Imperial War Museum Films

[Guest]

The secrets of Submarine hunting (16.30)


Object description

Review of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) techniques, and a tribute to the British scientists who devised the instruments which defeated the U-boat.
Full description

"U-boat's commander" (actually RN) takes bearings before submerging. Medium shot of periscope cutting the water as the U-boat approaches its "helpless victim". Merchantman sights U-boat (now surfaced), and sends SOS to fleet - cut to medium long shot across fleet anchorage, taken from HMS Canada (cf THE EMPIRE'S SHIELD, IWM 551). PC boats leave harbour. Smokescreen laid to cover their manoeuvres. Inboard medium shot as hydrophone gear is hoisted out and lowered into the sea. Close-up of operator. Destroyers in line ahead hasten to the scene (cf IWM 551). Long shot as British "submarine cruiser" (K Class) appears towing CB airship. Various aerial and surface views as smoke bombs are dropped to screen approaching destroyers. Aerial and inboard views of a destroyer dropping depth charges. Submarine conning tower breaks the surface, and the crew abandons ship. Patrol craft lower boats to rescue survivors. Airship SS23 is returned to its shed after a successful day. PC boats return to harbour. Final titles show the numbers of U-boats destroyed each year, 1914-18, demonstrating the growing efficiency of British ASW forces. End medium shot silhouette of London Class battleship.
Physical description

35mm

Mike

[derekspiers]

Destruction of a German blockhouse by a 9.2 howitzer

Mike

First time viewing for me. Anyone know more about the location and/or Battery involved?

[Guest]

Our Empire's fight for freedom (in 7 parts)

Part 1 (24.51)

Part 2 (18.09)

Part 3 (15.34)

Part 4 (16.11)

Part 5 (18.36)

Part 6 (19.29)

Part 7 (20.35)

Mike

[Pighills]

I just tried to view one posted by Chester (famous messenger dog), but it gave an error message. I've also tried to view your links, Mike, but get the same error message. I thought it might be an iPad thing but then note Judy's been able to view and I know she uses iPad, so wonder if it's me or a general error this morning - any thoughts anyone?

[judy7007]

Hi Kim

Sadly (as it meant I had to get up and go to the PC) I got the following error message on the iPad - Error loading player:

No playable sources found. I know flash player isn't available on iPad so assumed it was something to do with that. Not quite the same as being able to lie in bed and view

Judy

[Pighills]

Ah, right, so I need to fire up the big one to view them. To be honest I'm not sure I remember how to do that anymore, not since I started this love affair with iPad, whose only fault is the lack of flashing. Oh well, it's obvious that iPads are male - otherwise thy'd be competely perfect just like us

PS: thanks Judy

[Guest]

The eyes of the Army, with the RFC at the front. (7.01)


Object description

Royal Flying Corps workshops and aeroplanes, Western Front, spring 1916.
Full description

An RFC mobile repair shop. A wrecked BE2, serial number 2059, has its wings removed by mechanics and is taken to the repair sheds where its fabric is stripped off. A French officer, being escorted round the shop, passes the fuselage of a Bristol Scout C type, serial number 4679. The mechanics march off to eat. RFC personnel inspect the wreckage of a crashed "Albatros" (?). A rotary engine is fitted to a BE2 (?). An RE7 reconnaissance aircraft goes out on a flight, sending signals to two wireless operators on the ground, and comes back to land.
Physical description

35mm

Mike

[Jim Hastings]

As ever Mike, outstanding finds, thank you for posting

keep 'em coming (if there's any more)

Cheers Jim

[Guest]

" keep 'em coming (if there's any more) "

There's plenty more Jim, glad you're enjoying them.

