Hello, I have the following information regarding this photo. I have searched IWM, IWM Film, Crown Film Unit archives, and the number no longer correlates with current catalog numbers. PLEASE HELP, even a point in the right direction would be great. "Still from a film made by the Crown Film Unit on board SS Durban Castle before the landings at Punta di Castellazzo, Sicily, 10 July 1943. It shows Capt. J. Taplin, commander of P troop 41 RM Commando, inspecting his Marines. An interesting detail here is the use of the "respirator, light" at this date (visible just under the toggle-rope behind Capt. Taplin's right hip. This was the first operation in which the battle jerkin was worn in combat. At least four can be seen here; another picture in this sequence shows only five being worn in the entire Troop, however. (IWM FLM1736 is the film data) To see more, please refer to Military Illustrated Past& Present #29 Oct 1990" V/R Chris
You can search the IWM film archives by date and theatre. Shouldn't be too difficult to find this one. Good luck!
Thanks for the tip, I have tried all of it., I have searched, Convoys, all videos related to Sicily. I am sure it is on the tip of my nose, but unfortunately no joy after about 8hrs of watching film.
The only notes I have is from that article. It was done in 1990 so I assume the numbering system available online has changed since then. As read, it would seem it came from the actual full reel vs the cut frame. V/R Chris I could be wrong I am a novice at this. I only know what I can find via the online collections. I am hoping more knowledgeable minds can educate me.
The stills have a different catalogue number than the film clip. Here is a widely published example: IWM MH 2012 (still image) IWM A70 31-3 (video clip) Contact the IWM to ask for a cross-reference to match a known still number to unknown video footage. The film clip you seek might not be digitized online and that could be the reason why you did not find it.
Another bit of the puzzle? The following quotes from the book "Humphrey Jennings: Film-maker, Painter, Poet" from a limited search allowed on Google Books. Page xiii "In 1943 he was involved in a film about the Royal Marines and the invasion of Sicily, which came to nothing, and made a film about the history of the popular wartime song 'Lili Marlene'. " Page 56 "Sicily,. July. 1943. Away in the wilds first living with a Commando unit, and then going out in convoy, ... and prodigiously skilful – really and truly thousands of ships coming up through the narrows to the Sicilian coast – keeping ..." Page 37 "By June he had started on a treatment for a possible film on a history of the Royal Marines – work which was interrupted in July by a 'special mission' to film the invasion of Sicily. Jennings seems to have been away for about six weeks ..." Same film? Jennings was with Crown Film (formerly GPO) during war. Regards ...
If you can not get a specific hit then try the prefix code word to see what pops up Search our collection | Imperial War Museums That gives you an 'in' where you can try the full code Search | Imperial War Museums When doing a search there is nearly always a link to what you are looking for buried in the text of the first hits which appear completely unrelated. You just have to look carefully at all the wording.
