Item 1 - SSM&S #1

Part one of a two part film of the 2nd Battalion, Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury Regiment (Reserve) in training at Minnow Lake in Sudbury, Ontario.

00:00 The 2nd Battalion, S.S.M. & S. Regt. (Reserve) in training at Sudbury. In the year 1942, the people of The Sudbury district had become accustomed to the idea that the production of nickel was all important to the war endeavours of the United Nations. There were some too who realized that supplies of nickel could only go forward so long as no enemy action would interfere with the production plants. These men sought to contribute their share to the safety of the district and the country through the medium of the reserve army. Here they absorbed the lesson that directed organization and knowledge of weapons can make men into a power for defence. To satisfy the industrial effort, the customary schedule of two weeks in a summer military camp was sacrificed and the same training carried out in a local camp without disturbance to the men’s working shifts. This innovation in training methods was a complete success and has set a precedent for the war years. Added to the camp training, weekend tactical schemes were performed throughout the training year. The net result has been an infantry unit as inured to actual battle conditions as men engaged in industrial pursuits can be made.
01:53 Minnow Lake Camp: And the first grey of morning filled the east. And the fog rose out of the Oxus stream. But all the Tartar camp along the stream Was hush’d and still the men were plunged in sleep. – Arnold –
02:45 In the lines
03:16 A soldier’s tent
03:31 The pipe band will play the troops to the parade ground
03:51 “Markers!”
04:09 “Outwards Turn!”
04:26 “On Parade!”
04:57 “Markers, Fall in!”
05:11 “Parade, Steady!”
05:17 “Slope Arms!”
05:34 “All present and correct Sir!”
05:54 “Carry on with the syllabus!”
06:21 Pile arms
06:39 Bombing Practice
07:28 Respirator drill
08:19 Loading and unloading by numbers.
09:31 In Out! In Out! Pass through
09:58 The controlled charge
10:27 Over the obstacles
10:42 Bren Gun instruction
11:14 Preparing for parade
11:31 Too many Vitamines [sic]
11:48 That eager look when cookhouse sounds
12:27 Officers Mess
12:55 “All night long the brose was going and the pipes changing hands.” – Stevenson –
13:28 Some of the visiting staff.
13:43 Part 2 to follow.
13:47 End.