Mike

[Guest]

Ribemont gas school part 1 (15.23) part (12.02)

Object description

Training film, using Australian troops, on the use of the small box respirator, Western Front, November 1916.
Full description

I. (Reel 1) The opening shows a demonstration by a group of soldiers of the correct methods of carrying, wearing, cleaning and removing the gasmask, including running at the double while wearing it. They test the fit of their gasmasks by entering a room full of tear gas. One soldier in close-up then repeats the full drill. A similar drill is shown for the horse respirator. This is followed by an acted scene in the school's training trenches showing precautions to be taken if the wind is dangerous for a gas attack. In the trench an officer inspects the gasmasks and an NCO tests the Strombos warning horn, the Vermorel sprayer to lay the gas, the Ayrton fans to clear the gas out of dugouts and the bottom of trenches, and the blanket 'door' of a gas-proof dugout. II. (Reel 2) The rest of the film is an acted gas attack in the training trenches, with smoke substituting for gas. The sentry gives the gas alert, soldiers come to the fire-step in their gasmasks but there is one casualty from a badly-fitting mask. A fatigue party responds to the gas alert. After the attack the gas is cleared using Ayrton fans and rifles cleaned. At the film's end there are two further demonstrations as troops enter a gas-filled chamber, first with full head cover and then without respirators, to demonstrate the temporary effects of tear gas.

Physical description 35mm


Mike

[17107BM]

Mike.

Many thanks for your efforts. Really great footage and very interesting.

Cheers all.

[Guest]

You're welcome. The credit goes to the IWM for making them available to us.

Mike

[Guest]

Repairing war's ravages (15.24)


Object description

Spanish language version of a film on the work of the Army rehabilitation centre at Roehampton, Surrey, autumn 1917.
Full description

The inhabitants of the centre are soldiers in hospital blues, all either with an arm or a leg missing, or in wheelchairs, or blind. A group of them assembles to hear a representative of the Ministry of Pensions explain the trades the Army will teach them to help them return to civilian life. Two of the men, each with a leg missing, are taken to join others learning how to be clerks and typists. The men learn to understand account books, to type one-handed, to understand commercial correspondence and accounting. Other men are taught in a workshop how to make purses and other items from leather. In another workshop some are taught electrical work and soldering. Outdoors a teacher blinded in the war shows men the principles of poultry farming. Indoors, a one-armed man learns how to work and maintain a cinema projector. In the engineering section some men work with lathes. Others are taught car maintenance and driving, including how to repair a car tyre inner-tube. Blind or handicapped men weave baskets in the open. In the woodwork shop a one-armed man fits a chisel to his artificial arm for use with a lathe in shaping wood. Finally, wearing their civilian clothes, the men are given a discharge allowance by the Army to help them look for work.
Physical description

35mm

Mike

[Guest]

Surrender of the German Fleet (17.56)


Object description

Elements of the German High Seas Fleet surrender to the British in 1918.
Full description

I. SMS Prinz Regent Luitpold and Friedrich der Grosse pass camera. Medium shot of Friedrich der Grosse with pan to German battleships in line ahead. SMS Bayern and Kronprinz Wilhelm pass camera. Medium shot off port bow of HMS Cardiff with German battle cruisers in line astern - SMS Seydlitz passes off screen, camera holding on Moltke. II. German destroyers underway - V.43 Class, S.131 (with B.169 Class in background), H.145 (a G.101 in background), and V.125 Class vessels. Medium shot, passing to starboard of HMS Anzac (G.70). III. King George V shakes hands with ship's officers before leaving British battleship (three K Class submarines in background). IV. Ship's boat attempts to get a line to nearly submerged aircraft. V. Medium shot of V.100 Class destroyer. VI. Continuation of IV. Onboard scenes as destroyer recovers a ditched Avro 504K. VII. Anchorage at sunset - moored V/W Class destroyers. Light cruisers in the background. VIII. Close-ups, aft the bridge of moored G.101 Class destroyer. Medium close-up, starboard amidships, S.131 Class destroyer. IX. Various shots showing Queen Mary and King George V with Beatty onboard HMS Canada (HMS Oak and RS Class battleships in background), X. Long shot of Seydlitz at Scapa - aircraft goes over anchorage - pan left to show ML hove to. Medium shot off port beam of Seydlitz, and medium close-up of forebody as port anchor is let slip and ensign hauled down from foremast. Long shot as Felixstowe flying boat goes over.
Physical description

