Heroes of the Somme

Filmmaker Edward Hart’s biographical documentary centers on seven men in the British army who won the Victoria Cross—the nation’s most prized military medal—for bravery during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Four of the men profiled here were Irish: William McFadzean, who threw himself on detonated hand grenades to save his comrades, and Robert Quigg, who retrieved wounded from "no man’s land" while under fire, both hailed from Northern Ireland and supported British rule over Ireland, while John Holland and Thomas Hughes, who captured enemy soldiers, were from the southern counties and stayed in Ireland after it gained independence. John Vaughan Campbell came from a distinguished military family and used a hunting horn to rouse troops into battle, while Fred McNess, a soldier in the Scots Guards, was badly disfigured while capturing an enemy trench. The seventh man, British-born New Zealander Bernard Freyberg, traveled from the far side of the world to be part of the effort to re-take the French town of Beaucort. Heroes of the Somme combines newsreel footage and rare photographs with interviews of family members to tell the heroes’ respective stories, two of which end in harrowing tragedy: Hughes was shunned by his Irish countrymen and died in poverty, while McNess underwent reconstructive surgery but later committed suicide. While the men are justly celebrated, viewers can’t help but question British military competence during the Somme campaign, where the leadership seemed to be unconcerned about abnormally high casualty rates. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)