Cannes Film Festival 2013 - Has the battle been lost for Women?

 

Here's me pictured with actress Gabrille Scharnitsky, who played a double agent in the spy film we screened at Cannes, called Third Falcon

 

This year I opted not to spend my valuable time looking for tickets for the Red Carpet screenings. I went there with a totally different mind-set prioritizing the little understood aspect of the film business of sales. Due to the recession, my primary responsibility was to make sure the 3 screenings we had booked for the 3 films by Palm Tree Entertainment were well attended by industry buyers, and that ultimately these films will be sold in several territories. This is a big and difficult job when you are competing with over 3000 other sellers. The ability of a film to make an impact is only as good as the marketing and press preparations before the festival. You can get an update on the films we screened at Cannes 2013 at our website here. I’m the co-owner shareholder of Palm Tree Entertainment, alongside the Managing Director, Robbie Moffat.

Fortunately I have attended 15 Cannes Film festivals, so at the very least people know about our company and in fact we have a coterie of buyers who regularly look in to see our films. It is heartening that phone calls made in previous years do result in good screening attendances presently. But our films are independently submitted to the commercial market at Cannes and not the Festival, which is a completely different organisation. We don’t submit many of our films to the Festival unless we have a film with the gravitas in subject matter with good performances we submit it to the festival. As yet none of our films have been selected. Not that I’m complaining, the Marche Du Film, which is a separate organisation to the Festival houses the biggest film market in the world below the under belly of the Festival. I often think how strange it is that the press rarely venture into the vast ‘selling’ halls, where large and small distributors compete cheek by jowl with each other.

So what was the atmosphere in the market like this year? After being there for 10 minutes in the heat of the Riviera one can usually sense the mood of the crowds, just by the speed of the walkers in the street and their general demeanour. If they are sad, angry or hopeful, the crowds are like a barometer of the full sense of the Film Market. Often as the heat and dust hits your nostrils the mood on La Croisette is sensed in a visceral way. Listen and you will hear films being discussed, lauded or dismissed out of hand. In Cannes 2013 the street was strangely buoyant, an odd feeling in a highly charged economic recession, but buyers and sellers were taking a smart approach to the down turn. It was business as usual; there was hope in their eyes, which had not been seen in earlier years. What was different? It seems many of us had made the switch to finally accepting that much of film distribution would be done by downloads, after the expensive cinema window showcases are accomplished. In the fall of the DVD retail outlets in the high street, DVD sellers were not abundant, as if it was a given, that they had switched to creating bright accessible film download websites in the last year. The Cannes weather compounded the confirmation that ‘Download’ was the way forward. As buyers and sellers got drenched in full days of strangely bitter post global warming rain, they moaned that they could be selling their films at home via internet direct to the buyers computer without all the expense or the misery of global travel to a place that was not equipped to handle bad weather in sodden pavilion style ‘tents’. There is nothing like soaked feet and ruined shoe interior linings in drenched wet puddles, to sharpen the mind.

Independent Sellers and even film producing Buyers, will always be critical of the main Film Festival because ultimately the ‘Big’ Films are their competitors and often the public are denied knowledge of ‘Smaller’ films because of the loud noise the other films make by being selected for the Festival. But the Festival itself could make more concessions to the Independent Lobby, who after all pay for the Festival via their high cost registration passes to both the market and the Festival. Instead the Festival treats the Market attenders, often famous film makers in their own right, as second class citizens, making the festival run parallel to the market without much cross fertilisation between the domains. This kind of division is not healthy for business creativity.  It was also touched upon in Alex Baldwin’s HBO documentary, ‘Seduced and Abandoned’, which portrays the funny, gritty side of the festival from the point of view of a fading film producer.

Surprising the French, despite the cultural routes of its old eighteen century revolution up hold a kind of film making ‘Ancient Regime’, where the ‘beautiful’ people are feted and often film screening invites are only available, in the main to a wealthy French elite. A Red Carpet paparazzi agreed with me when he confessed he spent much of the day filming unknown models appearing as ‘film stars’ going along the main Competition Carpet. He showed me his laptop record of his days shoot, where he would have to skip expensively dressed ‘Models’ before he would find his pictures of the real movie stars, who were attending for Competition Premieres. It seems in this case all that glitters is not ‘Gold’. This kind of thing also pervades the Movie making Matrix.

