WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 140 [Main Title]

An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.

I. 'NEW YEAR SPORTS IN CAIRO.' Panoramic views show thousands of spectators that have crammed into the El Alamein Club stadium in Cairo to enjoy the New Year's (1943-1944) triple sports programme. Spectators use a trestle ladder to climb onto the roof of the El Alamein Club in order to get a better view of the sporting events. The opposing football teams run out onto the pitch followed by various views of the match which was won by an Egyptian team representing the Cairo League. Spectators watch an American Football game at the El Alamein Club stadium. Male and female cheerleading teams vie for the attention of the crowds. Brief views of the game follow, team members chew gum on the sidelines. A Rugby match between the South African Armoured Division Fifteen and the New Zealand Base Depot Team concludes the triple sports event (South Africans 12, New Zealanders 11). The event draws very large crowds of off-duty servicemen.

II. 'VISIT OF EMIRS FEISAL AND KHALID TO ENGLAND.' An item covering the visit to Britain of Emir Feisal and Khalid, the sons of the King of Saudi Arabia in November 1943. Emir Feisal and Khalid detrain at a London railway station at the start of their visit. The Emirs are accompanied by Major-General E A E Tremlett (Commander London Anti-Aircraft Defences) on a visit to bomb-damaged areas in London. The Emirs view bomb-damaged buildings accompanied by unidentified British officials (Ministry of Works ?) The Emirs visit a gun emplacement at Dover during an inspection of coastal defences. The Emirs review a guard of honour taken from the Home Guard before visiting the camouflaged gun emplacement. The Saudi visitors are later piped aboard a Royal Navy (RN) vessel (motor gun boat ?) moored in Dover Harbour. The Emirs are given a tour of the Stables at Newmarket, examining the horses with evident enthusiasm. A visit to King's College in Cambridge concludes the Emir's tour of Britain.

III. 'ITALY: BOMBERS OVER THE SANGRO.' Air to ground footage taken from an Allied aircraft at high altitude shows the Sangro River and flood plain in the Chieti Region (Abruzzi Citra) of Italy. The commentary outlines the work of the Tactical Air Force in supporting the advance of the United States (US) Fifth Army and in neutralising specific German defensive gun emplacements. Aerial footage shows a Royal Air Force (RAF) Martin Baltimore Mk IV bomber overflying mountainous Italian terrain. Air to ground footage show bombs dropping and impacting. Aerial footage shows United States Army Air Force (USAAF) North American B-25 Mitchell bomber "Pink Lady" in flight displaying sixty-mission tallies on its fuselage.

IV. 'LIVING OFF THE LAND.' British civilian war workers give up their holidays in response to the Government's appeal for volunteers to help gather the harvest. Civilian farming volunteers arrive at a farm in an undisclosed location carrying suitcases, later queuing to hand over ration books to woman seated at a desk (presumably the farm caterer or cook). Panoramic agricultural views show mixed-sex farming volunteers baling hay onto waiting carts. A wheeled tractor pulls harvesting equipment as female volunteers stack wheat sheaves for drying in the sunshine. Male and female farming volunteers dig potatoes from a field. A dinner bell is rung to summon the workers from the fields who arrive and form a queue for their evening meal. The commentary states that the intensive agricultural programme that was introduced in the summer has paid dividends, bringing in the biggest harvest on record. In complete contrast, Australian infantry undergo a rigorous survival training programme in the West Australian outback. Australian infantrymen are led to a tree by a survival instructor, a sapling is cut to access the water that is contained within the stem. The water is collected into mess tins and is then tasted by the assembled troops. The process is repeated using tree-roots. An Australian infantryman "showers" using water dripping from numerous tree-roots that are held above him by his friends. The infantrymen are later instructed in the edible delights to be found in the outback, including edible palm fronds and witchetty grubs found under the bark of trees. The grubs are then handed to the troops and eaten by them without much enthusiasm.

35mm