River Kwai Revisited

Regular readers of this blog will be aware that apart from my interest in military history, I also have a passion for movies and although my love of film covers many genres, not just those concerned with  war and conflict, it is a war film that piqued my interest recently when I re-watched it for the first  time in many years. At about this time each year, I am a volunteer at the local Charlton & Woolwich Free Film Festival, at some events purely as helper to prepare and take down our equipment, sometimes to shake a collection bucket and usually once or twice per festival, as an Event Manager, where I am lucky enough to choose a film and to either introduce it, or (usually) to arrange a guest speaker or other events to dovetail around the screening.

This year, the festival made a welcome return to the wonderfully evocative venue that is the Garrison Church of St George at Woolwich. Ongoing restoration work at the church had meant that we couldn't stage an event there last year but this year, the Trust which is responsible for the maintenance of the church chose a film with a military theme for the screening, the 1957 classic "The Bridge on the River Kwai", directed by David Lean which amassed no fewer than seven Academy Awards. I had been on holiday when the film was selected and was therefore delighted to be asked to introduce the screening and provide a few insights and personal thoughts on the film, even though this wasn't "my" event.

As I hadn't seen the film for a number of years, I made a point of purchasing the DVD a few weeks previously so as to re-acquaint myself with the movie. Whilst I remembered that it was an epic production, as could be expected from Sam Spiegel and David Lean, I was immediately struck by the sheer scale of the production and beauty of the locations. The screenplay was also far better than I had remembered and my overall impression of the acting was also extremely positive.

The origins of the film go back to 1952, when Pierre Boulle's novel, "Le Pont de la Riviere Kwai" was published. Boulle was also responsible for a later novel, also adapted for film, entitled "Planet of The Apes" but we shall forgive him for that, bearing in mind his earlier work! The novel was based in part on Boulle's own experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese following his capture at Singapore whilst operating as an agent for the Free French and tells the story of a group of British soldiers, under the fictional Colonel Nicholson who are set to work as slave labour in constructing a bridge over the River Kwai, in reality the Mae Klong River, which Boulle had confused with the real River Khwae at Kanchanburi at the time. In the novel, Boulle deals with the subject of collaboration by French officers but in the film version, the officers and men depicted working on the bridge are all British - more historically accurate, except for the subject of collaboration, which caused much ill-feeling and resentment amongst veterans at the time, who knew full well that such behaviour had not occurred amongst any British officers.

Sam Spiegel purchased the film rights and set about choosing a director; Fred Zinneman, Howard Hawks, William Wyler, John Ford and Orson Welles were all considered before British director David Lean was settled upon. Casting for the four main male stars saw Jack Hawkins signed up initially - he was to play Major Warden, the leader of the British Commandos tasked with destroying the bridge. William Holden was next on board, cast as Commander Shears, a US Navy enlisted survivor of the USS Houston, who is masquerading as an officer to ensure a better chance of survival. He escapes from the camp at the beginning of the film but is horrified to be detailed to return to the bridge as part of the deal for remaining an officer. Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa was cast as the inflexible and harsh Colonel Saito. The final actor to be engaged for the project was Alec Guinness, who was to play Colonel Nicholson, the somewhat stiff and stubborn British senior officer. Guinness was initially reluctant to take the role as he was wary of working with Lean and for his part, Lean was not keen to cast Guinness as he felt that with his recent history of light comedic roles in various Ealing comedies, Guinness would not convince audiences with his portrayal of the somewhat "buttoned up" British Colonel.

The screenplay was written by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, both of whom were on the Hollywood blacklist at the time for supposed pro-communist sympathies and were working in exile in England. Because of this, they had to work in secret - so secretly in fact that the name of Pierre Boulle appears on the credits for the film and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, which would have been quite an achievement for someone who did not speak or write English. This wrong was subsequently righted when the two genuine scriptwriters were posthumously awarded the Oscar in 1984.

The main location shooting took place is Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and was not without difficulties. Predictably, Lean clashed with many of the cast, especially Guinness, who wanted to play Nicholson as a slightly softer, more gently humorous character, whilst Lean wanted him to be portrayed as "a bore". Some of the British actors, especially James Donald who played the Medical Officer Major Clipton thought the novel "anti-British" and were uncomfortable with the undertones of collaboration. All of this exasperated David Lean, who was pleased to see the back of the British stars and who supposedly enjoyed his dealings with William Holden far better. Another scare came when the film of the climactic destruction of the bridge, which was being flown to London for processing, went missing for several days. The destruction of the bridge was very much a "one take" affair and would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to re-shoot. Fortunately, the film was discovered at Cairo Airport and despite having sat in the hot sun for nearly a week, was still in perfect condition and was developed without any further hitch.

