What an opportunity! Last week Mr. Ross Barnwell and Mr. Andy Robertshaw came on to the BFWWP to speak about their short film project, Beaumont-Hamel, and WW1 topics in general. What a conversation! Sadly the last three minutes were lost, which has put your host in a funk. Sigh.

 

Ross Barnwell is one of the two young entrepreneurs behind 8000ft Media, a media company that specializes in factually accurate historical storytelling. 8000ft Media also focuses on film and photography, creating virtual reality, audio, video gaming, Facebook Live talks & lectures, and Facebook advertising. Ross and his business partner Daniel Gandolfi are currently working on a short film titled Beaumont-Hamel, named after the infamous village on the 1916 Somme battlefield. The film will focus on the wartime cinematographer Geoffrey Malins’ experiences as he took 8,000ft of frontline footage on the Somme, the most famous of which is the explosion of the Hawthorn Ridge mine on the morning of the 1st of July, 1916.

 

Andrew Robertshaw is a historian, broadcaster, and educator. As a leading authority on trench warfare and medical care in the First World War, Andy has been the historical consultant for such films as Steven Spielberg’s Warhorse and the recent action powerhouse Wonder Woman. As the director of Battlefield Partnerships Ltd, Andy also provides battlefield tours, consulting for various television programs, family records searches, and a frankly stunning idea called “Trenches for Teachers,” where trench systems can be brought to schools for a more realistic experience to give to students on what the Great War was really like. All of this amazing work in history comes from a gentleman who began his career as a teacher.

 

The websites are:

 

https://www.8000ftmedia.com/

http://battlefieldpartnerships.com/

 

Hope you enjoy! It was a pleasure to speak with them.