ENTRY INTO FORT DUFFERIN, MANDALAY (20/3/1945)

This film is held by the Imperial War Museum (ID: JFU 83).

Synopsis

General Leese (Commander-in-Chief Allied Land Forces South East Asia) and General Rees (General Officer Commanding 19th Indian Division) observe the final bombing runs on the north wall of Fort Dufferin, Mandalay, Burma and enter the fort after the Japanese have left.

Officers and men gather on a covered stairway on Mandalay Hill. Two groups of three planes appear as tiny dots in the sky over the city. The crowd looks on as smoke rises from the walls of Fort Dufferin. The officers watch the action through binoculars. A plume of smoke and water rises from the wall and moat of the fort. The officers leave the covered walkway and enter a large, traditional style, hut with a sign above the door in Burmese. The party leaves the building. A jeep comes along a road lined with troops marching in the opposite direction. The men carry their weapons and wear tin hats. A second jeep follows. A jeep passes a badly damaged building carrying General Rees. A column of soldiers (possibly of 2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment) marches along the road into Fort Dufferin through the wooden north gate. Damaged buildings inside the compound still smolder, many are badly damaged. Troops take a drink from the Burmese who had been brought into the compound by the Japanese before they fled. Burmese and Anglo-Indian families are gathered together in groups under trees. A soldier in a stationary jeep is surrounded by Burmese and Anglo-Indian men. Soldiers chat and laugh with Burmese and Anglo-Indian families, many of whom have small children and babies. One family has a cart laden with belongings. A British soldier, Captain Campagnac, feeds a baby milk from a large spoon. The baby is Peggy Embley, daughter of Peter Embley, and is held by her grandmother Marie Embley. A line of four Anglo-Indian women laugh and chat and Burmese men gather around a jeep laden with troops.

Notes

See JFU 86 for further footage of Peggy Embley.

 

Titles

  • ENTRY INTO FORT DUFFERIN, MANDALAY (20/3/1945) (Allocated)
Series Title:
BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
 

Technical Data

Year:
1945
Running Time:
7 minutes
Film Gauge (Format):
35mm
Colour:
B&W
Sound:
Silent
Footage:
568 ft
 

Production Credits

Production Countries:
GB
Sponsor
War Office Directorate of Public Relations
cameraman
Hewit, J R (Sergeant)
Production company
SEAC Film Unit
 

Countries

 

Production Organisations