The music for the film was composed by Malcolm Arnold and featured an arrangement of the iconic "Colonel Bogey" march at the beginning of the film. Real life veterans complained that they had never heard this whilst in the jungle and in any case hadn't had the breath to whistle but nevertheless, the music became an integral and instantly recognisable feature of the film.

Despite the misgivings of the veterans - both British and Japanese (who felt the film glorified Western civilisation) - the film was a huge critical and popular success, grossing $30.6 million in it's original release (against a budget of $2.8 million). At the 1957 Academy Awards, it won seven Oscars, for Best Picture (Spiegel), Best Director (Lean), Best Actor (Guinness), Best Adapted Screenplay (Boulle, later awarded to Foreman and Wilson), Best Music Score (Arnold), Best Film Editing (Peter Taylor) and Best Cinematography (Jack Hildyard). In addition, Sessue Hayakama was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award.

The real bridge was not completely destroyed by commandos as in the film but was damaged by Allied bombing in 1945. Such was the success of the film, tourists came to Thailand to visit the bridge and because of this, the Thai authorities were forced to rename the location as "Khwae Yae" or "Little Kwai" to differentiate it from the location wrongly attributed by Boulle, who had never actually visited the location and had incorrectly assumed that it was located at Kanchanburi .

The real-life British commander of the camp alluded to in the novel was Lieutenant Colonel Philip Toosey of 135th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. He had actually been ordered by his superiors to evacuate from Singapore prior to the surrender but had refused to leave his men to captivity and so was taken prisoner alongside them. He was made commander of the camp at Tamarkan and courageously stood up for his men and complained to the Japanese of their ill-treatment, ensuring many beatings for himself. Eventually though, he was able to wrangle concessions from his captors by convincing them that the men would work better if they were more humanely treated. He maintained discipline in the camp and earned the respect of the Japanese, who considered Toosey's camp to be the best run on the entire railway, thus allowing him a certain amount of autonomy. Far from collaborating with the Japanese, Toosey covertly instructed that his men work as slowly as possible without endangering the lives of his men and also arranged the collection of termites, which would eat the wooden supports of the bridge.

Lieut Colonel Philip Toosey (Toosey Family Collection)

There was a Japanese soldier at the camp named Saito but he was not a Colonel. Sergeant Major Saito was second-in-command at the camp and was considered to be a relatively humane individual not prone to the excesses of many of the other Japanese military personnel at the camp. After the war was over, Saito was due to stand trial for war crimes but Toosey spoke up for him, ensuring he would not have to stand trial and effectively saving his life. The two men corresponded after the war and when Toosey died in 1975, Saito subsequently travelled to England to visit his grave in Birkenhead. Saito was quoted as saying that Toosey "showed me what a human being should be and changed the philosophy of my life." When Saito died in 1990, his family discovered that he had converted to Christianity some years previously.

Sgt. Major Saito visiting the grave of Philip Toosey (Toosey Family Collection)

Our open-air screening was blessed with fine weather, if a little on the chilly side and an audience of over sixty people enjoyed watching the film beneath the South London stars. As always, thanks are due to Tim Barnes and his team at the Garrison Church. to all the volunteers from the Free Film Festival and of course, chiefly to those who supported the event on the night.

Exploring Wartime Woolwich

LCC Bomb Damage Map for the area of the walk (author's image)

Last month, we looked at the classic British war movie Battle of Britain, in advance of the special open-air screening of this film as part of the 2017 Charlton and Woolwich Free Film Festival. The evening was a great success and although it has to be said that the weather was not particularly kind to us, some quick thinking on the part of the organisers, coupled with some judicious examination of on-line weather forecasts, ensured that the hardy souls who did brave the rain were able to sit under cover in order to enjoy the film.

One of the supporting events for the film was a short guided walk of the local area to give people a taste of what the people of Woolwich had to endure not only during the Battle of Britain/Blitz period but during the whole of the Second World War. As this walk is unlikely to be repeated in the immediate future, it seems a good idea to give readers the chance to undertake a 'virtual' walk of Wartime Woolwich without having to get wet!

