START 00:00:00 At sea in the western Mediterranean with Force H, circa 10 - 13 November 1941: three men are transferred from foc'sle of HMS Laforey to the aircraft carrier HMS Argus in a cargo net as the destroyer steams at slow speed along the much larger vessel's port side. Crewmen line the railings of HMS Argus's quarterdeck to gaze at HMS Laforey.

00:00:12 The loss of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on 13 November 1941; views taken on the stricken vessel's port side showing thick black smoke coming out of her funnel and steam out of a vent on her port side as her boilers are re-lit in a vain effort to get her to Gibraltar under her own steam an hour or so after she had been struck by a single torpedo. The aircraft carrier is listing heavily to starboard. Shots probably filmed on 14 November showing three officers from the sunken warship conversing with each other near the stern of HMS Laforey.

00:00:47 Off the Seychelles (?), circa 28 June 1942: 'bum boats' crewed by local traders alongside HMS Laforey selling fruit and vegetables to the crew. Another L Class destroyer (HMS Lookout or HMS Lightning) is seen near HMS Laforey.

00:01:06 Mombasa, Kenya, circa 1 - 7 July 1942: RN personnel from HMS Laforey ashore in a tropical coastal setting. A local funeral procession. Assisted by another man, naval Lieutenant cuts open a coconut and drinks from it. A tropical beach with rolling surf and palm trees.

00:01:54 Madagascar Operation 'Ironclad', 6 May 1942: HMS Laforey's officers observe through their binoculars the bombardment of Vichy French positions on the Oronjia peninsula by the battleship HMS Ramillies (unseen). The destroyer's forward 4.7-inch dual-purpose guns join in the bombardment. Officers on the bridge observe the fall of shot. The port bridge wing signal lamp flashes out a message. A and B turrets continue bombarding Vichy French positions on the Oronjia peninsula as the sun begins to set.

00:03:09 Operation 'Ironclad', 5 (?) May 1942: signal flags flying from HMS Laforey's main mast and foremast, filmed from aft superstructure. Shots of some of the vessels taking part in the invasion - notably the hospital ship HMHS Atlantis, two LSI (L)s (HMS Karanja and HMS Keren) and (briefly) the assault ship or LSG HMS Derwentdale, plus small invasion craft - LCAs and one single LCM-I (MLC-78) - busy ferrying troops and vehicles. Shots taken as the wind whips up waves in the anchorage in Courrier Bay showing HMS Keren, HMS Karanja, SS Oronsay, a large two-funnelled troopship, and (on the right) an LST prototype, the ex-tanker HMS Bachaquero. HMS Laforey's skipper, Captain (D) R M J Hutton DSO, is seen asleep on the bridge.

00:04:06 On shore at Diego Suarez (Antsiranana): an RN shore party gets a steam-powered lock gate in a dockyard at Diego Suarez working again. A captured German freighter (the lettering on its stern name plate is difficult to read) in drydock; a pig is seen running around on her quarterdeck and she appears to be in a dilapidated condition. Under Royal Navy supervision, its crew (?) ferry tureens containing hot food from the ship's galley to the dockside to feed the British sailors at work. Members of the RN shore party are seen engaged in clearing up work at a French naval shore establishment that suffered damage during the invasion, manhandling tipper trollies on rails, clearing up debris, replacing tiled roofing etc. At one point, several abandoned French torpedoes can be seen in a wrecked depot shed.

00:06:58 Courrier Bay (?), Madagascar: a good view of HMS Derwentdale, an oil tanker converted into an assault landing ship or LSG, filmed as HMS Laforey crosses her bow. The LSG carries her complement of LCAs in four big deck gantries; two LCMs are seen alongside her port side and there is another troop transport moored alongside her. An A Class destroyer, probably HMS Anthony, steams past HMS Laforey's port quarter through choppy waters; in the background is the troopship SS Oronsay. The destroyer's crew do some chores, such as cleaning the rust off the foc'sle, repairing an aerial on the mainmast. A view through the 300-knot gunsight on HMS Laforey's quadruple 2-pounder Mk VII pom-pom of a P Class destroyer (HMS Paladin or HMS Pakenham or HMS Panther) anchored nearby. Several ships moored in the Diego Garcia anchorage including the troopship SS Oronsay. Shots showing several of the ship's officers and petty officers lining the portside railings on the main deck and a gunlayer elevates HMS Laforey's quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom.

