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Topical Budget 165-2: Sons of the Empire (1914)
 

BFI

Main image of Topical Budget 165-2: Sons of the Empire (1914)
 
24/10/1914
35mm, 1 min, black & white, silent
 
Production CompanyTopical Film Company

Canadian soldiers arrive in England.

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'Sons of the Empire' is one of a number of Topical Budget items released in the early part of the war showing troops from the Empire territories coming to the aid of the 'mother country'. Later items feature soldiers from India and Trinidad.

A major recruitment effort across Canada saw more than 600,000 men and women signed up as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, not just as soldiers but as nurses and in other auxiliary roles.

Trucks pass by the camera, piled high with kitbags and trunks, with the Canadian troops perched on top. Men are shown washing and cleaning teeth, while a smiling soldier writes a letter back home. The grins serve to emphasise the soldiers' uniform enthusiasm for the cause.

The final shot shows soldiers holding a Union Jack, with flags from the Empire stitched (slightly crudely) around the edge. The Union Jack is a very common sight in the newsreels of this period: yet more feelgood propaganda for the cinema audience.

Jan Faull

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SEE ALSO
Topical Budget 178-1: Indians at Arras (1915)