Bathing Parade (1914-1918)

Troops undress on beach and run towards sea - location of events unknown - a seaside somewhere. British World War One soldiers march down road; past low buildings; carrying rifles. Troops are seen undressing in ranks on a beach. Pan along the beach where the men are all disrobing, revealing pale, white British flesh. Clothing in piles on sand. They stand there in various states of undress, some with long john bottoms on, some shorts, some wrap towels around the waist, many look nervous and embarrassed. Five fully dressed officers stand in front - one with a dog beside him. Also in foreground are three men in old-fashioned bathing suits that cover chest down to thighs; they are clowning around and waving at camera. Shot of all the guys making a dash into the sea. Some wear shorts and of course there are those strange black swimsuits, but many of them are naked. Nice footage of bare bottoms! They reach the shallows and start splashing about. As our American cataloguer puts it: “We see a whole bu