35mm


Mike

[Guest]

There is a whole series of " Topical Budget " Clips/Fragments

General Allenby (Fragment 00.16)

Object description

Short fragment of General Allenby from Topical Newsreel issue.
Full description

'ALLENBY WANTED IN CAIRO: Conqueror of Palestine who was called to Peace Conference in Paris and had to rush back to Cairo'. Brief close-up of Allenby, in uniform, posing for the camera.
Physical description

35mm

Mike

[Guest]

Investiture in Delville Wood. (00.57)

'SOUTH AFRICA IN FRANCE: Divisional Commander presenting medals to South Africans in Delville Wood'. Officer awards medals amid the devastation of the former woodland.
Physical description

35mm

Topical Budget Series

Mike

[Guest]

IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM FIRST WORLD WAR PANORAMAS COLLECTION " 6256 results. "

Edit You can download these images, by right clicking, and " save as " document etc. I have registered and signed in, so you may have to register to do same?

Mike

[Jim Hastings]

Now you're just spoiling us Mike ...

Great hunting, thank you

Jim

[Guest]

Cheers Jim. This too is a good one.

A machine gun battalion training in France, the men Ludendorff fears. (16.15)


Object description

Demonstrations of tactics with the Vickers machine gun at the Machine Gun Corps Training School at Rombly, France, 15-17 June 1918.
Full description

(Reel 1) Exercises and physical training on a parade ground. The trainees strip and re-assemble a Vickers machine gun. This is followed by a demonstration of a machine which fills cartridge belts automatically. Four machine guns blast a hole through an 18-inch deep (50 cm) sandbag parapet at a range of about 100 yards/metres. A machine gun section on the march with its eight pack mules entering the start of a trench system. A machine gun platform hidden in a tree. Back at the parade ground, teams of three demonstrate setting up and dismantling their machine guns. A sports interval of wrestling on horseback and officers' quoit tennis. An RE8 overflies the school slowly so that machine-gunners can practise sighting on it. A section coming out of the line is "greeted" (acted?) by men at the school. The men out of the line strip and clean their weapons. (Reel 2) A series of demonstrations of machine gun tactics. A section of four machine guns shows how to conduct a retreat at the gallop, moving the guns in pairs from cover to cover in limber carts. Men crawl forward in long grass to set up a "nest" undetected. Machine-gunners and Infantry make a practice attack under smoke and shellfire. Finally "the dogs of war", a head-on shot of a mascot dog balanced on the barrel of a machine gun fades into a shot of a man aiming the same gun at the camera.
Physical description

35mm


Mike

[Guest]

There are also many hundreds of hours of interesting Audio Click

Mike

[Guest]

Would these be better in separate threads, like the ones egbert is posting? He is also tagging them, which makes sense.

Mike

[Jim Hastings]

The audio recordings of the veteran interviews are great, my favourite is Walter Grover's

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80010219

but then I could be biased as I am looking into 2nd Royal Sussex ...

I think your thread title will draw forum members to all of the films, certainly did me ... But can see the benefit of Egbert's system too

Nice work Mike

[Guest]

Glad you're enjoying them Jim. Wonder if I will ever find time to watch/listen to them. What a fantastic resource. i dare say it's possible to download the audio files to any digital device. I'm sure these interviews would be good on a long drive?

Will see what others think regarding separate threads

Mike

[Jim Hastings]

That's the thing Mike, trying to find the time to read all the books I've amassed and links such as yours above. Must admit I listen to Peter Hart's 'Somme' and '1918' on CD when in the car - although Clive Mantel's Ludendorff accent has me in fits every time!!

[Don]

Hi Mike.

Anything on Anti Aircraft guns

Gerry