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War Weapons Week 1942 (clip 1)

Wartime drills and testing of equipment

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Description

In this clip we see a variety of drills and demonstrations by civil and military defence units. A tear gas canister is detonated while men look on in gas masks. A fire is shown being extinguished by a group of men and women before further tests are carried out on the use of the hose equipment. We see a brief shot of members of the public wearing gas masks. The final section of the clip concentrates on drills for carrying injured persons. We see a guardsman carried to a medical facility as well as simulations of conscious and unconscious people being lifted.

Questions & Activities

Questions

  • What does GIS and ARP stand for?
  • What is happening in this clip?
  • What is tear gas and what was it used for? How does it affect people?
  • What was happening in 1942 in the war?
  • Why was this film made? If it was a recruitment film - how would it work?
  • Where are the women in this film and what roles did they play during the war?
  • Why were they afraid of a gas attack?
  • Why are the helmets different colours - what was the hierarchy involved in this?
  • What have they got in their bags?
  • What was War Weapons Week?

Activities

Media Studies / Moving Image Education: Add a voiceover to explain what is happening in the clip.

Media Studies / English: Make a list of the key visual clues that you might need research to find out what the film is about.

Moving Image Education / Drama: Create different voiceovers to present the film in different ways, i.e. recruitment, training or public information, or comedy Dad'€™s Army) etc.

History / WWII: Research the different roles of GIS, ARP and FAP - what was their contribution to the war?

History / English: Speak to someone you know who was alive during the war. Interview them about what life was like during the war.

English: Imagine you are a child in 1942 - write a diary entry.

English / History / German / Languages: Imagine you a German spy who has infiltrated this group. Write a report back to your superiors. Write in German.

Social Studies: What type of emergency or disaster is likely to happen in your area? What contingencies have been put into place? (eg. flooding)

Media Studies: Compare and contrast with Dad's Army.

Clip Details

Record Id 007-000-002-381-C
Resource Rights Holder Courtesy of the Conway family
Project Ref 3348
Date 1942
Genre Documentary
School Subject Media Studies, English, Drama, Moving Image Education, History, Social Studies, German
Subject Matter World War 2
Who Ewen Jeen (filmmaker)
Where Thorn Park, Bearsden
Attributes Colour, Silent
Clip Length 3:05
Film Length 19:28