How I Filmed the War

A young film‑maker thrust into the chaos of the Great War finds himself appointed the official cinematographer for the British War Office. With an early portable camera strapped to his chest and a sand‑bag for camouflage, he follows the first brutal artillery barrage of the Somme, capturing the raw shock of exploding shells and the cramped, mud‑filled trenches that soldiers called home. His recounting reads like a field journal, full of practical ingenuity—how to haul film through frozen woods, set up a lens on a snowy ridge, and stay invisible while the world’s first moving pictures of combat are made.

The memoir offers vivid, on‑the‑ground snapshots of soldiers’ daily lives, the tense moments before an “over‑the‑top” charge, and the rare encounters with royalty inspecting the front. Through his eye‑level view, listeners hear the clatter of artillery, the whispered camaraderie of dug‑outs, and the surreal sense of documenting history as it unfolds—an extraordinary blend of bravery, technology, and humanity in the early days of modern warfare.