On 4 August 1916, the day after Roger Casement was executed, the Hearst International Film Pictorial Newsreel released moving pictures of Sir Roger at his writing desk. Although Hearst claimed that the films were shot in Belgium, they had been shot in Germany the year before. The authors have found the original film at the Library of Congress in the John E. Allen collection. A copy of the film has also surfaced in a British documentary series on World War I, from where it was posted on YouTube. But there was no information on how the film was shot in 1915 or the story behind it. The authors have also searched the provenance of the film. The story involves two Americans, Franz Hugo Krebs, journalist, and Albert K. Dawson, cinematographer, in the sad episode of Casement in Germany prior to the Easter rising of 1916 and his trial in London. Casement had been trying to enlist the Germans’ support in a general rising against England and the raising of an Irish Brigade. He had quickly found out that the Germans were simply using him for propaganda purposes. Nevertheless, he decided to assist Krebs and Dawson in their use of photography for his own propaganda aims. Aside from its undisputed propaganda value, the photo and film session became an important document of Casement’s life. Today, Casement receives increasing attention for his heroic struggle against to speak out against all wrongs, not just those committed against Ireland. These films and photographs are in part a testament to this struggle.
On 14 June 1917, the Fifth Regiment of the U.S Marine Corps left New York. True to their reputation the Marines were in the first wave of American soldiers sailing to Europe. On board was official cameraman Leon H. Caverly. With the centennial of America’s entry into World War I, Caverly’s pictures take on a new significance. Months before the U.S. Government set up a policy on how to deal with pictures covering the war the Marines had already sent Caverly to Europe. He was by all accounts the first official cinematographer to film the Great War with the American forces. The story is also significant because it is so well documented. We were extremely fortunate in having found Caverly’s personal papers. Reading his letters from the frontline it becomes clear what sort of challenges a cameraman had to face to film the Great War. Apart from his own account much of Caverly’s work has survived. At the New Jersey Historical Society the authors located about 500 World War I pictures taken by Caverly. The History Division of the U.S. Marine Corps also kindly shared with us a collection of Caverly’s photographs. In addition the authors were able to locate and identify much of his war films. All of this makes it possible to reconstruct Caverly’s extraordinary experiences as a war cameraman in remarkable detail.
