The historic 1916 silent documentary film The Battle of the Somme, held in the Film and Video Archive of the Imperial War Museum, is one of the most significant films in the Museum’s collection.

The first official cameramen were sent to France on 2 November 1915 and whilst there were never more than three British film cameramen on the Western Front at any given time, efforts were made to cover all of the main offensives. The Battle of the Somme is probably one of the most famous of all military actualite films, but a few scenes were, by necessity, reconstructed after the event.

When it was shown back in Britain, the unprecedented and unexpected public success of the film (almost half the British population saw the film) established cinema as a major factor in British propaganda for the rest of the war. The Battle of the Somme also allowed the civilian populations in Britain (and overseas) to gain an insight into the realities of trench warfare. 

Images from the film are still widely used today in many television documentaries and news items, and the repetitive use of various iconic sequences have shaped our impressions and understanding of the war and the conditions in which it was fought. The film is a unique and momentous record of the events surrounding the opening of the Battle of the Somme and it remains a key source for historians. 

The film has recently been inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)’s ‘Memory of the World’ Register.

The Battle of the Somme View the film clips >>