DEAR SERGEANT OR THE STORY OF ROUGH RIDING MOTORCYCLING (1944 )

Set in and around the grounds of Wentworth Hall, South Yorkshire, this film captures soldiers’ wartime training to become motorcycle riders.  The film includes footage of the riders on the extensive training course. 

The film opens with the soldiers arriving by train at Wentworth Station.  They go onto take part in marching exercises around the Hall. 

Intertitle:  ‘A squad of soldiers are on parade wearing helmets.’ 

There is an inspection by the unit Commanding Officer.  They then start to learn the motorcycle skills lead by an instructor out on the Hall’s grounds. The squad ride their bikes around a circuit.  One man goes off course and crashes to the ground before he is helped up by an instructor.  The riders then progress to another track where they practice gear changes and other riding skills such as weaving in and out of sandbags.  Finally they are allowed on the road and ride in single file along country lanes.  One rider gets into trouble on a corner and falls into the ditch.  The instructor goes back to help him. 

The riders are then allowed to do off road motorcycling through the countryside.  They learn the best way to navigate through the trees and negotiate steep, slippery muddy banks (sometimes unsuccessfully.)  After a cigarette break, they try riding on slag heaps and attempt hills with steeper gradients.  A close up shot captures a rider's hands, feet, and detail of the motorcycle before the riders continue their rigorous training.  

The film's final sequence shows them returning to the hall where they stand to attention before being presented with certificates for passing the course.  A close up shows a learners plate on one of the motorcycles before they ride through the Hall gates in formation.  They perform an exercise of jumping hillocks before some pose together for the camera.