I. NEW ZEALAND CAMP PREPARED BY NATIVES (SIC). II. NEW ZEALANDERS ARRIVE AND LAND IN EGYPT [Allocated Title]

Unedited and uncensored newsreel rushes showing the First Echelon of the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) disembarking at Port Tewfik, Egypt, after a five week-long sea voyage from Auckland with Convoy US.1.

Part I. Views filmed on 9 February 1940 from an escarpment overlooking an Army camp at Maadi set in a plain of hard sand several miles outside Cairo as it is made ready to receive the first contingents of the 2nd NZEF. Egyptian labourers and joiners erect a prefabricated wooden hut, fixing roof timbers to the sides of the building, sawing a plank with an old-fashioned carpenter's saw and chiselling an upright piece of timber with a mortise axe. A brief unsteady view of the front of a staff car (?) in Maadi Camp.

Part II. Scenes filmed on board the troopship «RMS Empress of Canada» on 13 February 1940: men serving with the 2nd NZEF crowd around one of their comrades, a Sergeant, as he reads the centre pages of the local English-language newspaper, 'The Egyptian Mail'; the headlines on the main front page story read 'Roosevelt New Effort for World Peace. Mr Sumner Welles Assured of Cordial Welcome'. Men crammed onto one of the decks on board the troopship wave their Stetson hats and cheer at the camera. Four cheerful-looking New Zealanders pose for the camera.

Part III. A New Zealander playing bagpipes walks up and down the sides of a cargo lighter used to transport him and many of his comrades from «RMS Empress of Canada» moored off Port Tewfik at the southern end of the Suez Canal. More men disembark from the big passenger liner and board another lighter lashed next to the barge on which the cameraman is filming. One New Zealander playfully replaces his Stetson hat for an old-fashioned Wolseley helmet still in common use by British troops in the Middle East. The soldier playing on the bagpipes is dwarfed by the huge troopship towering above him. The two lighters crammed with men are propelled towards the shore by a tugboat which has been lashed to them; «RMS Empress of Canada» slowly slips astern. Another cargo lighter ferrying the luggage belonging to the New Zealanders is being towed behind the two carrying the troops; on it, its crew of seven Egyptian dock labourers perform a dance as the New Zealander plays on his bagpipes. A view from the bridge of the tugboat as it heads towards Port Tewfik showing a freighter and a large P & O 'O-Class' passenger liner waiting to enter the Suez Canal. The vessel passes along the starboard side of the large vessel (possibly «SS Otranto») and across its bow; large numbers of men (probably Australians) can be seen lining the decks and waving.

Part IV. Scenes during the cameraman's short trip from Port Tewfik out to «RMS Empress of Canada» moored off shore, with troops from New Zealand lining the ship's starboard side. The crew of an Egyptian felucca 'bum boat' has manoeuvred their craft alongside the huge vessel's starboard quarter and one of its members has succeeded in climbing up the felucca's mast to sell tourist trinkets to the men on board. Curious New Zealanders line the ship's sides and have climbed up the rigging of one of the masts to get a better look at the 'bum boat' down below.

Part V. High angle views looking down on a large number of New Zealanders on deck laughing at the camera as they pose for another cameraman (unseen) taking a photograph; they include the Sergeant seen at 90-115 feet with 'The Egyptian Mail'. One soldier has tied a stuffed toy black cat to his kitbag. A view through the main access point on the starboard side of «RMS Empress of Canada» with the commander of the 2nd NZEF, Major-General Bernard Freyberg VC, his aide-de-camp (?) and the captain of the ship waiting at the top of the main gangway to greet three VIPs. The first to appear is Anthony Eden, Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, followed by Sir Miles Lampson, the British ambassador in Cairo, and General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in the Middle East. Eden shakes hands with Freyberg, his ADC and the ship's captain. Scenes showing Eden, Lampson, Wavell and a senior Egyptian government official (Mahmoud Azmy Bey, the military governor of the Canal Zone ?) in front of a large number of New Zealanders crammed on deck at the stern of the ship. Lampson reads out a message to the New Zealanders from HM King George VI, followed by a speech by Eden. At one point, a newsreel cameraman with a 35mm Newman Sinclair ciné camera is seen filming Eden.

Part VI. Egyptian dock labourers pull hard on a heavy rope to tie up a lighter. Men from the 2nd NZEF step over wooden ramps as they disembark in single file from their lighter. Close-up shots of Anthony Eden with General Freyberg and Sir Miles Lampson, who removes the monocle in his left eye for the camera. A platoon of New Zealanders forms up in two ranks with their kitbags at their feet. Scenes showing large numbers of New Zealanders forming up on the quay at Port Tewfik, Egyptian stevedores in the process of emptying the lighter seen earlier of its cargo of luggage, supervised by a European dock official, and more New Zealanders being ferried ashore in two lighters lashed together. Watching the men disembark are several NZ officers and two Royal Navy officers.

Part VII. Shots from different places on board «RMS Empress of Canada» as men of the 2nd NZEF crowd on deck to hear welcoming speeches from Eden, Lampson, Wavell etc and giving their VIP visitors three cheers. Eden and Lampson chat to the men informally as they take their leave. With kits bags in hand, New Zealanders (in full service marching order (FSMO) apart from the fact that they are unarmed) make their way down the ship's starboard gangway and board two cargo lighters moored together. Watched by three young Egyptians and several of their officers, they gradually fill all the available space.

Part VIII. Watched by a single RN officer and an Egyptian dock labourer, NZ troops disembark onto a large floating pier which they cross before reaching the actual harbour quay. The cameraman is filming from a barge used to ferry luggage belonging to the troops from ship to shore. The New Zealanders are seen using two wooden ramps to step ashore, watched by a Royal Navy officer with the rank of Captain. Each man is carrying a kitbag with his name and serial number stencilled in black lettering; the one that can be seen clearly reads 'Pte J.S. Ryan'. A close-up shot of General Freyberg with a half smile on his face. Large numbers of New Zealanders are seen moving away from the waterfront whilst others are still being landed from the vessels used to transport them from ship to shore. A long column of men marching in ranks of three heads towards the exit to the docks at Port Tewfik in company-sized groups; at the head of one company, a drummer beats time. More new arrivals form up on land after disembarking from their lighter.

Part IX.The felucca seen in Part IV is seen alongside the starboard quarter of «RMS Empress of Canada» One of its crew is seen almost at the top of the felucca's mast engaged in conversation with the New Zealanders lining the ship's rails. Two soldiers poke their heads out of two large port holes or scuttles low down in the ship's hull. Filmed on board «RMS Empress of Canada», the Egyptian who has climbed up the mast of his felucca is seen talking to the men lining the ship's rails. He is evidently trying to sell them something. A New Zealander with brass insignia and shoulder patches indicating he is serving with the 4th Field Artillery Regiment takes part in some bargaining along with other comrades who engage in a lively exchange with local traders in three 'bum boats' down below.

35mm