THREE DAY FOOD CONFERENCE IN SINGAPORE

This film is held by the Imperial War Museum (ID: JFU 591).

Synopsis

Part 1, shot by Sergeant Hutchins on 16 April 1946: Reginald Dorman-Smith, Governor of Burma, walking up the steps of the Municipal Building in Singapore. Union flag flying; tilt down the facade of the building to parked cars. View along a line of parked cars. A military policeman stands guard next to a sign reading 'No Entry'; pan to another side reading 'Conference Members Only'.

Part 2, shot by Sergeant Wright on 15 and 17 April 1946: Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, Air Commander South East Asia, leaving the Municipal Building. Close-up of Park getting into his car. A Commodore de Salis descends the steps and gets into his car. Four civilian men leaving the Municipal Building. Two men arriving at the Municipal Building, according to the cameraman's dopesheet they are the Australian mission. The Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, Lord Louis Mountbatten, arriving by open car. Very close shot as Dorman-Smith gets out of his car followed by another man (an aide?). Dorman-Smith passes camera with another. The Governor of Singapore, Franklin Charles Gimson, gets out of a car. Footage of four delegates including Dorman-Smith, Gimson, the Governor of the Malayan Union Sir Edward Gent and a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) delegate, probably Don Stephen Senanayake, walking in the grounds of Government House and posing for the camera.

Delegates, including Lord Mountbatten and several British colonial governors, arrive at the Municipal Building in Singapore for a three-day conference about the food situation in South East Asia, held under the auspices of the Special Commissioner for the region, Lord Killearn.

Notes

By the time this film was shot the war had been over for eight months. However, the destruction and economic dislocation caused by the war had led to a widespread food shortage. A Special Commissioner, Lord Killearn, was appointed to coordinate the South East Asian economy and food situation, and this conference forms part of the British response.

 

Titles

  • THREE DAY FOOD CONFERENCE IN SINGAPORE (Allocated)
Series Title:
BRITISH ARMY OPERATIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR
 

Technical Data

Year:
1946
Running Time:
5 minutes
Film Gauge (Format):
35mm
Colour:
B&W
Sound:
Silent
Footage:
371 ft
 

Production Credits

Production Countries:
GB
Sponsor
War Office Directorate of Public Relations
cameraman.
Hutchins, H D (Sergeant)
cameraman.
Wright, E V (Sergeant)
Production company
SEAC Film Unit