Geoffrey Malins helped to create an enduring record of the Battle
of the Somme for future generations using the new medium of film.
Malins was a portrait photographer before he joined the Clarendon
Film Company's studios in London in 1910.He soon became chief
cameraman. In August 1914, aged 28, he left and became a freelance
war correspondent in Belgium and France filming newsreels.In March
1915 the Kinematograph Manufacturers Association negotiated with
the War Office to send two official cameramen to join the British
Expeditionary Force. On 2 November Malins and Edward Tong went to
France, as lieutenants. Tong was invalided home in December but by
June 1916 Malins had made 26 films. The work was dangerous. By the
end of his first year he had been wounded twice, deafened and badly
shaken by explosions and gassed.In June 1916 the War Office agreed
that the forthcoming Somme offensive could be filmed. Malins was
joined by John McDowell of the British and Colonial Film Company.
Malins was attached to the 29th Division opposite Hawthorn Ridge,
McDowell to the 7th Division near Mametz. On 10 July they returned
to London with 8,000 feet of film. The completed documentary was
first shown on 7 August 1916. Although some scenes were recreated
after the start of the Battle, the action footage Malins captured
remains a lasting record of an important historical event.Malins
continued filming in France but in spring 1917 he was forced to
take sick leave. He returned in January 1918 but was not entirely
fit and was discharged from the army in June. He continued his
career as a film maker and his thirst for adventure took him
abroad. In 1932 he settled in South Africa where he died of cancer
in 1940.
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