VICTORY GYMKHANA AT KYAIKASAN RACECOURSE RANGOON [Allocated Title]

With the reoccupation of Rangoon, capital of Burma, by British forces, a victory gymkhana is held at Kyaikasan racecourse, with pony and bullock cart racing, horse racing, and athletics.

At Rangoon race course a procession of ponies and carts are paraded through an enclosure. Closer shot. A Burmese man fixes a ‘5’ banner to a pony and cart. A cart driver; one British soldier looks at a board and some others speak to a Burmese man. More ponies and carts paraded. A tote board (a wooden frame inscribed ‘Bookmakers’ Odds’) lists the racers; ‘1 – The Baron / 2 – Blue Dancer / 3 – Tin Tin Hla / 4 – Thein Aung Kyaw / 5 – Thaik Myint / 6 – Con Myint Thu / 7 – Hgwe Win Maung / 8 – Hla Hla May’. Blue Dancer appears to be the favourite. A British serviceman pulls the board down and adjusts the total. Dark interior shot; men placing bets at bookies’ windows. British troops spectating from a railing on the course with the grandstand behind. Wide shot with spectators walking about and the grandstand behind. A group of Burmese ladies with parasols walks past a group of British soldiers, who are shirtless and carry slung rifles. Jockeys ride slowly past. Jockeys waiting for the off; riders 5 and 6 are seen. Horses racing off. General scene. A light aircraft passes low overhead. The end of a relay race; a lanky moustachioed Indian soldier wins by a wide margin. More runners; a British serviceman tries but fails to catch up with a Sikh soldier. A United States Army Air Forces C-46 cargo aircraft passes low overhead. Presentation of prizes to the victorious athletes; an Indian soldiers climbs the grandstand steps. Burmese women spectating with parasols for shade. More of the relay; a baton pass sees an Indian soldier race away. A Sikh soldier (being chased by a British soldier) follows; this is probably the same moment of the race seen earlier. Shot of the local crowd. Runners pass; camera pans and reveals in the background the site of a battery of 25-pounder field guns. Group of Indian soldiers with slung rifles. Horses race past. General view; crowd milling. Major-General Chambers presenting a prize (a trophy and a paper of some kind) to a Burmese (jockey?). More presentations. A group of British soldiers take an interest in the winning jockey’s prize. Chambers walking around the course with two senior officers, one a (Royal Artillery?) brigadier and the other a Lieutenant-Colonel. The group walk behind a line of Burmese civilians and are obscured; the sun glares out the shot but the civilians are seen looking directly into camera. Horses race past. Alternative angle of the prize giving. British troops with one of the winners. General view with British soldiers leaving. Grandstand with crowds. Two officers are seen carrying a basket; civilians wander past. Crowd dispersing. A group of Burmese civilians with an Indian officer (possibly a photographer) holding a sheet of paper. Looking at the sheet; text is faint but may read ‘Victory Gymkhana Race Meeting – The Race Course Rangoon’. Crowd dispersing. Pony carts racing past. Douglas Dakota transport aircraft passing the grandstand. Jeep passing. Bullock carts passing. Bullock carts lined up at the start of a race. Start of the bullock cart race. Horses and riders passing. Wide shot shows horses Racing towards camera. Horses passing the finishing post.

35mm