SPORT & LEISURE IN THE BRITISH ARMY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR Object description: British troops playing football against the local team in Courseulles in France on Bastille Day, 1944. Creator: Malindine E G (Capt), No. 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit Production date: 1944-07-14
BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN POLAND, 1940-1945 Object description: A rugby match in progress at the Stalag XXID, Poznań (Posen). Catalogue number: HU 9302 BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN POLAND, 1940-1945 Object description: Group photograph of the "Aston Villa" football team, made of British POWs, at the Stalag XXID, Poznań (Posen). The name of the team would imply those soldiers came from the Birmingham area. Catalogue number: HU 9282 BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN POLAND, 1940-1945 Object description Group photograph of the "Blackpool" football team, made of British POWs, at the Stalag XXID, Poznań (Posen). Catalogue number: HU 9283
BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR IN GERMANY, 1940-1945 Object description: Members of a British POW rugby team at the town of Laband, the base for working parties E1 and E708 from the Stalag VIIIB. From left to right (probably); Lewis, Johnson, Tamblyn, Nelmes, Poole, Jones, Hill, Gardner, Jones, Maybanks, Company Sergeant Major (CSM Leader, in uniform, featured also in photographs HU 9292, HU 9293, HU 9313, HU 9314), Tovey, Murphy, Donn Catalogue number: HU 9311
THE BRITISH EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN FRANCE, 1939-1940 Object description: A game of football at Chanzy barracks, Le Mans. Ordnance sergeants in trousers against men in shorts on the BEF assembly ground. (Note the gun mounted on a tripod as a precaution against air attack). Catalogue number: O 12
ALLIED FORCES SPORTS MEETING AT THE FORO ITALICO, FORMERLY THE MUSSOLINI FORUM, ROME, JULY 1944 Object description The crowd watching a race in progress. Catalogue number: TR 2099
THE SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE IN THE NORTH AFRICAN DESERT, APRIL 1943 Object description:Pilots of the South African Air Force play volley ball between attacks on the Mareth Line. Catalogue number: TR 822
ROYAL AIR FORCE: 2ND TACTICAL AIR FORCE, 1943-1945. Object description: Ground crew enjoying a game of cricket as others service a Hawker Typhoon Mark IB of No. 174 Squadron RAF outside a canvas hangar at B5/Le Fresne Camilly, Normandy. Catalogue number: CL 407
Baseball in Northern Ireland - WartimeNI 2nd and 3rd Battalion of 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, face each other in a game of baseball at Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast on 25th April 1942. Baseball game at Windsor Park, July 1942 Yanks for the memories... when home of rugby hosted GI baseball and gridiron - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
I try to attach a painting by the POW Hanson-Bay from 1941 in OFLAG VB Biberach, only 2 months before the escape of26 officers. Stefan
Inter-Allied Games. I was reading about future heavyweight champ Ezzard Charles. He won somthing called "The Inter-Allied light heavyweight title" in Rome in 1944, presumably while he was in the U.S. army. All the references on the internet refer to the the games held in WWI. That's very interesting too but does anyone have any more information on the WWII version? Inter-Allied Games - Wikipedia
Charles and Rocky Marciano speaking Italian to each other and later joined by Jersey Joe Walcott. Three classy, polite champs. Rocky begins at 7:20
THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944 Men of 6th Airborne Division Signals have a game of cricket, 31 July 1944. L/Cpl M A Bate is at the crease. THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944. Image: IWM (B 8327) IWM Non Commercial License
Here you go Dave. An extract: "The second Inter-Allied Games, dubbed by the press as “the Allied Forces Olympics,” commenced on September 7, 1946. Competitors were invited from the armies of 12 Allied nations. Over 85,000 spectators––military personnel and German citizens–– filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, one of the few structures in the city that was largely undamaged by the blistering air raids. The front of the official program featured a wreath encircling the word “peace.” Criss-crossing the wreath were white flags imprinted with doves carrying olive branches. The American newspapers covered the event with reverence. One American’s performance garnered special recognition" From the web page here: The War Torn Games Interesting stuff, thanks for raising the subject. Kind regards, always, Jim.
Dave, at least one very famous Olympic athelete competed there. Short clip, voice over, worth a watch. Kind regards, always, Jim
Can you imagine today's heavyweights talking so politely to each other before a bout, just shows in those days you didn't need all the hype just the fight in itself was enough to get people excited.
Here you are Dave, extracts from the programme for the athletics in '46, including a list of future scheduled events, with the boxing tournament beginning of April '47 (I'd like to see a full list of competitors for that one). Time to dig out the old sporting almanacs stateside maybe and check out some names? No names listed for the Poland and Russia teams. Guess they missed the deadline to make print. Full pdf attached too at end of post. Kind regards, always, Jim. P.S. Note, no shooting competition
