With Heart and Hand: Battle of the Somme, was a programme made by UTV in 1966 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. In creating the programme, additional archive sources were assembled, including this footage, which appears to be from a drama-documentary entitled The Somme
(1927), and a segment of the film is included in this reel. Directed by
M.A. Wetherell and produced by Edward Gordon Craig (son of the actress
Ellen Terry), The Somme dramatises aspects of the battle but does not dwell on the events of 1st of July. However, it does include some striking renenactments of trench warfare, re-enacted on Salisbury Plain, and boasts legendary cinematographer Freddie Young as Second Camera Operator.
This extract shows the build-up to the offensive as well as aspects of the battle involving German, South African and French combatants.