Weekly Review No. 140 - Easter Action on Bougainville

While on the home front most of us were taking it easy for four days over Easter, Americans, Fijians and some New Zealanders were fighting the Japanese in shell-blasted swamps and jungle of Bougainville Island.

– A title card

At last we drew lots to return and bring up grenades. The camera was forgotten, I drew third and what a job that was I’ll never forget. We all made a trip and then started pitching as soon as the pins could be pulled.

– Stan Wemyss, in his cameraman’s report (shown on a title card)

These grim pictures were taken under fire by a NZ National Film Unit cameraman. We show them to remind you that the troops sweating and dying in the jungle will not easily understand any slacking on the home front.

– A title card

No longer tropical jungle it resembles more burnt out bush on New Zealand farms.

– Narrator Rex Walden, on the shell-blown jungle

This is no holiday spot, this is no scene on a Hollywood set. Here trees smoulder from the fire of raking shells, and the stench of dead bodies stills the air ...

– Narrator Rex Walden

With a very brief instruction on what to do with a grenade I added my sixpence worth.

– Cameraman Stan Wemyss describes the encounter, in an interview for The Years Back series