00:07:48 In the Indian or Atlantic Ocean, June/July 1942: HMS Laforey approaches the port quarter of the fleet aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable; the destroyer's motor boat is lowered from her starboard side and heads across to the much larger warship. An injured man on brace is lifted out of the boat and taken safely on board the aircraft carrier for treatment in her well-equipped sickbay. Hawker Sea Hurricane fighters are seen arrayed on the carrier's aft flight deck. The motor boat is lifted back onto its davits on board HMS Laforey. Views of HMS Indomitable's stern as HMS Laforey crosses over from her port quarter over to her starboard quarter.

00:09:38 May 1942: scenes showing Captain Hutton standing on stern deckhouse next to X turret addressing the crews of HMS Laforey and a sistership (HMS Lookout or HMS Lightning) whilst moored in Diego Suarez bay, with troopships visible in the background. Studies of crewmen listening to him speak including one with a pet Jack Russell dog. The crews are dismissed.

00:10:20 July 1942, Mombasa, Kenya: a line of naval ratings on shore. HMS Laforey's officers play on a golf course by the Indian Ocean. Kenyan children dressed in rags serve as caddies. An under-exposed shot of man walking into the surf.

00:11:25 HMS Laforey refuels from a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) fleet oiler at sea, possibly filmed during Operation 'Pedestal', August 1942.

00:11:41 June/July 1942, Indian or Atlantic Ocean: HMS Laforey approaches the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable on her port quarter and comes around to her starboard side. Lines are secured between the two vessels before the fuel hose is then transferred across to the destroyer with the help of the larger vessel's boat crane and made secure. Shots of the destroyer's pet monkey. The octuple Mk VIII 2-pounder pom-pom crew aft of the aircraft carrier's superstructure and the crane operator. A view of the destroyer's A and B turrets with their twin 4.7-inch QF Mk XI L/50 dual purpose guns on the foc'sle. A bag with messages is transferred from the carrier to the destroyer. A signaller on HMS Laforey's bridge sends a message with semaphore flags to HMS Indomitable . The destroyer's chief artificer (?) notes the amount of fuel pumped into her fuel tanks. A Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber on the flight deck of HMS Indomitable. The carrier's motor launch slung from davits on its starboard side. Laforey's torpedomen sit on their bank of torpedo tubes on the main deck and gaze at at the huge aircraft carrier a short distance away. The fuel line and the cables linking the two warships are disconnected. HMS Laforey draws away from HMS Indomitable. Views of the aircraft carrier on the destroyer's port beam flying off and landing Albacore torpedo bombers.

00:15:33 Operation 'Pedestal, 10-14 August 1942: the carrier HMS Furious steams on HMS Laforey's port beam with RAF Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vs assigned to Operation 'Bellows' arrayed on her flight deck. A shot of the battleship HMS Rodney through the 300-knot gunsights on one of HMS Laforey's anti-aircraft guns, possibly a quadruple .5-inch machine gun. Views of the 'Pedestal' convoy on the destroyer's port quarter - the nearest vessels are the light cruiser HMS Manchester, the US freighter SS Almeria Lykes, the US-registered tanker SS Ohio, and, behind the oil tanker in the next column of ships, the fast freighter SS Brisbane Star. Views of HMS Manchester and, further away, the battleship HMS Nelson on HMS Laforey's port beam, the destroyer's stern wash with SS Almeria Lykes and HMS Furious in the background. HMS Laforey steams towards the setting sun. Views of the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable backlit by the setting sun; there are several Fairey Albacore torpedo bombers and Hawker Sea Hurricane fighters on her flight deck.

