After the liberation of Rangoon, British troops of 36th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, go sightseeing and visit the ancient Shwedagon Pagoda.

Wide shot looking along a road towards the Shwedagon Pagoda. Closer view of the entrance. A jeep pulls up and the passengers alight, followed by a self-propelled Ordnance QF 40mm Bofors gun mounted on a Morris C9/B. The soldiers buy flowers from a local woman at the entrance. The men sit down to remove their boots before entering the grounds. A sign reads 'Foot wearing is strictly prohibited'. The men look at a number of small statues of the Buddha and pass several small pagodas. Feeding the pigeons in the courtyard. Burmese women praying in front of an image of the Buddha. Men walking around the Shwedagon. More images of the Buddha. The men approach a small temple made of bright white (painted?) stone. Statues set into the stone. Men silhouetted in a doorway. Men enter a temple housing a large reclining Buddha. Soldiers talk to Burmese children. The soldiers talk with an elegant Burmese lady. More images of the Buddha, rendered in both brass and stone, and a stone chinthe (mythical guardian). Pigeons in the courtyard. Burmese children.

Notes

A very interesting record of one of Burma's most famous cultural landmarks. For film showing RAF airmen visiting the ancient Burmese capital of Shwebo, see related items.

Mindful of the need for British soldiers serving overseas to appear decorous at all times the dopesheet is annotated by the censor 'Cut momentary shot of BOR [British Other Rank] touching the lady's arm'. This shot appears in this film but this annotation makes clear it was not to be released for publication, for instance in the variety of newsreels in which SEAC Film Unit material was used.

Rangoon was reoccupied after an unopposed amphibious landing (Operation Dracula) by 26th Indian Division on 3 May 1945.