Women and Cannes

It does seem the Cannes Film Festival promoters do listen to the bloggers, because Women were treated with much more respect both at street level and in the Competition. The Palm D’or reflected a small shift in attitude, when the Film Blue is the Warmest Colour was chosen for the prize, directed by a man I may add. ( More on this at the BBC website here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22676798 )

But this gesture to feminism was marred by the highly charged sexual content, which marginalised the impact of bringing women into the fold of the ‘Competition’. It would have been better if the efforts of the only female Film Director in the Competition, Sophie Coppola for her film Bling Ring had been rewarded with a prize, to show that positive access was being granted to women. This again was not the case, the worldwide statistic for Women Film director’s remains at 5% and there does not seem to be any scheme within the Festival directed to correct it. Perhaps it is time that Women themselves made an impact on the Festival organisers by requesting an Award Section in the Competition for Women – an actual Female Film Director Award. This would go towards encouraging women Directors to submit and also it would guard against film selections who deliberately dismiss  women, due engrained prejudices in the process.

It was also noticeable that the breaking of the ‘International’ prostitution ring in Cannes had come into effect so that there was no evidence of it openly at street level, though an actor told me he suspected he may have blundered into it at ‘rooftop’ level when he was invited to a party.

Entry to the film industry for Women does seem to be confined to the acting side of things and often other types of work in the supervisory, producing and directing roles have been accessible to Women who in many cases were already connected to the film industry to their family or second generation routes. Such nepotistic structures do not help the Women, who in their own right have the talent to progress, if only the industry would just let them through the door.

As for myself I came into the film industry by my own efforts, with hard and often difficult work. I have directed 2 feature films and helped produce over 20 films. It was not easy and often I had to deflect the patronising and dismissive prejudices of men.

We are the sum of our own talents. For Women in particular in the film industry this must be the case, but the glass ceiling remains a heavy weight that refuses to budge, both inside and outside the industry.

The Cannes Film festival must be seen to lead the way in opening up the film industry to Women, but the attitudes within its own structure must be challenged by both men and women alike. Nothing will change if men keep selecting films which promote women as only sexual objects with characterisations portraying them as being incapable of participating equally in society, both in the job market and at home. Until that day, the prohibitive statistic for Women film directors will remain at the bottom of the work graph as only 5% of the film industry workforce.

Our films are distributed by the sales company Stealth Entertainment Group, and we assist their sales during film markets.

Written by Film Maker, Producer, Director, Writer and Mother

It's time for the Cannes Film Festival 2013

It's time for the Movie Scrum, the Cannes Film Festival, when the 'men' muscle in for the best deals they can find in the market, looking for the one film that will make their get rich quick schemes work. On the side lines women observe cautiously, side stepping the more than visible prostitution networks that sport long legged, high heeled women who look out of place among the creative low heeled, bohemian female film producers. Raw flesh meets the hard cashed intellectual side of the industry that sports the good script idea as the Goddess of Riches. Some will rise to the challenge.  Others will falter, at the point when their 'intellectual' property is picked over and gnawed at by a passing 'Movie Mogul'. But a good idea can 'ignite' and can make it's way to the 'studio floor'. All live in hope that, as they side swipe the competing executives and fawning lines of models, they might just make it to the movie 'touch down' of the year with a 'blockbuster'. They did have to block the busters to get there after all?

So what's on offer this year? You will find all you need to know at the Festival website here   My tip for the movie buff is 'Behind the Candelabra', starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, will give the Palme Dor a run for it's money. If it's official trailer available on You Tube is anything to go by, it puts Michael Douglas's voice back in the running with a convincing and touching portrayal of the love story of Liberace. But as the insiders know, the film that is scheduled for the  evening showing of the last Thursday of Festival is usually the one that gets the Palm D'or. Having not checked the schedule, I remain to be surprised.