Postcard view of a Church Parade in Victorian times (author's collection)

Needless to say, the walk started and finished at the event venue, the Royal Garrison Church of St George, which as it's name suggests was originally built for the soldiers of the adjacent Royal Artillery Barracks. The church was built between 1862-63 on the orders of Lord Herbert, the Secretary of State for War in order to provide "moral well-being for soldiers of the Royal Artillery" and which was part of a more general response to the criticism aimed at the government of the day following the Crimean War, when the lack of modern facilities for the British Army was brought to the attention of the public. The church was designed in an Italo-Romanesque style and was very similar to Lord Herbert's own parish church in Wilton, Wiltshire, although built on a much larger scale. The church was the work of the architect Thomas Wyatt, assisted by his brother, Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt.

Pre-WW2 postcard view of the Garrison Church (author's collection)

The church served the Royal Artillery faithfully for many years, with Sunday church parades becoming a regular feature of Woolwich life. The building suffered blast damage from a Zeppelin raid in the First World War and in the following conflict, was initially damaged on the night of 9 March 1941, when a High Explosive bomb caused damage to the north-western corner of the church and left shrapnel damage to the marble entrance pillars that can still be seen to this day. This was one of no fewer than seven bombs that fell in the immediate area on that night but the real killer blow came some three years later when the church was struck by a V-1 Flying Bomb on Thursday 13 July 1944, causing the building to lose it's roof and upper levels. The church can be seen on the extract from the LCC Bomb Damage Maps above, at the bottom right-hand corner of the page. The church is coloured in light red, which indicates that it was thought that repairs were possible but as will be seen below, this proved not to be the case.

Shrapnel damage still visible (author's photo)

The Garrison Church as it is today (author's photo)

Once the rubble was cleared, the church remained in limited use, with occasional open-air services. A rebuilding was mooted in the early 1950s but a road widening scheme, coupled with the general shortage of funds for defence-related matters put paid to that plan. The ruins were further stabilised in the 1970s, with the remnants of the upper walls removed and more recently, a modern canopy was erected over the altar area to replace the unsightly corrugated iron structure previously installed there. This permitted restoration and stabilising works to be undertaken to the fine mosaics at the altar and which should ensure the future of the building going forward. In 2011, the ownership of the church was transferred from the Ministry of Defence to a Trust and today, the building seems to have an assured future as a venue for a variety of events.

From the Garrison Church, the group crossed the strangely quiet South Circular Road and began to walk along the footpath which traverses Woolwich Common adjacent to the magnificent frontage of the Royal Artillery Barracks, built between 1776 and 1802 which at 329 metres, represents the longest continuous architectural frontage in London and which today is Grade 2* Listed. This pathway can be seen running across the bottom of the map reproduced above but perhaps because the barracks were still a relatively secret establishment during the wartime years, no bomb damage is recorded on the map. The Luftwaffe had scant respect for historic buildings however, and the barracks suffered serious blast damage from the seven High Explosive bombs dropped on 9 March 1941 mentioned above as well as receiving fire damage from German incendiaries dropped on 19 April 1944, in what proved to be the final Luftwaffe raid (as opposed to V-Weapon attack) on the borough of the entire war.

Pointing out bomb damage to the group at the RA Barracks (Paul Chapman)

The rain was by now beginning to fall more heavily as the group continued across the footpath and turned right into Repository Road, which is shown on the LCC map as running to the immediate left of the main barrack block. Finding shelter beneath some trees, the group next paused adjacent to the main gate of the modern Woolwich Barracks, now home to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, where we discovered a simple memorial to one of Churchill's 'Few' from the Battle of Britain. Given that we were walking on 15 September, Battle of Britain Day and given the subject matter of the film that we were about to watch, this was the most poignant moment of the walk and this fact was not lost upon the group.