00:16:16 With Convoy WS.17, April 1942: under-exposed views of Cape Town and a lot of shipping alongside the main quay and in the harbour - the large vessel seen behind the tugboat and a tanker riding high out of the water in the foreground is the troopship HMT Sobieski. An under-exposed shot of an O Class ex-P&O passenger liner, probably SS Oronsay, in service as a troopship steaming on HMS Laforey's port quarter.

00:16:52 At Gibraltar for the commencement of Operation 'Pedestal', circa 5-10 August 1942: as HMS Laforey steams into harbour, the aircraft carrier HMS Furious on the right (starboard), with two destroyers moored alongside her starboard side, the nearest a V & W Class destroyer in a Western Approaches camouflage scheme, the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious (on HMS Laforey's starboard side as the destroyer slowly passes through Gibraltar harbour) and the light cruiser HMS Kenya (being helped to dock by a tug) on her port bow.

00:16:58 A badly under-exposed shot. In the Mediterranean for Operation 'Halberd', 17 September 1941: A better quality shot showing a line of four destroyers steaming ahead of HMS Laforey; the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the battleship HMS Nelson (?) visible on the port bow. An over-exposed, blurry shot of an F Class destroyer on her port quarter at high speed, and another destroyer and merchant ships in the convoy in the background. Views of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal (which improve in quality) heading on an opposite course and as HMS Laforey is about to pass astern of her. Officers on the main deck and, in the background, a modern fleet destroyer (possibly HMS Laforey's sistership, HMS Lightning) at high speed on her starboard quarter. Visible in the distance, HMS Ark Royal, furthest away a Dido Class light cruiser (possibly HMS Hermione) and HMS Nelson. The destroyer's medical officer (?) examines the left eye of a fellow officer on the main deck; in the background are HMS Ark Royal and HMS Nelson. Three patches of burning aviation spirit on the surface of the sea where an Italian aircraft has been shot down are overtaken by HMS Laforey and, on her port beam, an F Class destroyer.

00:17:57 Operation 'Pedestal', 10 - 14 August 1942: a brief view of the 'Pedestal' convoy steaming through flat calm sea in the distance on HMS Laforey's port side with puffs of AA gunfire in the sky above. Under-exposed shots of Oerlikon tracer fire and several descending starshell flares or fragments from an aircraft that has blown up in mid-air and a portside Oerlikon 20mm position on the destroyer protected by anti-shrapnel mattresses. A normally exposed shot of Oerlikon (?) tracer winging skyward. A view to starboard over flat calm sea towards a Hunt Class destroyer (nearest the camera) and several other escorts steaming ahead of the main convoy. A view from HMS Laforey's foc'sle showing her A and B turrets trained on the port bow and the millpond-smooth sea below. A hose pours a jet of water to starboard (possibly pumping water from a leak); a view of destroyers ahead of the main convoy in the distance. A depth charge operator standing by one of the depth charge projectors on the starboard side of the quarterdeck. A member of HMS Laforey's crew points at the ships in the convoy; an over-exposed view of HMS Kenya or HMS Nigeria nearest the camera on the starboard side, SS Dorset above the man's head and SS Brisbane Star on the horizon near the centre of the frame. Other crewmen look out at the convoy on the starboard beam with SS Dorset near the centre of the frame and HMS Nigeria or HMS Kenya on the right of the frame closest to HMS Laforey. Brief views filmed as the wind chases after the slowly setting sun and whips up the surface of the sea looking towards the convoy on the destroyer's port quarter; on the left, the cruiser HMS Manchester, partly obscuring the battleship HMS Rodney, and on the right is the battleship HMS Nelson.

