IWM From soldier to civilian

[Skipman]

IWM From soldier to civilian (6.09)

Object description

Partly-acted film on the discharge and relocation in civilian work of British soldiers who have served long periods on the Western Front, 1918.
Full description

Soldiers make an attack from the trenches. One such soldier (in an acted sequence) is handed his discharge notice in the trench by an officer. The men who have been discharged board a ship to cross the English Channel, arriving in Britain. From there they march to the railhead (this is actually still France). A train carrying discharged men arrives at Ripon station, and the men buy food in a nearby café (again, probably a French estaminet). Some travel in wagons and others march to the discharge centre. Each man is registered and issued with blankets. They are interviewed, medically examined and given civilian clothes. This particular group has been allocated to a shipyard as Army Reserve Munition Workers. They are told their duties by an officer and taken by wagon, lorry and train to the shipyard. Two of the men work as rivetters. An incomplete cargo ship is launched from the slipway.
Physical description

35mm

Mike