Memorial to Robin McGregor 'Bubble' Waterston (author's photo)

The memorial is one of several placed by the excellent Shoreham Aircraft Museum in Kent, commemorating members of 'The Few' who lost their lives within a short radius of the museum. The airman in question on this particular memorial is Flying Officer Robin McGregor 'Bubble' Waterston, aged just 23 in 1940 and whose Spitfire X4273 was shot down in a dogfight over the streets of Southeast London during the early evening of 31 August 1940. As his name might suggest, Robin was a Scot, who served with 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron based at RAF Hornchurch in Essex. The squadron had only moved down from Dyce, Scotland on 27 August as part of the ongoing rotation of squadrons in order to reinforce those defending London and the Southeast during the Battle of Britain. Robin had gained his nickname due to his reputed likeness as a youngster to the young boy who was the subject matter of Millais' still life painting which was later used as an advert for Pears Soap. Robin was a very well-liked personality within his squadron who would think nothing of rolling his sleeves up during his off-duty periods in order to help his ground-crew service his aircraft.

Robin Waterston (right) holding a beer (Photo supplied to me by John Duncan www.newbattleatwar.com - also David Ross collection)

Robin became one of the victims of a major air battle that took place above Woolwich during that early evening and was still inside his Spitfire when it crashed opposite to where the memorial is now placed, close to the junction of Repository Road and Hillreach. During the same battle, a Messerschmitt Bf109 flown by Oberleutnant Walter Binder of 4.KG76 was also shot down. This aircraft crashed in nearby Ann Street in Plumstead and like Robin, the German pilot was also killed in his aircraft. It was thought that he was shot down by Sergeant Stokoe, also from 603 Squadron but it is not known whether the German officer was the pilot responsible for shooting down 'Bubble' Waterston.

The rain was now falling steadily as the group turned sharp right into Artillery Place and proceeded along this road, which can be seen on the map running from left to right almost at the dead centre of the image. We paused briefly opposite the garage and car dealership, which amazingly in 1940 also served as a garage and which saw some drama on the night of 17 October 1940 when it was the scene of an unexploded bomb, which was successfully dealt with by the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Squad and in the rain, we talked briefly of the work undertaken by these extremely brave men.

Moving along Artillery Place, we next paused on the corner as the road bears left opposite a small side street named Belford Place, which can be seen on the LCC map as a plethora of dark shades, indicating total destruction of buildings and those damaged beyond repair. Four houses in Belford Place were destroyed on the night of 19 March 1941 by a Parachute Mine, which also caused severe damage to Mulgrave Place School, then in use as Auxiliary Fire Station 42W. Seven lives were lost from amongst the residents of the destroyed houses, including a 6 year old boy named Peter Harding, who was killed along with his father. The school, already heavily damaged, was then almost completely destroyed on the night of 20 April 1941 when a High Explosive Bomb detonated, causing the deaths of three AFS Firefighters, including Auxiliary Firewoman Lillian Baker, as well as an 18 year old AFS Messenger, Francis McDonough and Station Officer Charles Burden. This raid coincided with Adolf Hitler's birthday and was thought at the time be some sort of bizarre birthday gift for the Fuhrer.

The War Artist Bernard Hailstone was a member of the AFS who was stationed at Mulgrave Place for a while and his painting of the ruined school buildings now forms part of the collection of the Greenwich Heritage Trust. Not surprisingly, the ruins were demolished and replaced by a new school building post-war.

Bernard Hailstone's painting of Mulgrave Place School (author's photo from original at Greenwich Heritage Centre)

The group now headed down the gentle slope to the junction of John Wilson Street, which in 1940 did not exist and was then a narrow footpath called St John's Passage which can be faintly seen on the right of the LCC map running immediately to the right of the main Barrack block. The junction of this pathway with Artillery Place was in 1940 the location of St John's Church, which had already closed as redundant in 1939. The empty building was damaged by incendiary bombs on the night of 11 September 1940 and further damaged by the blast from the V-1 that caused such heavy damage to the Garrison Church on 13 July 1944. The ruins were demolished in 1948 and any trace of the footprint of the church was subsequently lost beneath the newly constructed John Wilson Street in the late 1960s so that today no trace of it's existence can be discovered.

St John's Church Woolwich (author's collection)

A now distinctly damp group now headed back to the relative dryness of the Garrison Church to take on some liquid refreshments before settling down for the main event of the evening. Despite the efforts of the weather, the evening was a great success and thanks are due to all of those who braved the rain and attended the film and the walk beforehand, the re-enactors who came along, Neil from the London Beer Factory who supplied us with light refreshments as well as to the Garrison Church Trust who permitted us to use their wonderful venue once again. Hopefully the weather will smile on us for next year's events at the Garrison Church!