For our fans, I'm sure there must be some, somewhere you can find out about Palm Tree Ents films here

In the mean time Distributor Le Pacte has 5 films in Competition this year despite the mag 'Indie Wire' having raised an eyebrow about the monopoly it has on the distribution process of the Award winning films.

As for the prostitution rings, according to an in depth article by Hollywood Reporter,  the trial of one of it's main instigators came to close this year. You can read all about it on their website here It remains to be seen if this will hold back the plethora of girls on the La Croisette or not.

In the meantime a new development for us all to negotiate is that Fashion TV, have taken over the roof suite of the Majestic Hotel for its shows, which allows celebrities to peek over the balcony for press photo calls prior to their Red Carpet dash. Tickets for this new enterprise range from between 300 Euros for one person to 1500 Euros for a table in the exclusive suite to watch the show.

Whatever the case we are all rolling up our sleeves for another 'bash' at the spotlight - Cannes 2013.

What the BBC don't want you to know is.....

I worked for the BBC as a freelance for 5 years between 1990 and 1995, in that time I encountered the worst kind of abuse from a BBC freelance presenter. He, by his own admission was a registered schizophrenic and somehow he managed to work with the likes of Kenny Everett  He arrived in the BBC station of Radio Solway while I was training there as a freelance for Community Radio in 1990 This was during the years when the stations staff were covering the Lockerbie Disaster trials. His name was John Langley and very quickly after a few weeks his schizophrenia become quite apparent. After a few months of working with him in the same office, we embarked on an assignment together which was very ill-advised on my part because he took the opportunity to attack me. Sadly it was quite a complicated form of a sexual attack and due to all it's permutations it was difficult to pursue a conviction at the time. What was achieved, by my doctor, was that Langley was sectioned under the mental health act then secured in a Psychiatric unit for about a year. This allowed me enough time to re-build my life, move home and my job to another training post within the BBC.

Langley made no secret that he was a schizophrenic and he even seemed to boost about it to his BBC colleagues whose liberal attitudes were in hindsight highly inappropriate with someone who was quite clearly a danger to himself and the public. He was a self confessed depressive and openly admitted to feeling suicidal. At the time he attacked me he was loaded up with the prescribed pill diazipan and in the proceeding days before the attack he had been threatening to take an over dose. How did such a person in such a state, end up working in a BBC radio station? Who had recommended him and how had he been chosen for the job? His mental state was certainly not taken into account and it seemed only that his broadcasting demeanor was all that was of concern to the BBC. What a pity the BBC decided to make a film about his new job as a photographer in 2008 considering that some of the women at this link here on his website could be at risk.

On another of his web sites here he clearly boosts about his BBC links, despite the correct decision by the station manager to fire him in 1991, he still seems to have 'connections' with the BBC.

What a pity that Officers at Operation Yewtree have failed to arrest him given the 'evidence' seen on his own website of what looks like pornography and not 'art. What is even of a greater shame is that some people in the BBC can't seem to know the difference, in that pornography could never be considered as an art form, could it?

BBC Presenters are only as good as their mental capacity for the job and their presentation skills alone are not only the prerequisite for their job. As the Saville cases prove, the protection of the public is and should have always be the prime importance. In failing to understand this the BBC, will continue to see, crime after crime unearthed, as it's own walls crumble in the process.

Anyone wishing to contact me for more information please email mairi.sutherland@gmail.com

Robert Burns - January's Blast

For those who see me as a rather feckless film producer, it might come as a surprise to some, that at University I studied the social and aesthetic response to industrialization. I wrote my dissertation about the Romantic Poets and the Crafts Movement. Here below is the 'proof of the pudding', written for last month of Burns Suppers, and also for my students at the Robert Burns class I teach.

The Man, the Myth, the Poetry

Robert Burns’ pastoral poems are exemplified by To a Mouse, To a Mountain Daisy, The Cotters Saturday Night and Now Westlin Winds. These poems speak to the rural forms in the landscape, rather than the contemporary man made forms that were to later be created by the industrial revolution.  Burns was glorifying the attributes of nature above all, as creations better than those created by man. His fellow poet Wordsworth further exemplifies these sentiments in the first line of his famous poem which starts ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats.....'

