The Empire Marches illustrates the solidarity of the Empire during the War, through the commentary –which is framed by references to the ‘many peoples of the Empire’ and to those men ‘from all parts of the world’ – and also through the repeated imagery used to represent common actions and ideals amongst the different nationalities.

The film most notably depicts different groups marching, united by their shared purpose, but also by their collective masculinity. The voiceover notes that ‘men of every race, creed and colour are marching and fighting to the common end’, as the ‘people of the Empire march onwards to their ultimate victory’. Yet, the soldiers are not only shown marching, but are also regularly depicted travelling in a variety of ways. For example, a train departs with ‘look out Hitler here we come’ along its side; the Canadian ships cross the Atlantic on the ‘first stage on their road to victory’; ‘From the antipodes tens of thousands of the sons of Australia and New Zealand journey’ by ship, while the South Africa troops are also loaded on ship. This highlights the troops operating outside of their own countries as part of a broader imperial force. As this is intended for overseas audiences, The Empire Marches also emphasises the ‘rewards’ and collective support for the troops. The New Zealanders return home to huge crowd scenes and a street parade; crowds cheer the South African troops; the King watches the Canadian troops, while the Maoris ‘gained the King’s special interest’.

This repeated imagery may promote a collective imperial identity at the expense of the ‘personalities’ and ‘cultures’ of the individual countries, as Documentary News Letter suggested, but the representation of the Africans would appear distinct and largely disconnected from this repeated imagery. While all the other countries travel by ship, the Africans cross the water on foot, covered to the chest as they carry parts of the field gun. While troops from the other countries meet Royal approval or enjoy street parades, the Africans walk unnoticed across the jungle. The commentary acknowledges that the efforts and ‘courage’ of the Africans ‘is hardly known outside their own country’, but the film, both in its representation and structure, diminishes the importance of the war effort of African populations. The Empire Marches begins with a lengthy consideration of the Canadian effort, before discussing Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, India and finally the ‘colonies and dependencies of Africa’. There is a clear hierarchical order here, with the African experience, while noted, still largely removed from the other imperial war experiences.

Tom Rice (April 2008)