Battle of Britain

Original poster for the film (author's collection)

Regular readers may remember that in the October 2016 edition of this blog, we looked at "Real to Reel" an exhibition covering a century of war films that was held at the Imperial War Museum, London and selected my own ten personal favourite examples of the genre.

One of those I selected was Battle of Britain a film released in 1969, appropriately enough on Battle of Britain Day, 15 September. This film used to get regular airings on television but seems to be less frequently seen nowadays and remains one of my personal favourites. It was one of the last of the great British war movies and was directed by Guy Hamilton, himself a Royal Navy war veteran and director of four of the iconic James Bond films.

On 15 September 2017, as part of the Charlton & Woolwich Free Film Festival I'm delighted to be hosting a special open air screening of this classic British war movie at the wonderful atmospheric surroundings of the Royal Garrison Church of St George, Woolwich. For those that don't know the area, this church was the victim of a direct hit by a V-1 Flying Bomb on 13 July 1944. Despite being largely destroyed, the church remains as consecrated ground and is the home of the Royal Regiment of Artillery's VC Memorial, as well as the memorial to Fusilier Lee Rigby, who was murdered by terrorists in Woolwich in May 2013. The church is now managed by the Woolwich Garrison Church Trust, who are responsible for the management of the building and who have made great strides in preserving the building for the future.

Plaque outside the Garrison Church explaining it's wartime past (author's photo)

Going back to Battle of Britain the film is an extremely faithful re-telling of events running from the Fall of France in June 1940, culminating in events on Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 1940. The film had a budget of $13,000,000 (equivalent to $91,000,000 today) and therefore represented a considerable financial risk to the producers Harry Saltzman and S Benjamin Fisz. Shooting of the film took place in the spring and summer of 1968, with much of the filming taking place on location. Many of the airfield scenes were filmed at Duxford, Debden, Hawkinge and North Weald - all genuine Battle of Britain airfields. One of my abiding memories as a nine year old boy growing up in Southeast London at this time was seeing large formations of Second World War aircraft appearing in the skies overhead, including what looked like Heinkels and Messerschmitts. I found this very exciting but looking back, I suspect that my parents, grandparents and others of their generation may perhaps have been less enthusiastic as it would have no doubt rekindled some less than happy memories, especially to my Mother and Grandmother, both of whom lived in London throughout the Blitz.

Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie (Bomber Command Museum of Canada)

To recreate as authentic a group of aircraft as possible, Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie, a former Bomber Command Pathfinders officer, was hired to source suitable aircraft, both British and German. He managed to locate over hundred Spitfires in the UK, of which twenty seven were made available for the film, although twelve were in flying condition. Two of these were authentic Mark I and II variants, with the others all later marks, which had to be suitable modified to look the part for the period. The Hurricanes, although far more numerous than the Spitfire during the real Battle of Britain, were far fewer in surviving numbers by 1968, with only six being made available for the film, half of which were flyable. On the German side, there were no surviving flyable Heinkels, Dorniers, Junkers and Messerschmitts in 1968 but a ready solution was found in Spain, whose air force were still flying Spanish built CASA 2.111 twin engine bombers, virtually identical to the Heinkel III. Mahaddie obtained the services of no fewer than thirty two of these authentic looking aircraft, along with twenty seven Hispano 'Buchon' fighters, Spanish built versions of the Me 109, so in 1968 as in 1940, the RAF found itself outnumbered. Together, these aircraft represented what was described in 1968 as the thirty fifth largest air force in the world. The Ju 87 Stukas were represented in the film by large scale flying models and the aircraft destroyed on the ground and in flying scenes, were also models. The other flying scenes were all shot 'for real' as this was many years before the advent of CGI technology and the film in my opinion is much the better for being shot in this way. Even today, the flying scenes remain amongst the best ever put on film.

Other locations used for filming were St Katherine's Dock, Aldwych Tube Station, Peckham Rye and Dragon Road in Camberwell, which were all used for the sequences of the London Blitz. Sir Hugh Dowding's office at RAF Bentley Priory was used once again as such in the film but the 11 Group Bunker at RAF Uxbridge was recreated at Shepperton Studios as an almost exact replica of the real thing. Huelva in Spain doubled up for Dunkirk at the start of the film, whilst some other airfield shots were filmed at Tablada in Spain. 

