Commemorating the Great War on film: veterans, pilgrimages and amateur filmmaking

Journal article


Jones, T. and Connelly, M. 2024. Commemorating the Great War on film: veterans, pilgrimages and amateur filmmaking. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. https://doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2024.2307110
AuthorsJones, T. and Connelly, M.
Abstract

This article explores the work of four amateur filmmakers from the Canterbury, area (UK), between the late 1920s and early 1970s focusing on the films relating to the battlefield visits of First World War veterans and their families. It argues that film provides a fascinating insight into veteran behaviour and culture. Of particular interest is the manner in which the films reveal the continuities and developments in the behaviour of ex-servicemen. The films of the late 1920s and 1930s reveal a highly masculine culture which remained closely aligned with military ceremonial and codes of conduct, whereas the later, post-1945, films show the veterans with wives and family members engaging in a wider range of activities. The article also sets the films within the culture of amateur filmmaking of the time discussing equipment, techniques and exhibition, thus engaging with an element of film history which remains under-explored compared with the degree of research commercial cinema has attracted. The article is supplemented by a short film providing excerpts from all films discussed.

KeywordsAmateur filmaking; War; Ex-servicemen; Pilgrimages; Battlefields; Culture
Year2024
JournalHistorical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
PublisherTaylor & Francis
ISSN0143-9685
1465-3451
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2024.2307110
Official URLhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01439685.2024.2307110
Related URLhttps://vimeo.com/canterburyamateurfilm/veterans
Publication dates
Online05 Feb 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted03 Jan 2024
Deposited20 Mar 2024
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
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https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/974v4/commemorating-the-great-war-on-film-veterans-pilgrimages-and-amateur-filmmaking

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