Robert Burns was along with Wordsworth considered to be one of the first Romantic poets. Due to Wordsworth living to 70 years old, he was a contemporary of Robert Burns, and since Wordsworth was defined as a Romantic poet, he also allowed Robert Burns to enter this category even although technically he was too early for the actual expression of Romanticism in the 18^th century. Indeed it is considered by some that Wordsworth may have meet Robert Burns in his early years and this is not so far-fetched in that they operated within some hundred miles on each other. Wordsworth based in Cumbria while Burns was on the Scottish borders in Dumfries.  It is recorded by Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy in her diary, that he visited Robert Burns’s grave in Dumfries in 1803. Such was the pathos relating to this visit that Wordsworth wrote a poem about it for the children of Robert Burns. This poem was highly significant in gaining Burns entry into the English tradition of Romantic poets via the respect that Wordsworth afforded him.  Dorothy’s visit to Burns grave is described below.

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usebooks/wordsworth-scotland/index.html

Here are the definitions of Romanticism as defined by the Wiki-Pedia.

‘Romanticism, a philosophical, literary, artistic and cultural era which began in the mid/late-18th century as a reaction against the prevailing ideals of the day (Romantics favored more natural, emotional and personal artistic themes), also influenced poetry. Inevitably, the characterization of a broad range of contemporaneous poets and poetry under the single unifying name can be viewed more as an exercise in historical compartmentalization than an attempt to capture the essence of the actual ‘movement’.
Poets such as William Wordsworth were actively engaged in trying to create a new kind of poetry that emphasized intuition over reason and the pastoral over the urban, often eschewing consciously poetic language in an effort to use more colloquial language. Wordsworth himself in the Preface to his and Coleridge's Lyrical Ballads defined good poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” though in the same sentence he goes on to clarify this statement by asserting that nonetheless any poem of value must still be composed by a man “possessed of more than usual organic sensibility [who has] also thought long and deeply;” he also emphasizes the importance of the use of meter in poetry (which he views as one of the key features that differentiates poetry from prose).’

Here is Wordsworth poem inspired by the memory of Robert Burns

Address to the Sons of Burns, after visiting their Father's Grave (August 14th, 1803)" Poems in Two Volumes (1807) 2:203-04.

Ye now are panting up life's hill!

'Tis twilight time of good and ill,
And more than common strength and skill
Must ye display
If ye would give the better will
Its lawful sway.

Strong bodied if ye be to bear
Intemperance with less harm, beware!
But if your Father's wit ye share,
Then, then indeed,
Ye Sons of Burns! for watchful care
There will be need.

For honest men delight will take
To shew you favor for his sake,
Will flatter you; and Fool and Rake
Your steps pursue:
And of your Father's name will make
A snare for you.

Let no man hope your souls enslave;
Be independent, generous, brave!
Your Father such example gave,
And such revere!
But be admonish'd by his Grave,
And think, and fear

What proof do we need that Robert Burns was part of the English Romantic Movement than such a eulogy from its finest advocate, William Wordsworth?

The poems To a Mouse and To a Mountain Daisy are the epitome of it and worth study to see how Robert Burns became regarded as a forerunner of the Romantic Movement in his celebration of Nature.

For those wishing to hear the Romantic style, which speaks of the forms of Nature  in words and ballad, one can do no better than this rendering of Now Westlin Wind sung by Dick Goughan at this link here.

To a Mouse

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,

O, what a panic's in thy breastie!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

Wi' bickering brattle!

I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,

Wi' murd'ring pattle!

I'm truly sorry man's dominion,

Has broken nature's social union,

An' justifies that ill opinion,

Which makes thee startle

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,

An' fellow-mortal!

I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;

What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!

A daimen icker in a thrave

'S a sma' request;

I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,

An' never miss't!

Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!

It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!

An' naething, now, to big a new ane,

O' foggage green!

An' bleak December's winds ensuin,

Baith snell an' keen!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,

An' weary winter comin fast,

An' cozie here, beneath the blast,

Thou thought to dwell -

Till crash! the cruel coulter past

Out thro' thy cell.