Apart from Hamish Mahaddie, the other technical advisors for the film included Tom Gleave, Bob Stanford-Tuck and Ginger Lacey, all real life Battle of Britain pilots for the RAF. Squadron Leader Boleslaw Drobinski advised on the Polish scenes and General Adolf Galland was the main technical advisor for the German scenes. Galland was anxious to ensure that the German pilots were not portrayed as 'Cartoon Nazis' and was involved in a furious argument on set when he objected to a scene in which German pilots were shown giving the Nazi salute and threatened to walk off the film if the scene was included. Galland was adamant that German pilots didn't use this salute and insisted that even he had never used it in normal circumstances, even when meeting Hermann Goring. After much debate, the scene was left in the film, although other scenes do show the German pilots using the conventional military salute. Galland was also instrumental in the decision to show the German actors actually speaking German, with English subtitles being used, rather than speaking heavily accented English, as has usually been the case in other war films prior to this time.

Robert Shaw as he appeared in the film (author's collection)

The cast for the film represented a veritable 'Who's Who' for the period and included Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir Michael Redgrave, Trevor Howard, Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, Kenneth More, Michael Caine, Susannah York and Kurt Jurgens, as well as appearances by younger actors who were to subsequently become well known in their own right such as Edward Fox and Ian McShane.

Most of the senior figures of the Battle are portrayed as themselves, so we see in the film portrayals of Hermann Goring, Albert Kesselring and Erhardt Milch on the German side and Sir Hugh Dowding, Keith Park, Trafford Leigh-Mallory on the British. Further down the chain of command, for reasons of brevity in the film, characters are merged to greater or lesser degrees, so the character played by Robert Shaw, known somewhat enigmatically in the film as 'Skipper' is largely based on the South African 'Sailor' Malan, who had acquired his nickname due to his having served in the Merchant Navy in a previous career. It was a nickname adopted by all who knew him and happily used by Malan as well, perhaps because his real Christian name was Adolf!

The character played by Christopher Plummer, Squadron Leader Harvey is loosely based on Squadron Leader Foxley, not a Canadian as in the film but someone whose real-life experiences closely matched those of Plummer's character in the movie. Edward Fox's character in the film, a Sergeant Pilot known simply as 'Archie' is heavily based on Sergeant Ray Holmes and as with Foxley, a character whose exploits in real life closely matched those of his film alter-ego. Similarly, on the German side, the character Major Falke is based on Adolf Galland, who really did inform Hermann Goring that he could use a squadron of Spitfires to help win the Battle for the Luftwaffe.

General Adolf Galland (Bundesarchiv)

There were other issues that arose during the production of the film, most notably concerning the musical score. The original composer for the score was Sir William Walton, who was recommended to the producers by Sir Laurence Olivier, who had collaborated with Walton on three of his own film productions, Henry V, Richard III and Hamlet and who was also a close personal friend of the composer. Walton wrote a classical orchestral score for the film, which all of those involved with the production felt was perfect for the film, if perhaps a little on the short side. The executives at United Artists thought differently and felt that the score was old-fashioned and ordered that it be scrapped. This caused Olivier to threaten to walk off the set and he stated that if he were to leave the production, he would not allow his name to be shown in the credits to the film and any of it's publicity. This would have been a major blow as Olivier was still a major player in the film world, even in 1968 and as a result of this, a compromise was reached. A new score was commissioned from the British composer Ron Goodwin, who had previously scored films such as Murder at The Gallop, 633 Squadron, Where Eagles Dare and Operation Crossbow amongst many others. However, a sequence from Walton's score, entitled Battle in the Air was retained and used towards the end of the film to accompany the climactic air battle which is played out with almost no dialogue and no other extraneous sound effects.

At the time of it's release, the film had indifferent reviews and this was perhaps thought to be a result of the generally pervading anti-war feeling at the time resulting from the Vietnam War, although the film did perform well in the United Kingdom. Over the years though, the film's reputation has recovered and it is today regarded as probably the definitive film covering the subject.

If you've never seen this film before, or if like me, it is one of your favourites, come and join us on Friday 15 September when you will get the opportunity to watch this film at a truly unique venue. The film is being screened at 19:45 but before that at 18:15, I will be guiding a free walk starting from the church, lasting around an hour, during which we will discover something of the area's wartime past. There will be a licenced bar available on the night and also hopefully snacks as well - full details of the timings and other events during the Charlton & Woolwich Free Film Festival can be found on the event's website.