. C/U of Tojo in the dock. Various shots showing trial proceedings. The prosecutor is an American officer. Top shot of Okawa writing in a book, his feet are bare. C/U of Okawa slapping Tojo's bald head. L/S of Okawa being escorted from the court with a struggle.
Malaya.

M/S of British officers and soldiers escorting General Shampei of Japanese Army down some steps. Shampei is charged with crime of murdering Australian prisoners of war. He wears a bag over his head. We see him being tied to a post. L/S of Shampei being executed by a firing squad. The firing squad are volunteers of the Northamptonshire Regiment.

16. 'Australians In Singapore' (28/04/1941; English)

Various shots of a troopship alongside the quay at Singapore. Various shots of the Australian troops onboard the ship waving. C/U map showing the position of Singapore. M/S group of smiling Australians on the ship. C/U Brigadier-General Bennett (on the left) commander of the Australians. C/U's regimental mascot, a kangaroo. Various shots as the troops march along watched by the locals.

17. 'Kra! A Pathetone Special' (31/12/1940; English)

Isthmus of Kra, Malaya.

M/S of an agreement signed 'Germany' and 'Italy' as a hand writes 'Japan' at the bottom. Commentator talks of the Kra Isthmus being important now that Japan is a member of the Axis and says it may become the scene of "momentous happenings". Maps and travelogue footage explain the area and situation, including Singapore - "a natural strategic advantage that is strongly guarded".

Diagrams show the trade routes as we are told that Japan would like to cut a canal through Kra, making several other areas more accessible. A Japanese warrior is shown wielding a sword over the map as commentator says "Will it be peace or...?"

18. 'Latest From Singapore' (16/10/1941; English)

L/S of Singapore, the camera pans across. M/S of boats in the harbour. Travelling shot down street. C/U of a lady. M/S as man runs past pulling rickshaw. Various shots of the naval base. Various shots as representatives from China present G.O.C. Malaya with a banner embroidered with the V for victory sign on behalf of the China Relief Fund.

M/S of men next to Bren gun carriers. M/S as Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur Brooke-Popham, Commander in Chief of the Far East, inspects the carriers. Men get in them and drive off giving demonstration. M/S of big guns, various shots as Indian soldiers prepare them for the defence of Singapore.

19. 'Damaged Harbour And Town - Singapore' (01/01/1945; Mute)

Elevated pan of Singapore. Devastated port facilities at Singapore docks. British soldiers disembarking from troop ship.

20. 'In Line Of March' (23/03/1946; English)

London.

Panning shot of Land, Sea and Air Rangers massed in Hyde Park. C/U of Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret taking salute. Both wear Sea Ranger uniforms. M/S of rangers marching past.

Various shots of "Old Contemptibles", war veterans from World War I, marching into St Paul's cathedral on annual memorial parade. M/S of Lord Mayor of London entering cathedral. M/S of veterans holding regimental flags entering cathedral.

M/S of Colonial Servicemen from Fiji sing traditional song in Kensington Gardens. Various C/Us of soldiers from Commonwealth countries: Bermuda, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Sarawak (Malaysia), Malaya and Hong Kong. Each gives short message in his mother tongue. More shots of Fijian soldiers singing.

21. 'Singapore Naval Base Opened' (24/02/1938; Mute)

Various shots of Naval troops and officers arriving at a port on a large ship - looks more like a steamer / pleasure-cruise ship than a Naval ship - it is the official yacht Sea Belle. Crowds of people stand on the dockside as a more modern war ship comes into dock. Biplanes fly overhead in formation. Men in Naval ceremonial dress listen as an important-looking man, Sir Shenton Thomas, makes a speech.

C/U of a plaque being unveiled; it reads: "KING GEORGE VI DOCK - This dock was opened by His Excellency Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas, CCMC, OBE, Governor and Commander-In-Chief of the Colony of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner of the Malay States - February 14th 1938.

Brief shot tracking along a new Naval warship; sailors are seen on deck. Paperwork says this will be the basse for the British Navy in the Indian Ocean and the China Seas.

22. 'Troops Prepare In Singapore - 1941' (01/01/1942; Mute)

Various shots showing the bomb damage in Singapore and workers clearing up the rubble. British soldier comes and starts pushing away men who are clearing the rubble - he is unpleasant for some reason. More shots of damage and the men clearing it.

Sunset over jungle coastline.

Various shots of Indian maintenance unit at work in their camp in jungle. They repair trucks and motorcycles and take them for test drive. Various shots of Indians carrying logs through jungle. They start building something. Various shots of Indian soldiers taking a break for food, they tuck into chapatis, etc. Various shots of some Indians playing a game of hockey.

Various shots of Indian troops receiving instructions in small arms and general arms training - rifles, light artillery, etc.

Various shots of British soldiers riding bicycles through what looks like Singapore, they arrive at a railway station. Close up shot of a local newspaper with headline 'Troops Recalled to Barracks'. Various shots of British soldiers boarding trains at the station named "Sungei Patani". Train leaving station.

Various shots of convoy carrying troops and supplies along the Malay-Siam road.

23. 'Malaya - Siam Road - 1942' (01/01/1942; Mute)

Various hots of the tanks moving through the town, mosque in background. Various shots of large British convoy travelling along the Malayan road towards border. Various travel shots of the countryside. More shots of the convoy advancing. They stop to have some food on side of the road. Several shots of the guards on the border.

Various shots of the British and Indian troops performing a crossing the river exercise in small boats - presumably in Siam. Men are receiving food in a jungle camp. Various shots of the troops relaxing in camp - great shots of the men playing with boxer dog in mud, the dog loves it. Various shots of the Australian troops rounding up Japanese personnel for interrogation in Siamese town.