That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,

Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!

Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,

But house or hald,

To thole the winter's sleety dribble,

An' cranreuch cauld!

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

In proving foresight may be vain;

The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me

The present only toucheth thee:

But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.

On prospects drear!

An' forward, tho' I canna see,

I guess an' fear

To A Mountain Daisy

Wee, modest crimson-tipped flow'r,

Thou's met me in an evil hour;

For I maun crush amang the stoure

Thy slender stem:

To spare thee now is past my pow'r,

Thou bonie gem.

Alas! it's no thy neibor sweet,

The bonie lark, companion meet,

Bending thee 'mang the dewy weet,

Wi' spreckl'd breast!

When upward-springing, blythe, to greet

The purpling east.

Cauld blew the bitter-biting north

Upon thy early, humble birth;

Yet cheerfully thou glinted forth

Amid the storm,

Scarce rear'd above the parent-earth

Thy tender form.

The flaunting flow'rs our gardens yield,

High shelt'ring woods and wa's maun shield;

But thou, beneath the random bield

O' clod or stane,

Adorns the histie stibble field,

Unseen, alane.

There, in thy scanty mantle clad,

Thy snawie bosom sun-ward spread,

Thou lifts thy unassuming head

In humble guise;

But now the share uptears thy bed,

And low thou lies!

Such is the fate of artless maid,

Sweet flow'ret of the rural shade!

By love's simplicity betray'd,

And guileless trust;

Till she, like thee, all soil'd, is laid

Low i' the dust.

Such is the fate of simple bard,

On life's rough ocean luckless starr'd!

Unskilful Till billows rage, and gales blow hard,

And whelm him o'er!

Such fate to suffering worth is giv'n,

Who long with wants and woes has striv'n,

By human pride or cunning driv'n

To mis'ry's brink;

Till wrench'd of ev'ry stay but Heav'n,

He, ruin'd, sink!

Ev'n thou who mourn'st the Daisy's fate,

That fate is thine - no distant date;

Stern Ruin's plough-share drives elate,

Full on thy bloom,

Till crush'd beneath the furrow's weight,

Shall be thy doom!

2/12/13 Extracts from Life Long Learning course – Robert Burns, The Man and the Myth by Film Maker Mairi Sutherland

The Desert Rats - 51st Highland Division

Happy Christmas 2012 Everyone

I thought I would continue to update the story about the Desert Rats because a relative has added some more information, which I have put into the middle paragraphs. With the end of the recent war in Libya many may find it interesting. (Video added to explain the background.)

I can see why it has taken me so long to get down to writing about my Dad and his life in the 51st Highland Division in World War 2. There is in fact very little written about the contribution they made to the wining of the war and like many soldiers he didn't talk about it much as if by his feelings of having a mixture of shame and pride at being involved in some of the carnage of war that is a necessary part of it. However I should not let that stand in the way of thinking about how and what he did in the six years he was part of the 8th Army under the command of General Montgommery.
He got all the medals from six of the campaigns that were pertinent to the Division except the last one, the landing of the French campaign of Dunkirk because by then he was invalided out of action by shrapnel in his neck and also by contracting tuberculosis. He was sad, not to have been around for the victory that was there's in France and the final march of liberation into Berlin in 1945.

He spoke very fondly of his time in North Africa, as if it was the Desert Campaign that was the greatest challenge of his life. Often in rare moments of remembrance he would go back to the Battle of El Alamein and Tobruk commenting on many aspects of the battle tactics or the bitter memories of the deaths that occurred on both sides. He found the worse deaths to witness were those of the Panther Division tank men, who would often emerge from tanks on fire and very quickly die screaming, from the intense burning.

He was in the Armoured Division, so it was his job to load the shells into the modern day cannons called '25 Pounders'. He reached the rank of Corporal after joining the Territorial Army as a private in 1938, signing up for the whole six years before the announcement that war had been declared on Germany. This decision meant he was part of the professional force of the Desert Rats because they were signed into the army for the entire war expected to contribute fighting time on all six campaigns over the period of the war. He had joined early for ideological reasons, like many he was fearful that the rise of fascism would engulf Europe, making the elitism within Nazism an unstoppable force. Once he had signed up, he seemed to enjoy the discipline and commradary of his unit.

