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Henry tells us about the first major battle he fought in. The plan was to attack a village called Serre that was well defended. He talks about the defences and the barbed wire. He explains the plan to hit the defences with an artillery barrage to destroy these defences. He then tells us that he and the men had faith in the barrage and the generals, but that soon changed. He then goes on to describe the events of 1st July. They were ordered to march across because it was expected there would be no defences, but were slaughtered by shells and machine gun fire. A graphic description follows of the attack. The account points out that the wire was not cut and was piled up with bodies. It was a complete disaster.   This clip is one of fourteen clips in which actor John Gregor recreates a Great War soldier called Henry Fairhurst of the Barnsley Pals. In this clip he describes his experiences on the first day at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. In all of these clips of Henry Fairhurst it is important to be aware that the actor is reconstructing a character from the past. He is using original source material and other research to create what he thinks is a plausible reconstruction of the thoughts and views of a private in the Barnsley Pals. When watching each clip it is important that viewers consider whether they feel the information given is accurate, but much more importantly whether they feel the tone and emphasis the actor gives to particular issues is in line with their own reading of the evidence from the time.
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Video Length: 190
Date Found: April 05, 2008
Date Produced:
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UK National Archives |
February 17, 2010
Short film describing the role of one of William I’s Domesday commissioners.
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UK National Archives |
February 08, 2010
A documentary re-creation of the 1951 Festival of Britain South Bank Exhibition
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UK National Archives |
December 16, 2008
This is an impressive display of US military might. Landing craft take marines to the beach who then storm ashore. Since the 19th century France had ruled Vietnam. During the Second World War Japan had taken over Vietnam. At the end of the war the French wanted to rule Vietnam but Ho Chi Minh, ...
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UK National Archives |
September 29, 2008
Henry explains how important letters were. The post is good on the whole. He explains that soldiers like descriptions of ordinary daily life. He also explains that long letters can also be used as toilet paper! He also points out that soldiers often get bad news. He then explains censorship and ...
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UK National Archives |
July 25, 2008
This clip shows trainee Tommies digging trenches, probably in England in 1915. The clip closes with instruction on rifles and a machine gun. The film shows troops training before being sent to the western front in 1915. They are all volunteers, persuaded to join up by Lord Kitchener's ...
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