Profile of Britain

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 10th Year

Issue

Issue No.

10

Date Released

2 Jul 1945

Length of issue (in feet)

1412

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1Profile of Britain

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: Based on the White Paper of "Statistics Relating to the War Effort of the United Kingdom" the March of Time’s latest release was primarily produced to tell America of the efforts and sacrifices made by the British people. Faced with total war, says the film, Britain was forced to channel her energies into a fight for survival and, under a series of National Service Acts more drastic than any ever considerd in the United States, mobilised her entire adult population.

Almost six million men and women have been absorbed into the Services and, although Britain has less than a tenth of the total population of the Commonwealth and Empire, she has provided over fifty per cent of the personnel of its armed forces, to fight in every corner of the world, and has suffered seventy-one per cent of the Service deaths and over half the battle casualties of the Commonwealth. By the end of five yeas of war, more than half of all British women were engaged in work directly relating to the war effort, and in almost every field had taken over jobs that had traditionally been a masculine prerogative, thus releasing more of Britain’s men for front line and production duty. As Britain’s manpower problems were gradually mastered, production of war materials increased enormously. In spite of the difficulties incurred by the dispersal of factories to avoid air attack, Britain has produced over one hundred thousand planes and over seventy per cent of all the munitions supplied to the armed forces of the Commonwealth and Empire.
To offset the loss of nearly three thousand British merchant ships sunk by the blockading Axis submarines and aircraft, shipyards all over the country have built over four and a half million tons of new merchant ships. In addition, hundreds of warships have been overhauled, repaired and refitted in British Navy yards; over seven hundred major navalvessels built, and, in preparation for the invasion of the Continent on D-Day, thousands of landing craft constructed.

With Britain’s food supply one of her most vulnerable points, Germany and Italy tried to starve us into submssion, but by organising the Women’s Land Army to replace conscripted farm labour, and with the help of civilians who have worked every foot of land that could possibly be used, the critically low output of foodstuffs has been considerably increased, and today the United Kingdom produces seventy per cent more of her own food than before the war. The drastic rationing and price control system the war made necessary in Britain, says the March of Time, is far more severe than in the United States, but, by adhering to it in all its strictness, the British have sharply reduced their consumption of food and clothing and have helped to assure that everyone has a fair share of whatever is available, regardless of his means. Although the cost of the war has risen each year, the proportion of this cost met by the Government borrowing has dropped. Today taxes provide sixty per cent of the revenue for war expenditure, while loans supply the other forty per cent. Of this forty per cent a large part has come directly from the pockets of the plain people, who have faithfully supported the war effort by investing much of their earnings and their savings in war loans. In addition, the film points out, personal income tax rates have been nearly doubled, far exceeding anything ever imposed on U.S. citizens. After more than five bitter years of war, under direct attack such as the American people have not been called upon to endure, Britons feel that they have won the right to the respect and understanding of the world. But what the British people want today, says the March of Time, is nothing more than what the American people want - a reasonable guarantee of peace and security in a world in which promises have too often been a substitute for progress.

Researcher Comments

Len Lye collaborated on this issue, according to the BFI Database. This story was included in Vol.11 No.8 of the US edition.

Keywords

Politics and government; Social conditions; War and conflict

Written sources

The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.