Army Kinematograph Service
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The Army Kinematograph Service (AKS) was established during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by the
British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
in August 1941 to meet the increasing training and recreational needs of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. 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",The National Archives of the UK (TNA): WO 165/96 it expanded over the next few years to become the most prominent film production and exhibition section for a major part of the
British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...
.


Background

Pre-1939, the Army Kinema Establishment, part of the
Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...
based at
Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, had been responsible for making and exhibiting training films for the Army. In 1940 it was transferred to
Wembley Studios Fountain Studios was an independently owned television studio in Wembley Park, northwest London. The company was last part of the Avesco Group plc. Several companies owned the site before it was bought by Fountain in 1993. Originally a film st ...
(the
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
Studios requisitioned for the war) to continue its activities. In August 1941 it was absorbed and expanded into the AKS.
Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...
was Head of Production (a role acquired partly through his involvement in the making of the highly successful ''
The Next of Kin ''The Next of Kin'', also known as ''Next of Kin'', is a 1942 Second World War propaganda film produced by Ealing Studios. The film was originally commissioned by the British War Office as a training film to promote the government message tha ...
'' in early 1942, a film requested by the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
and made at
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...
), 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;
Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for book ...
,
Roy Ward Baker Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. His best known film is ''A Night to Remember (1958 film), A Night to Remember'' (1958) which won a Golden Globe for Golden Globe Award for ...
, Thorold Dickinson,
Freddie Francis Frederick William Francis (22 December 1917 – 17 March 2007) was an English cinematographer and film director. He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer. He started his career with British films such as Jack Cardiff's ''Sons and L ...
,
Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for ''Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...
,
Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...
and
Freddie Young Frederick A. Young (9 October 1902 – 1 December 1998) was a British cinematographer. He is probably best known for his work on David Lean's films ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965) and ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), all th ...
to name but a few. 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
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. 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. 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; 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,
Peter Newbrook Peter Austin Harley Newbrook BSC (29 June 1920 – 19 June 2009) was an English cinematographer, director, producer and writer. Newbrook was born in Chester and educated at the Chester, and Worcester Cathedral schools, and the Ewell Castle Scho ...
– a later president of the
British Society of Cinematographers The British Society of Cinematographers (abbreviated B.S.C. or BSC) was formed in 1949 by Bert Easey (23 August 1901 – 28 February 1973), the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments, to represent British cinematographers ...
– began as a cameraman and became a director. This was all in the space of a little more than three years. 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
mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...
('' The Soldier's Food'', 1942), and problems faced by new recruits. The last topic was dealt with in a film called ''
The New Lot ''The New Lot'' is a 1943 British drama film directed by Carol Reed and starring Eric Ambler, Robert Donat, Kathleen Harrison, Bernard Lee, Raymond Huntley, John Laurie, Peter Ustinov and Austin Trevor, with music by Richard Addinsell. It is a ...
''. 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 ''The Next of Kin'', it is now considered a minor classic. Its influence was sufficient for it to be used as the basis for the 1944 feature film ''
The Way Ahead ''The Way Ahead'' (also known as ''Immortal Battalion'') (1944) is a British Second World War drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and Willi ...
''. Between 1944-1946 a series of morale-boosting films were made on location in the Far East called '' Calling Blighty''. 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. 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. 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 ATS) 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.Sellars, T H. File ref LOC 703, AKS. Imperial War Museum Film Archive; Burrows, Ruby Winifred
"Experiences of a Young Woman in the Army Kinematograph Service (ATS)"
2005. Retrieved 24 January 2016
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; additionally, the 35mm units had to carry their own collapsible fireproof projection box, owing to the high flammability of
nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...
. 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. 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 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
Services Sound and Vision Corporation The Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) was a British registered charity. Set up in 1982 from the merger of the Services Kinema Corporation (SKC) and the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to "entertain and inform Britain's Arm ...
(SSVC), responsible for all audio-visual services to the Forces.Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC) file. Imperial War Museum Film Archive


References

{{Reflist, 30em Military of the United Kingdom 1940s establishments in the United Kingdom Propaganda film units State-owned film companies British World War II propaganda films British Army