Army Kinematograph Service

Created by the newly established Directorate of Army Kinematography, whose remit was "to be responsible for providing and exhibiting all films required by the Army (at home and abroad) for training, educational and recreational purposes",[1] it expanded over the next few years to become the most prominent film production and exhibition section for a major part of the British Armed Forces.

The result has been described as "a roll call of many of the finest film technicians whose skills were reflected in the quality of AKS training films" and some fairly well-known names contributed, others developing skills that assisted their post-war eminence; Eric Ambler, Roy Ward Baker, Thorold Dickinson, Freddie Francis, Carol Reed, Peter Ustinov and Freddie Young to name but a few.

By mid-1942 DAK had increased to five branches to deal with the growing demands of the war, covering such areas as policy, planning and production, finance, distribution and exhibition.

Made in 1943 for the Directorate of Army Psychiatry, directed by Carol Reed and scripted by Eric Ambler (who in 1944 became the Head of Production at the AKS) and Peter Ustinov – both of whom appear in the film – it detailed the many different problems facing new recruits and the way they coped.

These were filmed messages home from members of the "Forgotten Army" and provided a much-needed link between the UK and personnel stationed (and fighting) in places such as Burma, India and Ceylon.

During this period they not only had to make do with what they found to show their films – damaged buildings, barns and sometimes just the open air – but also depended on their location for food and billet.

[7] Always distinct from other filmmaking sections of the armed forces – the Directorate of Public Relations retained control over this area – the AKS continued to provide much-needed cinema and production facilities up to the end of the war and beyond.