Edited colour material taken by Lieutenant-Commander Briggs relaxing in the Mediterranean early in 1939 and at war in the Atlantic, shadowing the Altmark and off Norway in 1940.

The film begins as a travelogue around the Mediterranean before the war. There are many shots of Malta including the Grand Harbour full of military vessels. There are shots of Gibraltar, again with a harbour full of vessels. There are shots on Crete, at Alexandria, at the Alexandria Sports Club, climbing the pyramids and a tour of Haifa. There are shots of a destroyer flotilla leaving Malta's Grand Harbour and on exercises in the Mediterranean. The war sequences show an early convoy being escorted to England, a patrol in Northern Seas in stormy conditions in the winter of 1939/40 when the sea has frozen over at Sheerness. There are shots of the Altmark entering Jssing Fjord, Norway and of HMS Cossack in pursuit, February 1940. There are shots of mining operations off the Lofoten Islands and off Narvik, April 1940. The film ends with a pan across the fleet at Scapa Flow.

Notes

Remarks: outstandingly good and unique colour material. Commander Briggs' excellent style is as evident here as in reel one. The material shot in the Mediterranean is a fascinating insight into officer's life in the Mediterranean in 1930s as well as glimpses of the Mediterranean before the war. The film of the Altmark incident is the only known colour film of the event.