143:. In November 1941 it requisitioned the Curzon Cinema partly to meet its own screening needs, but also as a showpiece cinema for the services and for those of other government departments. By mid-1942 DAK had increased to five branches to deal with the growing demands of the war, covering such areas as policy, planning and production, finance, distribution and exhibition. In 1944 it assumed full responsibility for cinema facilities in North Africa, the Mediterranean area, the Far East and in 1945 it took over the cinema activities of NAAFI and ENSA. The centralisation of activities under DAK meant an increasingly efficient supply of cinema facilities to the Army at war, worldwide.
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high-priority films could be rushed through as necessary. What became an enormous output of films gave opportunities to young and relatively inexperienced film personnel which they were unlikely to have received in peacetime, at least over such a short period. For example, Freddie
Francis entered as a camera assistant and subsequently covered everything from writing to directing, Roy Ward Baker entered as a production manager and spent most of his time directing,
210:. The two crew – a corporal and private – endured a nomadic life, going almost daily to different venues and being "in the field" for up to a month at a time. During this period they not only had to make do with what they found to show their films – damaged buildings, barns and sometimes just the open air – but also depended on their location for food and billet. This sometimes meant going without and on occasions coming under fire.
112:), and he was initially instrumental in recruiting many of those who had been involved in the film industry. The result has been described as "a roll call of many of the finest film technicians whose skills were reflected in the quality of AKS training films" and some fairly well-known names contributed, others developing skills that assisted their post-war eminence;
175:. Made in 1943 for the Directorate of Army Psychiatry, directed by Carol Reed and scripted by Eric Ambler (who in 1944 became the Head of Production at the AKS) and Peter Ustinov – both of whom appear in the film – it detailed the many different problems facing new recruits and the way they coped. Though at the time it did not have the wider impact of something like
62:. Created by the newly established Directorate of Army Kinematography, whose remit was "to be responsible for providing and exhibiting all films required by the Army (at home and abroad) for training, educational and recreational purposes", it expanded over the next few years to become the most prominent film production and exhibition section for a major part of the
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organisational changes: in 1946 it became the Army Kinema
Corporation (AKC) - retaining the, by then, archaic spelling of Kinema to differentiate it from the ACC, the Army Catering Corps - though camp cinemas bore signs reading AKC Cinema; in 1969 the Services Kinema Corporation (SKC), reflecting its then relationship with all three services; in 1982 the
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A mobile cine section typically comprised around seven 16mm units and two 35mm units. The 16mm units operated out of 15-cwt
Bedford trucks, carrying two projectors, a generator and a portable screen. The 35mm units used 3-ton Bedford trucks, as the equipment and film were much bulkier and heavier;
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Always distinct from other filmmaking sections of the armed forces – the
Directorate of Public Relations retained control over this area – the AKS continued to provide much-needed cinema and production facilities up to the end of the war and beyond. Post-war it went through several name and
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With the establishment of the AKS and its much improved production resources, the Army's increased needs could be more efficiently met; production units could be ordered out on location, at home and abroad; there was greater security when making films on subjects that were deemed secret;
202:) at the latter. The course was rigorous, lasting six weeks and ending with a trade test after which those qualifying had to undergo a further two weeks' training on petrol generators. Those who were deemed able were sent on a driving course and then on to a cine section.
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By 1943 there were over a hundred mobile cinema units in the UK and approximately four hundred 16mm ones, but only one overseas, in North Africa. After the Allied landings in Italy and
Normandy this expanded enormously, with a consequent demand on personnel and equipment.
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The films produced covered a broad range of topics and were delivered in a wide variety of styles; from straightforward technical films on a subject such as a 6 pounder gun through to specialised medical films, "careless talk", street fighting, post-war jobs, food in the
191:. These were filmed messages home from members of the "Forgotten Army" and provided a much-needed link between the UK and personnel stationed (and fighting) in places such as Burma, India and Ceylon.
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The
Directorate of Kinematography (DAK) started in April 1941 with only two branches. In October 1941, it moved to Curzon Street House, London W1 where it was based for the duration of
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Sargent, Paul. November 1992, "'Keep
Smiling. Keep those chins up and God bless': filmed messages home from service personnel in the Far East during the Second World War."
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Projectionists were trained at the Regent Street and
Northern Polytechnics in central and east London, males at the former and females (who were part of the
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179:, it is now considered a minor classic. Its influence was sufficient for it to be used as the basis for the 1944 feature film
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additionally, the 35mm units had to carry their own collapsible fireproof projection box, owing to the high flammability of
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Studios requisitioned for the war) to continue its activities. In August 1941 it was absorbed and expanded into the AKS.
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was Head of
Production (a role acquired partly through his involvement in the making of the highly successful
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86:, had been responsible for making and exhibiting training films for the Army. In 1940 it was transferred to
155:– began as a cameraman and became a director. This was all in the space of a little more than three years.
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185:. Between 1944-1946 a series of morale-boosting films were made on location in the Far East called
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Sellars, T H. File ref LOC 703, AKS. Imperial War Museum Film
Archive; Burrows, Ruby Winifred.
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169:, 1942), and problems faced by new recruits. The last topic was dealt with in a film called
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Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) file. Imperial War Museum Film Archive
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Corporal M A Moyse of the Army Kinematograph Service (AKS) at the entrance to the
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in August 1941 to meet the increasing training and recreational needs of the
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323:"Experiences of a Young Woman in the Army Kinematograph Service (ATS)"
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218:(SSVC), responsible for all audio-visual services to the Forces.
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Newbrook, Peter. Sound Archives ref 17284, Imperial War Museum.
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Ward Baker, Roy. Sound Archives ref 16749, Imperial War Museum
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Kinematographic branch of the British Army during World War II
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296:. Film Archive Imperial War Museum catalogue no.DRA 443.
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Pre-1939, the Army Kinema Establishment, part of the
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244:The National Archives of the UK (TNA): WO 165/96
355:1940s establishments in the United Kingdom
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27:Ritz, a small dug-out cinema created for
253:Langley, Brian. Spring 2003. "The AKS".
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104:in early 1942, a film requested by the
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370:British World War II propaganda films
216:Services Sound and Vision Corporation
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153:British Society of Cinematographers
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50:(AKS) was established during the
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325:2005. Retrieved 24 January 2016
350:Military of the United Kingdom
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284:Smither, Roger. April 1997, "
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290:Journal of Film Preservation
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151:– a later president of the
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365:State-owned film companies
48:Army Kinematograph Service
76:Royal Army Ordnance Corps
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360:Propaganda film units
120:, Thorold Dickinson,
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64:British Armed Forces
136:to name but a few.
257:Issue 98. pp.12-16
166:The Soldier's Food
56:British government
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96:Thorold Dickinson
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288:Reviewed", FIAF
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177:The Next of Kin
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101:The Next of Kin
88:Wembley Studios
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108:and made at
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42:, March 1944
294:The New Lot
286:The New Lot
255:The Veteran
172:The New Lot
114:Eric Ambler
344:Categories
222:References
126:Carol Reed
106:War Office
70:Background
80:Aldershot
78:based at
36:beachhead
292:No 54;
54:by the
84:Surrey
90:(the
40:Italy
33:Anzio
25:Anzio
161:mess
132:and
46:The
200:ATS
82:in
38:in
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163:(
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