Scenes of Long Range Desert Group Fezzan Campaign, North Africa, WWII [ca Dec 1940-Jan 1941]. Naked soldier in camp having a wash, fellow soldier dowses him with water. LRDG vehicles in desert. Traveling shot of vehicle following across desert. Traveling shot across sand dunes. (Blank footage) Four LRDG vehicles parked up, Army man hands out [sweets] to local children in robes. Soldier with gun at side greets two others. Local soldiers with guns stand to attention. (6 Jan 1941) Group of men arrive on camels and are greeted by LRDG [Major P.A. Clayton and French Lt-Col J.C. d’Ornano shake hands]. [Lt-Col d’Ornano] and others walk across to greet soldiers in line. Group stand talking including [Clayton and d’Ornano].
Filmed by Trooper W. R.Adams of Whangarei (military service number 1074) of the Long Range Desert Group circa December 1940 to January 1941.
Footage is probably the following: “Leaving the patrols at a rendezvous about 150 miles to the north, Clayton took four trucks to Kayugi, in the foothills of the Tibesti Mountains, to collect Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. d'Ornano, commander of the French forces in Chad, together with two French officers, two French sergeants, five native soldiers, and some petrol that they had brought by camel over the mountains”.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-1Epi-c2-WH2-1Epi-e.html
“The British army unit Long Range Desert Group was formed by Ralph Bagnold in 1940 and played a major part in the Allies victory in North Africa in World War Two. The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) became the forward eyes and ears of the Allies and together with the Special Air Service played a secretive but vital role for the Allies.
The LRDG had two particular roles in the war in North Africa. They were to get behind enemy lines and act as scouts and gather intelligence to feed back to British military headquarters. To begin with, Bagnold’s new unit was known as the Long Range Patrol Group.
After getting the agreement of General Wavell to create such a unit, Bagnold was given 150 New Zealand volunteers, most of whom had a farming background. Bagnold believed that they would be more adept at maintaining vehicles in a difficult environment should mechanical problems occur”. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/long_range_desert_group.htm