Letter: Pictures of war that are over the top

Sir: Further to the letters from Jane Carmichael and Trevor Harvey (20 August) concerning the possibly staged picture of troops going 'over the top' (18 August), your readers may be interested to know that the Department of Printed Books, Imperial War Museum, has recently re-published the autobiography of Lt Geoffrey Malins, How I Filmed the War.

Malins was responsible for the most notable documentary film of the First World War, The Battle of the Somme, the climax of which was the moving picture of a group of soldiers going 'over the top' on the morning of 1 July 1916.

The authenticity of this most famous of images has always been in doubt, and in the new introduction to How I Filmed The War Dr Nicholas Hiley assesses all the available evidence, including Malins's own testimony, and delivers judgement.

Yours faithfully,

MARTIN TAYLOR

Department of Printed Books

Imperial War Museum

London, SE1