Battle of Somme filmmaker remembered in Cornwall exhibition

Geoffrey Malins was one of the men who filmed the Battle of the Somme, the first war film. It was released while the battle was ongoing and seen by 20 million people.

His great granddaughter, artist Rowena Siorvanes, will display her sketches inspired by his experiences at an event at the University of Exeter and Falmouth University’s Penryn Campus to mark the centenary of the battle.

The film, which has been remastered, will be shown at the exhibition, as well as documentaries about the battle.

Rowena, who works as an Archives and Special Collections Assistant at the campus, was moved by the more quiet moments in the film, and Geoffrey’s reflections in a subsequent memoir, to produce the artwork. A first edition of the book, How I filmed the War, will be on show.

Rowena said: “My sketches illustrate soldiers smoking, helping wounded comrades or just watching from the trenches. My great grandfather was interested in capturing the human element of life at the front, and this is reflected in the film, which shows dramatic images and ordinary life.

"I am a reportage artist normally working directly from life, the drawings were made whilst watching the film and freely sketching scenes that resonated, whilst referring to the research of the footage from the book Ghosts on the Somme as well as my great grandfather’s book.”

As well as the sketches material from the archives and special collections at the library will be on display, alongside photographs from Malins family archive. There will be information and student project work about Camborne School of Mines students who died during World War I.

Rowena will also tell her grandfather’s story in a BBC documentary about the Somme, The Man Who Filmed the Somme, which will be shown on the BBC throughout this weekend.

The free exhibition at the Penryn Campus is open from today at the Exchange Building and Library and will remain open throughout July and August.