More of the background from an original World War 2 documentary about the Desert Rats at this link here

Much was foreign to him because he had to learn how to look after the 25 pounder gun and drag it around with him for six years. He learned how to load the shells with out making them misfire, which though rare could happen with devastating results maiming those, who had placed them into the gun shaft. He became a well sought after gunner, when it was realized his marksmanship in aligning his 25 pounder could successfully inflict a direct hit onto the enemy and he was quickly promoted to the rank of Corporal in charge of a small unit of 25 Pounders.

He remarked that his worst moment on the 25 pounder lines was when the British RAF bombed the lines of the 8th Army by a mistake and because he was in the middle of the line he could not get out of the gun position. He was the only gunner on that portion of the Division to remain at his post during the faulty RAF bombing raid. He fondly told the story of the Major of the Armoured Division who shouted to him in fear 'Sutherland, Bloody 'Well', Get Out of There Now'. I'm sure the Commander did not always use this language but he perhaps seemed to know that Sutherland would NOT have abandoned his post, unless he was ordered to do so. My Dad was amused that his Commander knew him by name, was able to pick him out from the crowd and thought he might have been worth saving that day.

He seemed to have a survival instinct and way of doing things that was commented on because he was known to dig his gun trench much deeper than other soldiers.So much so, that when they were in the heat of the battle many infantry men would dive into his gun trench in favour of other ones closer by. However one fact came to light, which some might find upsetting. Often when they had to clear up, after a battle, it was left to the Gunners to clean the camouflage nets, which would sadly contain unidentified shreds of flesh and body parts, such was the level of pounding on both sides at the battle of El Alamein. I think this would leave a lasting impression on anyone and it certainly left it's mark on my Father.

But war was not without some amusing moments. Again on the lines my Dad made an impression. One morning as dawn rose,  a noice from the tanoy system communicating with the 25 Pounder operators was heard from the very hoarse voice of the Unit Officer. His throat sounded very, very rough. My dad commented,' My goodness he's very hoarse. Due to the silence of early morning, my Dad's voice carried into the Officers head quarters. The 'Tanoy' two way system answered back to the whole unit. 'You'd be hoarse, Sutherland if you'd been up all night shouting commands down this thing.' The unit all laughed and my Dad said a meek 'Yes Sir', but with a grin.

Here is more of the background from Part 2 the World War 2 Desert Rats Documentary here

He told other stories of the immense difficulty of the bombardment he helped to conduct on the enemy at the battle of El Alamien. It is interesting to know that none of the soldiers on the ground of the Desert Rats enjoyed, nor were they proud of the deaths they had to inflict on their enemy and he often spoke of the need to kill in the war, with great deep regret. (I mean proper deep regret)

Here is Part 3 of World War 2 Documentary at this Link

He seemed to understand that the Highland Division was not always up to the mark, because when exhausted in Italy after 4 other campaigns some of the Division succumbed to looting the enemy and at one point ill discipline had made the command consider the threat of decimation on the ranks. He knew about how blood lust was not to be encouraged and must be stamped out quickly in a band of soldiers and that the role of discipline must be established in gunner crews to get things done no matter what happened to them.

Here is part 4 of World War 2 documentary - the Italian Invasion at this Link

He also spoke of the cruelties he saw at Tobruk meted out by both sides, when the lie of the land meant that the Armoured Divsion had to abandon the use of the 25 Pounders in favour of hand to hand combat during the Siege  He was trained, not only to work in the gun team, but also had to learn the art of stalking his enemy, by literally creeping up to them without their knowing he was there. One can only imagine what this skill was used for in combat.

