Westbury Area Family History Group will host a special showing of, The Battle of the Somme at The Laverton on Friday 29th from 7.30pm.
This year, Imperial War Museums (IWM) and members of the First World War Centenary Partnership are working together to show the UNESCO listed film The Battle of the Somme, to audiences across the world, including Westbury.
Shot and screened in 1916, it was the first feature length documentary about war and changed the way both cinema and film was perceived by the public.
In the year of its release around 20 million people, almost half the population of Britain at the time, watched The Battle of the Somme many hoping to see the image of a loved-one, or friend captured on film. One hundred years later, this unique film from IWM’s collection, is being shown to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
The soundtrack accompanying the film is music composed by Laura Rossi and performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra. Laura Rossi’s new score was commissioned to mark the 90th anniversary of The Battle of the Somme. The re-mastered film was screened for the 90th anniversary of the Battle to a full house at the Queen Elizabeth Hall with the premiere of Laura’s orchestral score, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and received a 5 star review in The Times -“And these troops in the mud grinned or stared at us to a new music score by Laura Rossi, brilliantly effective, played with typical dexterity and polish.” Geoff Brown, The Times.
The evening will start with a talk by Steve Williams, a local WW1 Historian who has led many tours of the battle site. Admission is free and refreshments will be available.
