Andy Aitcheson (Andy Ait ) has paid (!) the IWM to digitize some footage from Blackcock and posted about it here: "1 As mentioned yesterday, my WHWF 2 talk was on the amazing heroism of Fus Dennis Donnini VC. In the months since the talk I have managed to ID and digitise an AFPU film from the morning of 18/01/45 in Lind and Stein. " https://twitter.com/AndyAitcheson/status/1615638141871833088 I *think* anyone should be able to look at the thread even if you don't have a twitter account. He's broken the footage down into sections and described/identified them in separate tweets.
Hm you know what, I'll add each of the other tweets to make it easier to "dip in" to any bit that is interesting. "2 We first see footage from Sittard, just south of Lind and Stein, mid morning. This is likely to be 6 Cameronians and Sherwood Rangers moving up, while Dennis and 4/5th Royal SCOTS Fusiliers are battling for Lind and Stein villages " https://twitter.com/AndyAitcheson/status/1615638293374173185 3 I talked about the thaw and how the armoured columns bogged in before the Saffelen beek… well here they are. Flails of the L&B horse, tanks of the Sherwood Rangers and RE Churchill bridge layers, stuck in the mud below Lind/Stein https://twitter.com/AndyAitcheson/status/1615638717737369602 4 I mentioned that 4/5 RSF found a footbridge over the Saffelen Beek, here is actual footage of them crossing that bridge, this is likely C+D company, A&B + Dennis are only 200m away at this point https://twitter.com/AndyAitcheson/status/1615638987762270209 5 Finally we have footage of 4/5 RSF in Lind and Stein, this is likely after Dennis had been killed as the momentum he created caused C&D Coys to be brought forward. Notice the open ground to Lind, then the men in the German comms trenches. https://twitter.com/AndyAitcheson/status/1615639324606824449
There are quite a few IWM films from around then that are similar... that might also get online eventually... I am not, currently, sure how reliable the dates on these are, and unusually they seem to lack the descriptions that one tends to see with the IWM films, even if they aren't yet online. Catalogued 16d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION AND 87TH AMERICAN DIVISION LINK UP ON THE ROAD BETWEEN MARCHE AND CHAMPLON, BELGIUM [Allocated Title] GERMAN DEAD AND WRECKED GERMAN VEHICLES LEFT BEHIND NEAR ORTHO, BELGIUM [Allocated Title] Catalogued 18d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF THE DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT ENTER THE VILLAGE OF ECHT, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 18d1m1945... BATTLE DAMAGE IN SUSTEREN, THE NETHERLANDS, AFTER ITS CAPTURE BY 1ST BATTALION, THE DURHAM LIGHT INFANTRY (PART 1) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 14d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF 51ST (HIGHLAND) DIVISION AND 87TH AMERICAN DIVISION LINK UP ON THE ROAD BETWEEN MARCHE AND CHAMPLON, BELGIUM [Allocated Title] Catalogued 14d1m1945... ROYAL ENGINEERS USE MINE DETECTORS ON THE ROAD BETWEEN MARCHE AND CHAMPLON, BELGIUM [Allocated Title] Catalogued 16d1m1945... SHERMAN FLAIL TANKS AND CHURCHILL CROCODILE FLAMETHROWING TANKS OF 7TH ARMOURED DIVISION MOVE ALONG THE SITTARD-BUCHTEN ROAD IN THE NETHERLANDS (PART 2) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 17d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF 7TH ARMOURED DIVISION AND 52ND (LOWLAND) DIVISION ADVANCE ALONG THE BUCHTEN TO SUSTEREN ROAD, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 17d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF 7TH ARMOURED DIVISION MOVE INTO FORWARD AREAS NEAR DIETEREN, THE NETHERLANDS (PART 1) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 18d1m1945... ATTACK ON THE VILLAGE OF STEIN, THE NETHERLANDS, BY 4/5TH BATTALION ROYAL SCOTS FUSILIERS AND 5TH HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY [Allocated Title] Catalogued 17d1m1945... INFANTRY AND TANKS OF 6TH BATTALION THE CAMERONIANS ADVANCE ALONG THE MUD-COVERED ROAD NEAR HAVELT, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 18d1m1945... FUNERAL OF 34 YOUNG MEN SHOT IN A REPRISAL ATTACK AT BANDE, LUXEMBOURG, BELGIUM (PART 1) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 18d1m1945... FUNERAL OF 34 YOUNG MEN SHOT IN A REPRISAL ATTACK AT BANDE, LUXEMBOURG, BELGIUM (PART 2) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 17d1m1945... SELF-PROPELLED GUNS OF 'A' TROOP, 96TH BATTERY RCA ANTI-TANK REGIMENT, AND SHERMAN TANKS OF 23RD FIELD REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY GIVE COVERING FIRE TO A PATROL CROSSING THE RIVER MAAS SOUTH OF MAREN, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 19d1m1945... TREES RIGGED WITH DYNAMITE BY RETREATING GERMAN FORCES NEAR SUSTEREN, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 19d1m1945... WRECKED CHURCHILL CROCODILE FLAME-THROWER TANK AT SCHILBERG, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF 1ST BATTALION THE RIFLE BRIGADE DURING THE ASSAULT ON ST JOOST, THE NETHERLANDS [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF 1ST BATTALION THE GLASGOW HIGHLANDERS ADVANCE THROUGH THE VILLAGES OF HONGEN, SAEFFELEN AND BREBEREN TOWARDS HEINSBERG, GERMANY [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... SOLDIERS OF THE CAMERONIANS AND THE WILTSHIRE REGIMENT ADVANCE THROUGH THE VILLAGE OF BREBEREN, GERMANY [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... 25-POUNDER GUNS OF 94TH FIELD REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY IN ACTION AGAINST THE VILLAGE OF WALDFEUCHT, NORTH OF GANGELT, GERMANY (PART 1) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... 25-POUNDER GUNS OF 94TH FIELD REGIMENT ROYAL ARTILLERY IN ACTION AGAINST THE VILLAGE OF WALDFEUCHT, NORTH OF GANGELT, GERMANY (PART 2) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... GERMAN PRISONERS (MILITARY AND CIVILIAN) CAPTURED BY 6TH HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY BETWEEN BREBEREN AND BOCKET ARE PROCESSED IN HONGEN, GERMANY [Allocated Title] Catalogued 21d1m1945... SHERMAN TANKS AND INFANTRY OF 9TH HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY AND 8TH ARMOURED BRIGADE ADVANCE ALONG THE MAIN BOCKET ROAD NEAR THE GERMAN-DUTCH BORDER NORTH EAST OF SITTARD [Allocated Title] Catalogued 21d1m1945... CHURCHILL TANKS OF 6TH GUARDS TANK BRIGADE OCCUPY THE VILLAGES OF HARZELT, LANGBROICH AND SCHIERWALDENRATH, GERMANY [Allocated Title] Catalogued 21d1m1945... UNITS OF 7TH ARMOURED DIVISION ADVANCE ON ST JOOST, THE NETHERLANDS, AS DUTCH CIVILIANS EVACUATE THE VILLAGE (PART 2) [Allocated Title] Catalogued 21d1m1945... TANKS AND INFANTRY OF 7TH CAMERONIANS ADVANCE ALONG THE BOCKET TO HONTEM ROAD, GERMANY [Allocated Title] Catalogued 20d1m1945... SOLDIERS AND ARMOUR OF 2ND ESSEX REGIMENT ADVANCE TO RE-CAPTURE THE VILLAGE OF ZETTEN, THE NETHERLANDS (PART 1) [Allocated Title] Nb. This one is currently "online"... Catalogued 20d1m1945... SOLDIERS AND ARMOUR OF 2ND ESSEX REGIMENT ADVANCE TO RE-TAKE THE VILLAGE OF ZETTEN, THE NETHERLANDS (PART 2) [Allocated Title]
I agree, there's loads of stuff that could still be digitized and I think IWM continues to work on it. It's unusual that someone is committed enough to pay to get something converted and to then analyze and present it like this.
Bits of it were perhaps used in this, albeit, again, not yet online... GAUMONT BRITISH NEWS Issue 1156: [Main Title] Description : At St Nazaire civilians were 'cut off'; truce between Germans British and Americans arranged, so that they could be evacuated. Railway lines from St Nazaire temporarily relaid and refugees evacuated to Nantes. US troops on German border, keep towns under continuous fire, occasionally using captured German weapons. British 2nd Army continue advance to Heinsberg under adverse winter conditions; German slogans torn down from street, houses demolished; prisoners surrendering, Sherman tanks cross border at Breberen. As is often the case these Newsreels do occasionally crop up on YouTube or the various Newsreel sites, such as Pathe etc. GAUMONT BRITISH NEWS Issue "1156" - Google Search
It's hard to judge, and I've linked to this before at... Operation Blackcock - succesfull or unsuccesfull? But perhaps a fair few of the - as yet - non online clips were used in this... There's often a tendency to use archive footage illustratively and easy to lose track of an ultimate source.