I don't know much about the actual campaigns or the details of the war battle tactics, but what I do know is that war takes it's toll on the human being emotionally and it is certainly not the natural state for a human being to be in at any time in their life. For those who had to endure it, rather than glory in it, many became advocates against war. In the case of my Father, he joined CND and the Ban the Bomb campaign of the 1950's and 60's. He also became a Liberal and SNP politician believing that actively contributing to the community could stave off the elements of corruption which had entered Europe in the form of fascism. His years as a soldier made him realize that change is not an impossible part of the human condition, but that it must be strived for on a daily basis. He said of Politicians that they are, only one thing, and that is 'Public Servants'. They are not, in fact advocates of their own power, like Little Hitler's.

I learned at lot  from him and when Libya was ravaged by its recent war, I was sad that the soil where he fought has yet to find the seeds of Democracy. It seems for any human endeavor towards, freedom and self determination, it is hard won.

I'm sure I could write more about his memories, but that is enough for today. He was a very special person, who would never submit to tyranny of any kind. Later in his life, he was often a defender of those who experienced it.

As way of postscript it is interesting that there is to be a film made again of the Battle of Tobrok and that the opportunity might arise for me to get a peak at the script from the independent commissioners who have asked our production outfit to cast an eye over it. I hope the script will not disappoint and at the very least will have the smell of authenticity about it. The trailer of the old Hollywood movie about the Desert Rats story of the 'Seige of Tobruk' is at this link here
One cant help noticing the melodrama, but the acting of Richard Burton is still superior.

The British Legion are gathering stories about War War 2 and it seemed right after all these years to write down something about the Desert Rats, who may have suffered from lack of recognition because their work was often so very difficult for many to hear. Anyway 70 years have elapsed so now one would hope that what they fought for, is understood or accepted part of society. It is sad that such a similar struggle is emerging for Arab countries again. Let's hope they understand it is a hard, long, dirty, dusty road.

Desert Rats of the 51st Highland Division

I can see why it has taken me so long to get down to writing about my Dad and his life in the 51st Highland Division in World War 2. There is in fact very little written about the contribution they made to the wining of the war and like many soldiers he didn't talk about it much as if by his feelings of having a mixture of shame and pride at being involved in some of the carnage of war that is a necessary part of it. However I should not let that stand in the way of thinking about how and what he did in the six years he was part of the 8th Army under the command of General Montgommery.
He got all the medals from six of the campaigns that were pertinent to the Division except the last one, the landing of the French campaign of Dunkirk because by then he was invalided out of action by shrapnel in his neck and also by contracting tuberculousis. He was sad, not to have been around for the victory that was there's in France and the final march of liberation into Berlin in 1945.

He spoke very fondly of his time in North Africa, as if it was the Desert Campaign that was the greatest challenge of his life. Often in rare moments of rememberance he would go back to the Battle of El Alamein and Torbruk commenting on many aspects of the battle tactics or the bitter memories of the deaths that occurred on both sides. He found the worse deaths to witness were those of the Panther Division tank men, who would often emerge from tanks on fire and very quickly die screaming, from the intense burning.
He was in the armoured Division so it was his job to load the shells into the modern day cannons called 25 pounders. He reached the rank of Corporal after joining the territorial army as a private in 1938, signing up for the whole six years before the announcement that war had been declared on Germany. This decision meant he was to be assigned to the professional force and training of the Desert Rats because they were signed into the army for the entire war expected to contribute fight time on all six campaigns over the period of the war. He had joined early for ideological reasons, like many he was fearful that the rise of fascism would engulf Europe, making the elitism within Nazism an unstoppable force. Once he had signed up, he seemed to enjoy the discipline and commradary of his unit.

Much was foreign to him because he had to learn how to look after the 25 pounder gun and drag it around with him for six years. He learned how to load the shells with out making them misfire, which though rare could happen with devastating results maiming those, who had placed them into the gun shaft. He became a well sought after gunner when it was realised his marksmanship in aligning his 25 pounder could successfully inflict a direct hit onto the enemy and he was quickly promoted to the rank of Corporal in charge of a small unit of 25 pounders.
He remarked on his worst moment on the 25 pounder lines was when the British RAF bombed the lines of the 8th Army by a mistake and it seemed because he was in the middle of the line he could not get out of the gun position. He was the only gunner on that portion of the Division to remain at his post during the faulty RAF bombing raid. He fondly told the story of the Major of the Armoured Division who shouted to him in fear 'Sutherland Bloody 'Well', Get Out of There Now'. I'm sure the commander did not always use this language but he perhaps seemed to know that Sutherland would NOT have abandoned his post, unless he was ordered to do so. My Dad was amused that his commander knew him by name and was able to pick him out from the crowd and thought he might have been worth saving that day.

