At Wessex Film and Sound Archive you can see and hear history, from late Victorian times to the present day, through moving images and sound recordings. The Archive contains over 36,000 film and sound recordings relating to Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including film and tapes of local TV and radio.
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Army Cadets visiting Winchester college and on manoeuvres
Young soldiers-to-be practise their fighting skills in this short film from 1943 - with a visit to Winchester College Chapel thrown in.
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Overview
This short film starts with off-duty cadets from Winchester School walking about the College Chapel and its cloisters before being seen back in uniform and marching along a country lane. After an inspection held in a cow-field the boys begin their orienteering exercise with map and compass. The cadets charge past the camera in the next scene carrying their, hopefully, dummy rifles before working their way along a ditch.
William John Prall was born in Southampton in 1891. He worked in the family business as a watchmaker and jeweller. He fought in Mesopotamia during the Great War and was wounded in 1917 when he lost an eye. Always a keen photographer, Prall progressed to filmmaking and recorded a large number of events in and around Winchester. He became an officer in the Army Cadet Force and filmed activities like those seen in this film.
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