One of the ideas that kept me going through all the research was that I would make a film that showed the context of these men and their families within history. By the time I had collected all the necessary information, technology had caught up to enable me to make the film at home on my computer. The result is in an animated film that shows all of the men's family trees growing over 136 years, mixed in with photos of their families and historical time markers, with contemporary music, and with the cycles of the moon and the seasons. The film lasts for half an hour and when I present it I give a ten minute introduction that fills in some of the background and explains how the film works. Afterwards, depending on the audience, I talk for 20 to 40 minutes, giving more detail of the stories I uncovered and the detective work involved, illustrated with photographs from my research. I am also more than happy to answer questions, of which there are usually many.

I first showed it publicly during Surrey Open Studios in June 2005. Emboldened by the reaction, I arranged my own event in September 2005 and have since started accepting invitations to give presentations to a variety of organisations. As you will see from the reviews and feedback, people have found it moving and thought-provoking, and my aim is to show this film to as wide an audience as possible (please send me an email if you have any ideas for further venues).

• Previous events (including reviews and feedback)
  
  
• Current places you can view the film



• Programme of future presentations on my Group Photograph project

---

Previous events (including reviews and feedback)

• June 2005, Surrey Open Studios
• 25^th September 2005, Event at Mickleham Village Hall (see Review & Feedback)
  
• May 2006, Norfolk Open Studios
  
• 3^rd October 2006, Dorking Local History Group (see Review & Feedback)
  
• 27^th February 2007, Fulmodeston Methodist Church (see Review)
  
• 8^th May 2007, Mundesley Junior School (see Review & Feedback)
• 25^th September 2007, Holt Library
• 27^th September 2007, Cawston Local History Society
• 9^th November 2007, Mundesley Junior School
• 12^th March 2008, Fakenham Library (see Newspaper article & Feedback)

Event at Mickleham Village Hall on 25^th September 2005

In June 2005 I took part in the Surrey Open Studios event and showed my project animated film in public for the first time. I had such an overwhelming positive response that I organised a special event on 25^th September 2005 - and this is how it was written up in the Mickleham Parish Magazine:

An art event at Mickleham Village Hall A Group Photograph Sunday 25th September saw one of the most unusual events held at the village hall for a long time. Andrew Tatham's "A Group Photograph", the culmination of seven years of research, had its first public showing - hopefully the first of many. Andrew's project was based on a photograph, taken in May 1915, of the 46 officers of the 8th battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment, a few weeks before they departed for the trenches of France. Andrew set himself the task of finding out what happened to the men pictured and also to their descendants – a huge undertaking, involving travels around not only the United Kingdom but to the USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia. The presentation itself is a graphical representation of the individuals shown in the photograph and their families and starts with a picture of the meadow on Salisbury Plain where the original photo was taken. Starting in 1864 when the first of the officers (Andrew's great grandfather) was born, the screen gradually fills up with rows of green shoots, each representing one of the individuals shown, while a counter keeps track of the passing days and years. At the same time, there is a snapshot of memorable events and soundtrack of the music for each year shown. Gilbert and Sullivan gives way to Elgar as the shoots grow. The death of Queen Victoria and the Wright brothers' first flight ushers in the long Edwardian summer and the approaching war, marked by "It's a long way to Tipperary", seems to come from nowhere. Of the 46 officers in the photograph, 15 were killed at the battle of Loos alone, and the starkness of Andrew's depiction of this is deeply moving. But time moves inexorably on. The 21 survivors return from the trenches to some form of normality and gradually the remaining trees start to sprout branches, representing the next generation. As the years pass, these branches also send out new shoots. Glenn Miller gives way to Elvis, the Beatles and Abba. One by one the old soldiers grow old and die, but grandchildren are joined by great-grandchildren and pictures flash up of very old men with young children. By the year 2000, the screen is an intricate mass of greenery - a celebration of life. As Andrew himself admits, the only thing missing from the presentation is background details of each of the individuals shown. The flyer given out beforehand hints at some of the extraordinary lives lived by the survivors and their offspring, and Andrew is working on how to best handle the volumes of detail he's accumulated. This was an extraordinary, beautiful and very moving event, made even more poignant by the timing – September 25th was precisely 90 years after the first day of the Battle of Loos, which cost the British Army 60,000 casualties. Andrew's work deserves to find a national platform – the Imperial War Museum would be perfect - before too long. Before this, it would be ideal to have another local showing. Andrew – could you see what you can arrange? Everyone else, come and see it. It's stunning.

My thanks to Chris Budleigh for that wonderful article - and also to those people who gave the following feedback:

Back to the Top of the Page

---

Event at Dorking Local History Group on 3^rd October 2006

I gave a presentation about my Group Photograph project to Dorking Local History Group at the Friends' Meeting House in Dorking on Tuesday 3rd October 2006. I started by showing my animated film, and I then took questions. These led me to discuss how I had gone about my research as well as further details about the individuals in the photograph and the historical contexts (including the projection of some of the photographs I have collected along the way). I had a lot of individuals come and chat to me afterwards - and a lot of positive comments both in the feedback forms that people returned to me and in the emails that came to me direct - of which these are a small selection (the first one below being from the Group's Convenor): 'It was a new type of evening for us, but it was exceptionally well received. Several members made a point of telling me how much they got out of it & I have absolutely no regrets. Thank you so much for sharing your results with us. We will certainly recommend it to as many people as we can. The animation alone gave us much food for thought but being able to hear something of the work you put into it made it even more interesting. We were impressed how immersed you were in all those lives even though you have stopped active research into them.' 'The film was fascinating and so inventive. It kept everyone spellbound.'

