Description
Object description
An edition of the British official newsreel "World Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
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I. 'EISENHOWER'S SWORD.' The Lord Mayor of London presents General Dwight D Eisenhower with the Duke of Wellington's sword as token at the Guildhall on June 12 1945 (cf WPN 218). The commentary points out that the General's sword was not manufactured in time for the freedom of the city ceremony. Male swordsmiths (Wilkinson Sword) fire steel in a kiln, later shaping it by drop-hammer. Tom Beasley, an employee of Wilkinsons for fifty-seven years, hand shapes steel destined to become the blade of General Eisenhower's sword. The sword is tempered and edged and later immersed in an oil bath. A Wilkinson's swordsmith tests the flexibility of the sword's shaft. A Goldsmith winds gold wire onto the pummel of a sword. The hilt and crossguard are assembled. The completed sword is displayed.
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II. 'NEW PANDA ARRIVES.' Spectators in Regent's Park Zoo stand at a cage marked "Giant Panda-Lien Ho." Close up footage shows an unhappy female panda in a cage. The panda is dubbed "Miss Unity" by the commentary. A Regent's Park zoo keeper feeds the panda with bamboo shoots dipped in water. A woman in a fur coat takes photographs of the captive panda.
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III. 'BICYCLE FOOTBALL.' Austria plays Switzerland in the novel sport of bicycle football. Spectators watch the fast-moving indoor game. Highlights of the match follow.
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IV. 'BRITISH AGRICULTURE.' Delegates of the International Conference of Agricultural Workers are transported across a field of barley by narrow gauge railway during a tour of a Lincolnshire farm. Delegates visit cabbage fields to inspect irrigation pipelines. Land girls pick mature stems of rhubarb. Delegates view new designs of agricultural inplements and tractors in a barn. Conference delegates closely inspect a Nuffield Universal tractor. German prisoners of war work on a horse-towed seed sowing machine. Delegates are transported by single decker coach to another farm where they view livestock pens. Delegates inspect sheep, Jersey cattle and a prize-winning pig (Boston Royal Emblem). The conference delegation later visit Windsor where they are given a tour by King George VI (who smokes a cigarette).
Physical description
35mm