He told other stories of the immense difficulty of the bombardment he helped to conduct on the enemy at the battle of El Alamien. It is interesting to know that none of the soldiers on the ground of the Desert Rats enjoyed, nor were they proud of the deaths they had to inflict on their enemy and he often spoke of the need to kill in the war, with great deep regret. (I mean proper deep regret)

He seemed to understand that the Highland Division was not always up to the mark, because when exhausted in Italy after 4 other campaigns some of the Divison succumbed to looting the enemy and at one point ill discipline had made the command consider the threat of decimation on the ranks. He knew about how blood lust was not to be encouraged and must be stamped out quickly in a band of soldiers and that the role of discipline must be establised in gunner crews to get things done no matter what happened to them.

He also spoke of the cruelties he saw at Tobruk meated out by both sides, when the lie of the land meant that the Armoured Divsion had to abandon the use of the 25 Pounders in favour of hand to hand combat during the seige. He was trained not only to work in the gun team but also got assigned to learning the art of stalking his enemy, by literally creeping up very close to them without their knowing he was there. One can only imagine what this skill was used for in combat.

I dont know much about the actual campaigns or the details of the war battle tactics but what I do know is that war takes its toll on the human being emotionally and it is certainly not the natural state for a human being to be in at any time in their life. For those who had to endure it, rather than glory in it, many became advocates against war. In the case of my Father he joined CND and the Ban the Bomb campaign of the 1950's and 60's. He also became a Liberal and SNP politician believing that actively contributing to the community could stave off the elements of corruption that had entered Europe in the form of fascism. His years as a soldier made him realise that change is not an impossible part of the human condition, but that it must be strived for on a daily basis. He said of Politicians that they are only one thing above all else 'Public Servants' not in fact advocates of their own power, like Little Hitler's.

I learned at lot  from him and when Libya was ravaged by its recent war, I was sad that the soil where he faught was yet to find the seeds of Democracy. It seems for any human endeavour towards, freedom and self detemination, it is hard won.

Im sure I could write more about his memories, but that is enough for today. He was very special and would never submit to tyranny of any kind and was often a defender of those who experienced it.

As way of postscript it is interesting that there is to be a film made again of the Battle of Tobrok and that the opportunity might arise for me to get the opportunity of a peak at the script from the independent commissioners who have asked our production outfit to cast an eye over it. I hope the script will not disappoint and at the very least will have the smell of authenticity about it.

Rememberance -Battle of El Alamein

70 years ago the 'Dessert Rats' as they were known as won the battle of El Alamein in the World war 2. The battle took place in the dessert in Eyppt close to the border with Libya. It is considered the decisive Battle of World war 2 because it seriously wounded the Nazi Forces, who were intent on creating a Fascist state in Europe. It is to the credit of all the 'Allied' soldiers that died in that war that they stopped Hitler from his goal of controlling the whole of Europe in a Fascist Regime, which based its ideology on an idea of a superior race that would control and exterminate all those who were minorities or who dared to disagree with them. Fascism is the opposite of Freedom.

My father, was a gunner with the 7th Armoured Division, as far as I understand, and he was in the Highland Division of the artillery Units which were known as the 50th. They were the armoured part of the Highland Division manning 25 poinder guns. It is fitting to remember him today on Rememberance Sunday and during the Anniversary of the Battle of the Battle of El Alamein.

Later on this week I will write a small memoir of the things he spoke about the war, when he faught with the Armoured Division for 6 campaigns, in North Africa and Italy. He survived the war, and died in 1997. The memoirs of the war were important to him and throughout his life he continued to work to educate people against the dangers of Fascist ideology. When he died we made sure he wore his Highland Division Tie with a military style funeral and a Scottish piper.

Donald Sutherland 1920 to 1997