Red and white flag of the Indonesian republic flying. Graffiti reads 'Freedom the glory of any nation'. Small pieces of paper on a wall read 'Our government is a government from the people, for the people and by the people', 'What is good for the British Labour Party is good for us too', 'Hands off Indonesia/Respect our Constitution/Down with Imperialism', 'Indonesia for Indonesians/Hospitality for anyone who respects/Our constitution'. A building plastered in slogans and graffiti, amongst them 'Merdeka' ('Freedom') and 'People of Soviet Russia/of China, India/Support Rep of Indonesia. British Labour ? ? / Quo Vadis'. ['Quo vadis' - Where are you going?] and 'Labourers of the whole world back Indonesia's fight for freedom'. Close-up of a poster showing a strident man with flag and the text 'Indonesia Merdeka'. Graffiti on building which reads 'Freedom is a human not a western ideal/The whole earth is a temple of freedom'. A tram passes camera; its carriage is marked 'Merdeka' and as it passes it reveals a hoarding which reads 'We are a free nation conceived in liberty' and 'All men are created equal'.

Landing Craft Infantry (Large) (LCI(L)) 217 berthed at Batavia docks. The deck is lined with infantrymen of 1st Battalion Seaforth Highlanders. The bow of LCI(L) 217 with another approaching. Seaforths waiting. View of the quayside. Men disembarking. Men marching away. Piper playing. Men forming up on the quayside. Close-up of a soldier in profile with view of his cap badge (stag with antlers). Men marching away with alternative angle. British military vehicles on the streets of Batavia. A British officer speaks with a Japanese military police sentry. A Japanese guard presents arms as two British staff cars pass. British (officer?) enters a large (government?) building and appears to talk with two Japanese sentries, seen in silhouette.

As the first British troops arrive in Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia), they encounter a political climate alive with nationalist agitation.

Notes

The Seaforth Highlanders had coincidentally been involved in Britain's first occupation of Java in 1811.

Before the war Batavia had been capital of the Netherlands East Indies. During their occupation the Japanese had encouraged Indonesian nationalism as a tool against the Dutch. When the Allies reoccupied Java they entered a feverish political environment, amply illustrated by the graffiti seen in this film (note the references to the United States Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address). This agitated political climate, combined with the easy availability of weapons, created a dangerous situation. The battalion seen in this film was almost immediately involved in combating looting, arson and rioting, four rioters being killed in the first two days. For more film showing the arrival of this battalion, see related items.

The grafitti reading 'British Labour ? ? / Quo Vadis' is a reference to the 1945 General Election that saw a spectacular victory for the Labour Party, aided in part by strong support from servicemen. While Labour in 1945 did not share the ingrained high imperialism of Churchill and the Tories, there was an ambiguity in the attitude and policy of leader Labour figures to the Empire.