00:19:02 11 August 1942 - the rescue of survivors from the torpedoed aircraft carrier HMS Eagle by HMS Laforey, HMS Lookout (pennant number 'G32') and the salvage tug HMT Jaunty; survivors are seen in boats from the three rescue ships, on rafts and in the water. The ship's boat returns and is prepared for re-hoisting on board. Shots showing survivors from the sunken aircraft carrier on deck and a vain attempt to revive at least three very badly injured casualties by artificial respiration. After being wrapped in canvas, two bodies are dropped over the portside of HMS Laforey's quarterdeck one by one without any ceremony. Foaming water created by the ship's wake as she steams at high speed. Views looking forward on the destroyer's port side - left to right: HMS Nelson or HMS Rodney, SS Ohio, SS Wairangi (closest to camera) - and of other ships in the 'Pedestal' convoy as the destroyer makes a turn to starboard, with SS Glenorchy briefly visible on the extreme right. HMS Ashanti (pennant number 'G51') steams close to HMS Laforey on her port side. Survivors from HMS Eagle are transferred by two of HMS Laforey's boats to another destroyer, probably HMS Venomous. HMS Indomitable and escorting destroyers are seen steaming at high speed about half a mile away. HMS Laforey pulls away from the destroyer with HMS Eagle's survivors safely on board - note the Type 271 radar 'lantern' and on the foc'sle the Hedgehog forward-throwing depth charge position in place of the normal 4-inch gun.

00:21:23 12 August 1942: distant views of sky pock-marked with puffs from anti-aircraft gunfire at low-level bombers - at least three other destroyers visible on HMS Laforey's starboard beam. An over-exposed shot showing a huge cloud of smoke from an explosion in the distance, the result of two major bomb hits on the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable, with HMS Kenya or Nigeria in the foreground. Out-of-focus and over-exposed shots of two warships, the first the battleship HMS Nelson, the second the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, whose flight deck has been wrecked but is able to move under her own power. Shots showing Force Z speeding back to Gibraltar - on HMS Laforey's starboard side, an L class destroyer (HMS Lightning or HMS Lookout) in the left foreground, HMS Indomitable in the centre and, on the right, a Dido Class cruiser, possibly HMS Phoebe; on her port side, a Q Class destroyer (possibly HMS Quentin), the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious beyond the destroyer, and the battleship HMS Nelson.

00:22:00 Shots as HMS Laforey pulls back from a quay (possibly Gibraltar) and the crew dragging a fuel line on board from dock workers on a quayside in Gibraltar. Filmed from the stern deckhouse looking along the length of the L Class destroyer as she makes a tight turn inside Gibraltar harbour.

END 00:22:12

Varied and frequently dramatic 16mm colour footage shot by Commander C D H Briggs, a naval engineer officer, on board the L Class destroyer HMS Laforey in the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean in 1941 and 1942, culminating in Operation 'Pedestal' (10 -15 August 1942) in which heavy losses in ships and men were sustained by the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy in an ambitious effort to re-supply the besieged island of Malta.

Notes

Remarks: Apart from times when the film is either under- or over-exposed, the camerawork in this reel is mainly of a very high standard. Judging by the overall quality of this material, Briggs possessed a professional cameraman's eye, especially in the composition of his shots. The scenes featuring Operations 'Halberd', 'Ironclad' and 'Pedestal' are of considerable historical importance whilst those who have an interest in more technical naval matters will find much of interest here, especially the long sequence showing ship-to-ship refuelling at sea. The sequence showing the rescue of survivors from HMS Eagle and the hasty burial at sea of two seaman who died as a result of injuries they sustained during this episode is an understated but powerful reminder of the human cost of the war at sea.

Technical: as the summary makes clear, much of this film has been assembled in incorrect chronological order, probably after Commander Brigg's death in January 1943. The intention may have been to highlight the drama of the sinking of HMS Ark Royal and to build up the story of the 'Pedestal' convoy battle.

Summary: Commander Charles D H Briggs first joined the Royal Navy's engineering branch in 1927. Judging by the evidence contained in this reel, he was probably posted to HMS Laforey, a brand new L Class destroyer, in August 1941. He died on 23 January 1943. HMS Laforey was torpedoed and sunk off Anzio, Italy, on 30 March 1944.