Reel 1: Telephoto shot of a crucifix atop a church tower. General shot of the church. View of a Buddhist temple. Closer shot of Burmese script above the entrance to the temple; tilt down. Repeat shot tilt down of entranceway. Pagoda spires. Views of a cross-shaped pagoda with tiers of pitched rooves. Large Buddha figure sitting beneath the rooves; it dwarfs two British soldiers. Large temple amongst palm trees. Interior with archways. Chinthe statues. Decapitated Buddha figures. Mosque building. Minaret. Damaged archway. Ruined building with men in distance clearing rubble. Akyab convent, apparently intact. Roman Catholic church. Interior Anglican church; cross on altar with plasterer at work. Interior; carpenter at work foreground. Damaged building with inscription: Imperial Bank of India. Shanty town or refugee camp. Livestock. Mother and child (?) outside a shack. Woman stirs a pot of rice. Crowds of local people, apparently arriving in order to work on reconstruction. Various angles shovelling rubble into a dumptruck with close-ups. Various angles people boarding lorry for transit to Akyab town. Lorry departing. Ruined factory being demolished by Indian troops. Shots of large pieces of masonry is loosened and then falls away. Men at work with pick axes. Men eating lunch of curry and rice.

Reel 2: A large roofless and windowless three storey building. Men at work (breaking bricks?) by a lorry. Pan over river with damaged riverside factories. Men at work. Men feeding a brick crushing machine and putting crushed brick into wheelbarrow. An intriguing shot in which a British soldier, standing with a number of local civilians, appears to be taking direction from the cameraman but is confused whether he or one of the civilians should be holding a spade. Cement is scooped out from a mixer. Various angles with close-ups of bricklayers at work. Prefabricated buildings arrive and are erected. Checking and measuring foundations for a new building. Men at work roofing a Nissen hut. A (Royal Marine?) surveyor at work. Using a bulldozer to demolish a building. Bulldozer clearing debris. Excavator at work on site of new jetty. Indian pioneers haul on ropes; a wall collapses and the men appear pleased with their efforts. Another wall pulled down. Men working in pairs with shovels with ropes tied to them. Damaged building. Clock tower. Road repairs; tamping down the surface. More villagers board lorries.

At Akyab Town, on Akyab Island in the Arakan coastal region of Burma, local people and allied servicemen work to rebuild years of war damage.

Notes

A film of obvious propaganda value but still a useful record of reconstruction in the Arakan. The variety of places of worship seen neatly illustrates the religious diversity of this region.