After the murder of five RAF aircrew and twenty Indian soldiers by Indonesian extremists, the village of Bekassi (Bekasi), near Batavia, Dutch East Indies (Jakarta, Indonesia) is burned in reprisal.

A building on fire. An RAF Mosquito fighter-bomber circles overhead. A crowd of civilians; there are girder bridges in the background and a parked Chevrolet CMP lorry is marked 'Mort Pl' (probably 'Mortar Platoon'). An RAF officer, Flight Lieutenant Threlfall, disarms four Indonesians (apparently of the 'Banteng Hitam' or 'Black Buffaloes') captured in the village. Behind them are a number of Indian troops, some bearded Sikhs wearing turbans, others clean shaven and wearing steel helmets. Threlfall unsheaths a confiscated cutlass; behind him is a jeep marked 'Film and Photo Unit' (i.e. the Army Film and Photo Unit or AFPU). View across a river; smoke rises from the burning village. Various buildings in flames.

Notes

Photograph captions describe Flight Lieutenant Threlfall as commander of the local Voluntary Corps of Police which accompanied the Indian troops.

Flight Sergeant Clot's dopesheet identifies the 1st Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment as having fired the village. Contemporary photograph captions name the Bengal Sappers and Miners, though these are not necessarily in contradiction.

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