The Battle of the Somme (1916) will be screened at Westgate Hall, Canterbury on Wednesday 2 November.

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.

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.*

This free screening at Westgate Hall, Canterbury, is organised by Gateways to the First World War and Westgate Community Trust and will feature live piano accompaniment with original melodies from pianist Stephen Horne and percussionist Martin Pyne. Come along and find out more about how the British public encountered the war on the big screen, with a welcome from the Lord Mayor of Canterbury, introduction to the film from Professor Mark Connelly (Professor of British Military History at Kent) and a talk from Stephen Horne on the musical accompaniment to the film.

The film will be shown at Westgate Hall, Westgate Hall Road, Canterbury CT1 2BT (entrance via Pound Lane car park). Doors open at 18.30 and there will be a cash bar.

*For more information about the First World War Centenary Partnership’s plans to commemorate the Battle of the Somme visit www.1914.org