The Independent has a fascinating story about movie footage shot in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. Long thought to be reenacted and filmed later for propaganda purposes, it turns out that much of the film footage is genuine. In many cases experts have actually managed to identify the individuals captured on film at that moment in history.
Sheltering in a sunken road near the French village of Beaumont Hamel on 1 July 1916, Captain Edmond McNaghten "Pongo" Dawson believed the first British thrust during the Battle of the Somme would be swift and decisive.
The German lines had been subjected to heavy bombardment for an entire week, and the Allies had the advantage of vastly superior numbers.
As the order came just after dawn to send the troops over the top, Captain Dawson was captured on film ushering his men, of the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, along the trench. As commander of the company, he was one of the first on to the parapet. A few seconds later, he was also one of the first to be cut down by German machine-gun fire.
For decades, historians have argued over the veracity of the film shot that morning, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Certainly, some scenes were re-enacted and filmed for propaganda purposes. But now, using a series of new scientific techniques, analysts have proved for the first time that most of the images are genuine, enabling them to identify many of the combatants and trace their surviving relatives.
One descendant who got to "meet" her grandfather, Captain Dawson, thanks to the documentary-makers was Anne Dawson.
The young captain, so fearlessly preparing to lead the advance – filmed that morning by the celebrated cinematographer Geoffrey Malins – miraculously survived the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained in the assault and was invalided back to Britain. He died in the mid-1960s, when Ms Dawson was still a small child.
Amazing what technology is able to accomplish these days. Many cutting edge techniques were used.
Now, on the eve of the 90th anniversary of the Somme, a team of documentary-makers and historical experts, including specialists from the Imperial War Museum, National Army Museum and Scotland Yard, has for the first time subjected the film to critical scientific analysis.
The team used techniques ranging from satellite analysis of trench locations to professional lip-reading and the latest facial-recognition software to prove the genuine nature of nearly all the battle scenes in the film. They also identified at least one "fake" attack, edited together with the original footage, filmed in a shallow trench with soldiers wearing incorrect uniforms and equipment.
The investigators, whose work will be aired in a documentary on Five this coming Saturday, also managed to identify for the first time some of the British soldiers fighting and dying in the combat footage, the earliest example of such scenes being captured on film.
A documentary will be shown on the BBC.
