Calling Blighty films: messages to families from military personnel

Discussion in 'Research Material' started by familyresearch, Aug 21, 2010.

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  1. familyresearch

    familyresearch Member

    I've recently heard about films called "Calling Blighty" that were produced of the troops talking to their family from India and Burma. Does anyone know if all the regiments were covered, or where I might go to find a complete list? The regiment I'm interested in is the 3rd Carabiniers. They were a welsh regiment, and my great grandfather was living in Cheshire when he signed up, so if they films were organised by town that's where it would be.

    Thank you
     
    familyresearch, Aug 21, 2010
    #1
  2. wtid45

    wtid45 Very Senior Member

    wtid45, Aug 21, 2010
    #2
  3. familyresearch

    familyresearch Member

    Yes I have seen it but unfortuntely couldn't get any more info from it. I have since found out that a video was made of men from Gately (where he lived) but that it was taken in christmas 1945, just after he was sent home.

    Thanks anyway!


    I agree with the welsh thing!!
     
    familyresearch, Aug 21, 2010
    #3
  4. wtid45

    wtid45 Very Senior Member

    wtid45, Jan 22, 2011
    #4
  5. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-32730287

    14 May 2015

    Calling Blighty: Archive seeks film message soldiers

    Video in link

    The North West Film Archive is looking to trace World War Two veterans who appeared in a series of films named "Calling Blighty", in which soldiers sent personal messages to their families.

    Loved ones such as Vera Doherty (pictured), whose husband Alexander was serving in the Far East, were invited to a local cinema to see the celluloid greetings.

    Only 48 of nearly 400 films survive with 23 of them featuring service personnel from the North West.
     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #5
    Fred Wilson and Guy Hudson like this.
  6. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    https://vimeo.com/126376589

    http://www.nwfa.mmu.ac.uk/docs/BlightyA4.pdf

     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #6
  7. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-30026421

    World War Two Calling Blighty cinema boy found 70 years on

    13 November 2014

    [​IMG]
    Robert Kneller was five when he shouted in the cinema

    The identity of a Southampton boy who made local headlines when his father appeared in a World War Two army film has been revealed, 70 years after the film was shown.

    Robert Kneller was five when he shouted "Yes Daddy, I see you" when his father appeared on the cinema screen.

    He was tracked down by a team working on an exhibition about the city's history.

    Mr Kneller said he recalled the "excitement" of the cinema visit.

    His father was featured in Calling Blighty, one of a series of films made by the Army Film Unit enabling military personnel in India to record messages for families at home. Only a handful of the original films survive.

    [​IMG]
    Mr Kneller's father George featured in the Army Film Unit production

    In Southampton the local newspaper reported how when Gunner George Kneller appeared on screen saying to the camera, "Hello Bobby, can you see me?", his son stood up and replied: "Yes Daddy, I see you."

    Following an appeal on BBC Radio Solent, Mr Kneller was tracked down by a team at Southampton Solent University producing an exhibition marking the 50th anniversary of Southampton gaining city status.

    Mr Kneller, now 75, recalled there was a "happy atmosphere" at the Classic Cinema,
    "I was just excited, everyone was excited - it was quite a major event for people," he said.

    George Kneller survived the war and returned home from India.

    Tony Steyger of Solent University said: "There was something a haunting about these faces from the past talking straight to the camera.

    "When a little boy sees his dad who he hasn't seen for almost all his life and reacts in such an emotional way, it made us wonder where is Bobby now. I was thrilled and excited to have found him.

    [hr]

    Bobby sees his Daddy on the screen - Extract from Southern Daily Echo - 1 May 1944


    [​IMG]
    Relatives of men featured in the film were invited to the screening

    "Can you see me Bobby? And in a twinkle Bobby thrilled the audience when he excitedly exclaimed 'Yes Daddy, I can see you'. This was one of the pretty little incidents at the special screening of the film, Calling Blighty, at the Classic Cinema Southampton yesterday.

