General Sir Claude Auchinleck inspects a variety of units and establishments in India.

Auchinleck, having just stepped from an aircraft is greeted by a British officer wearing staff tabs. He meets more officers and a British civilian man. A square church tower with clock; figures pass right-to-left in foreground and the area around the church appears to be bounded by a wire fence. Escorted by a brigadier he meets more British officers. Auchinleck and the brigadier; they enter a building. Auchinleck enters what looks to be some kind of camp with a barbed wire fence; he returns a sentry’s salute and passes a signboard advertising a Poppy Day Dance at the Masonic Hall. He meets officers. Outside a hospital he speaks to a nurse. He meets British and Indian officers, one Indian officer appears to be a major with ‘IMS’ (Indian Medical Service) on his epaulette. He meets an Indian woman (a nurse?) with ‘WVS’ (Women’s Voluntary Service) badge pinned to her coat. On a ward he speaks to nurses and patients. A silver bell, hanging on a decorative tripod; Auchinleck looks at it with a British officer and camera pans to show a Gurkha guard of honour. He inspects the guard; the men’s 8th Gurkha Rifles badges and epaulettes can be seen. A Gurkha piper; from his bagpipes hangs a flag showing a griffon (?) with ‘Celer et Fortis’ below. Auchinleck watches the Gurkhas training; they run across open ground. Gurkhas, having jumped down from a brick wall, run across a patch of open ground; one strikes a dummy in the head with the butt of his rifle and then bayonets another. Crawling under barbed wire as a smokescreen spreads in front of them. Pan from Auchinleck to Gurkhas practising semaphore with flags. Gymnastics; Gurkhas vault over a box with British physical training instructor supervising. Two Gurkhas boxing. Inspecting Gurkhas (new recruits?). A parade of Indian troops. Auchinleck presents a medal to a British officer (a Royal Engineer?). A number of Indian officers are decorated; their units are not clear but the penultimate may be from an Indian armoured regiment, and the last from the Indian Army Medical Corps. Auchinleck addresses the parade. Series of close-ups of medal recipients. Auchinleck inspect mules and muleteers. Laden mules are led through a narrow gap, some refuse. He watches Indian troops riding. A soldier of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps filing a horse’s hoof. Auchinleck meeting RAF officers. Inspecting RAF officers (or cadets?); a sign behind, partially obscured, reads ‘No.7 School Technical Training Royal Air Force’. Meeting cadets or trainees (?). He watches fitters at work on the engine of a Hawker Hurricane. He watches as Indian gunners man a 25-pounder field gun.

Notes

Series note: The MWY series of films is believed to be part of a ‘pool’ of film received by the Government of India from various sources, including South East Asia Command, the Indian Inter-Service Public Relations Directorate, the Ministry of Information, and from Allied governments. This footage would have been considered for editing and release through the Indian Newsreel Parade; see INR series.