Review in the Dorking Advertiser:

Dorking Local History Group ON THE wall of a pub in Wimbledon some years ago, Andrew Tatham noticed a large group photograph of First World War soldiers.    As he studied the faces he was moved to wonder what had happened to them, whether any memory of them remained.    A short while later, in the course of some family history research, he looked at another group photograph in a military museum.    Here were 46 men officers of the 8th Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment, at their training camp on Salisbury Plain in May 1915.    One of them was Andrew's great-grandfather, but about the rest he only knew their names, listed in rows beneath the picture.    These two photographs and the feelings they

inspired led him to embark on a project which would occupy a great deal of time over the next seven years and would eventually take him not only to 23 counties in England but also to South Africa, Scotland, Canada, Australia and the USA.    He made contact with the families of every man in the 8th Battalion photograph (plus four of their comrades who missed it) traced the descendants, and amassed documents, letters, anecdotes and more photographs.    Andrew, with an interest in film, has made a 30 minute animated flick using video, painting and music to show the family trees of the 46 men, growing over time from 1864, when the oldest was born. The cumulative effect of the presentation was very moving, and one became intensely involved with these glimpses of individual lives at moments of joy, or solemnity, at work or on

holiday, but always subject to the remorseless onward rush of time, change and chance.    At the end of the film Andrew Tatham responded to eager questions with a wealth of fascinating information about his project and the discoveries he made.    He found the families first by searching through Battalion records, Army lists, Wills Registers, electoral registers, telephone directories and then setting up a website and contacting living descendants all over the world.    It was a stimulating meeting, and we were most grateful to Andrew for his presentation of an impressive piece of historical research which was also an equally impressive work of art. Patricia Bennett

Back to the Top of the Page

---

Event at Fulmodeston Methodist Chapel on 27^th February 2007

It was a cold wintery evening but still about 25 people came from Fulmodeston, Hindolveston, Thursford, Croxton, Fakenham and other neighbouring villages to attended my presentation in my village's small Methodist chapel. I received a lot of interest and questions - and collected £51.50 for World Vision. Thank you to David Yarham for inviting me to take part in the series of occasional talks that he organises.

Back to the Top of the Page

---

Event at Mundesley Junior School on 8^th May 2007

I wasn't sure how giving a presentation to 150 9- to 11-year-olds and their teachers was going to go - but they really seemed to get a lot from it, and the headmaster invited me back for further sessions at Remembrance time. I got letters from a number of the children, of which this is a sample:

Back to the Top of the Page

---

Event at Fakenham Library on 12^th March 2008

Fakenham Library is where I work and it was great to see all the tickets sell out for this event. I also had a good deal of press interest, with articles in the Eastern Daily Press, and the Fakenham & Wells Times (and one in the Lynn News still to come) - you can see the whole article in the Fakenham & Wells Times here. Again I had a great response and it was nice to talk to customers when working at the library over the ensuing few days and see how much the evening had meant to them. I also received some email, including this one:

I attended your presentation last night with my husband and I wanted to let you know what a thoroughly moving experience it was. I have been researching my family history for about 3 years and have four great uncles who were killed in the war. I have read quite a few books about WW1 and the effects of it on the men and their families but your presentation captured the essence of the people caught up in the horrors of war more vividly than anything I have read or photos I have seen. Thank you so much for such an interesting and thought provoking evening. Chris Stevens

Back to the Top of the Page

---

Current places you can view the film

• The DVD of the film is available for viewing at The Stable Gallery, The Kelling Estate, Kelling, Holt, Norfolk, NR25 7EW, Tel: 01263 710610 (Kelling is just north of Holt and the gallery can be found just north of the church as on this map). When you go to the gallery just ask for a viewing, and they will set you up with the DVD.
  
  
• If you would like to arrange a viewing direct with me, either on your own or for me to do a presentation to an interested group, please do send me an email.

---

Programme of Future Presentations on my Group Photograph project

I am currently in the process of organising further events with people at the Imperial War Museum, the Society of Genealogists, Berkshire Family History Society, Sheffield University, the Historical Association, and Norfolk Library Service - and as soon as things are confirmed, I will put details up here. As it stands, the diary of events is as follows:

• Wednesday, 14th May 2008 at 7.30 pm at Dereham Library, Norfolk (tel: 01362 693184 for tickets)
  
  
• Wednesday, 21st May 2008 at 7.00 pm for the British Legion at the Maltings in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
  
  
• Wednesday, 25th June 2008 for Weybourne Good Companions, Weybourne Village Hall, Norfolk
  
  
• Monday, 15th September 2008 at 7.30 pm for the Creakes' History Society, North Creake Village Hall, Norfolk
  
  
• Wednesday, 17th September 2008 at 10.00 am for Great Yarmouth Probus Club, Norfolk
  
  
• Tuesday, 4th November 2008 at 7.30 pm at Cromer Library, Norfolk (tel: 01263 512850 for tickets)
  
  
• Tuesday 11th November 2008, at 8 pm, for Westcott Local History Group, Westcott Village Hall, Westcott, near Dorking, Surrey
  
  
• Wednesday, 19th November 2008 at Reepham Library, Norfolk (tel: 01603 870474 for tickets)
  
  
• Wednesday 7th January 2009, for Wells Local History Group, Wells-next-the-sea, Norfolk
  
  
• Wednesday 21st January 2009, for Mid-Norfolk Family History Society, Dereham, Norfolk
  
  
• Tuesday 10th March 2009, at 7.30 pm for The Cambridge Branch of the Historical Association at St Mary's School, Bateman Street, Cambridge