    Bobby was not the only one present who got a thrill. Mothers, fathers, wives and sweethearts were overjoyed at being able to see and hear their menfolk. Some found it very exciting and deeply touching that they could not contain their emotions."
     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #7
  8. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.movinghistory.ac.uk/homefront/films/wx8.html


     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #8
  9. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Kr4_7R0GY


    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/calling-blighty/query/%22calling+blighty%22

     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #9
  10. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD




    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/calling-blighty-1/query/"calling+blighty"

     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #10
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  11. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    Last edited: May 17, 2019
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #11
  12. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.archivealive.org/video/index/id/290



    http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/431

     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #12
  13. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/node/3155

    .
    http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/node/3062

    http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/node/3151
     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #13
  14. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/calling-blighty-no-155/MediaEntry/621.html

     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #14
  15. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    One of my Chindit 1 families had a similar incident whilst watching a Pathe newsreel at her local cinema. Her father, a Signalman in the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade was filmed on the banks of the Chindwin River, she turned to her mother and said, that looks like Daddy. It was!!
     
    bamboo43, May 14, 2015
    #15
    dbf likes this.
  16. Mr Jinks

    Mr Jinks Bit of a Cad

    Mr Jinks, May 14, 2015
    #16
    dbf likes this.
  17. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/listing/object-205002924
    not available online
    [hr]

    http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060010309

    not available online
     
    dbf, May 14, 2015
    #17
  18. oxfordscientificfilm

    oxfordscientificfilm New Member

    North West Film Archive in Manchester, UK and Channel 4 are working together to track down soldiers who appear in fascinating archive footage shot in India and Burma during WW2. If you are a veteran, a member of their family or a friend – we want to hear from you!

    Calling Blighty is a series of short films made between 1944 and 1946. Servicemen and women who were battling in horrendous conditions against the Japanese were filmed sending personal messages home to their family and friends. Once finished, the films were shipped to Britain where the soldiers’ friends and relatives were invited to their local cinema to watch them on the big screen. The films were designed to provide a much needed boost to morale for soldiers and their families back home, many of whom hadn’t seen each other for years.

    Of the nearly 400 reels originally shot, only a small number survive – of these, 25 feature service men and women from the North West – nearly 600 people in total.

    Now North West Film Archive has launched a project which aims to find the featured veterans, their comrades, families and friends. It will bring them together to share their stories and, 70 years on, watch the films again.

    Please go to www.nwfa.mmu.ac.uk/blighty/index.php and search for any WW2 Burma Campaign veterans you know. If you find someone you recognise, please contact NWFA and help to reconnect the people to the films. Email blighty@mmu.ac.uk or phone Marion Hewitt on 0161 247 3097.

    A documentary about Calling Blighty and the Burma Campaign is being made for broadcast on Channel 4 early in 2016.
     
    oxfordscientificfilm, Sep 17, 2015
    #18
    bamboo43 likes this.
  19. oxfordscientificfilm

    oxfordscientificfilm New Member

    North West Film Archive and Channel 4 are working together to track down soldiers who appear in fascinating archive footage shot in India and Burma during WW2. If you are a veteran, a member of their family or a friend – we want to hear from you!

    Calling Blighty is a series of short films made between 1944 and 1946. Servicemen and women who were battling in horrendous conditions against the Japanese were filmed sending personal messages home to their family and friends. Once finished, the films were shipped to Britain where the soldiers’ friends and relatives were invited to their local cinema to watch them on the big screen. The films were designed to provide a much needed boost to morale for soldiers and their families back home, many of whom hadn’t seen each other for years.

    Of the nearly 400 reels originally shot, only a small number survive – of these, 25 feature service men and women from the North West – nearly 600 people in total.

    Now North West Film Archive has launched a project which aims to find the featured veterans, their comrades, families and friends. It will bring them together to share their stories and, 70 years on, watch the films again.

    Please go to www.nwfa.mmu.ac.uk/blighty/index.php and search for any WW2 Burma Campaign veterans you know. If you find someone you recognise, please contact NWFA and help to reconnect the people to the films. Email blighty@mmu.ac.uk or phone Marion Hewitt on 0161 247 3097.

    A documentary about Calling Blighty and the Burma Campaign is being made for broadcast on Channel 4 early in 2016.
     
    oxfordscientificfilm, Sep 17, 2015
    #19
  20. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Thanks for the heads up in this post. I enjoyed searching through some of these films and found a few men from the 13th Bn. The King's Liverpool Regiment, none of whom I had come across before in my research, which is exciting in itself.
     
    bamboo43, Sep 17, 2015
    #20
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