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Oral history interview with Richard Leatherbarrow

Oral History | Digitized | Accession Number: 1995.A.1285.27 | RG Number: RG-50.149.0027

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    Oral history interview with Richard Leatherbarrow

    Overview

    Interview Summary
    Richard Leatherbarrow describes applying to join the Army Film and Photographic Unit in 1943; his previous photographic experience; being with the Army Film and Photographic Unit from 1943 to 1944; his training course at Pinewood Studios; his preference for cinematography over still photography; his memories of other recruits; battle training; test films; becoming a sergeant; photographing flail tanks and filming training exercises with the American Rangers; preparations for the Normandy landings and volunteering to land with commandos on the first day; the voyage from Southampton aboard LSI (landing ship, infantry) and experiencing seasickness; his memory of tinned soup; disembarking onto the beach; the problem of keeping the camera dry; not having camera guns but seeing the results of them; filming on the beach during the landing; the atrocities he witnessed; his view on his purpose as a cameraman and believing it was important to record the events for posterity; moving off the beach at Saint Omer; sleeping in a slit trench; the problem of returning film; his opinion of Vinton and DeVry cameras; billets; transport; meeting General Gale; the problem of filming and checking for danger; intelligence briefings; French civilians; the story of the death of Norman Clegg; filming French female collaborators having their heads shaved; his opinion of the French and Belgian Resistance; coverage of the Ardennes offensive in December 1944; the problem of snow and bad weather; the co-operation with Americans; using a jeep and driver; the coverage of operations at Arnhem, Holland in 1944; casualties in the Army Film and Photographic Unit; his first impressions of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945; the condition of the inmates; story of a visit by Ellen Wilkinson; the coverage of the German surrender in Luneburg Heath, Germany; relations between cameramen and Montgomery; and being in Berlin, Germany at the end of the war.
    Interviewee
    Richard Leatherbarrow
    Date
    interview:  1984 July

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Extent
    2 sound cassettes (90 min.).

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
    Conditions on Use
    Restrictions on use. Permission to copy and/or use recordings in any production must be granted by the Imperial War Museums.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Topical Term
    Ardennes, Battle of the, 1944-1945. Arnhem, Battle of, Arnhem, Netherlands, 1944. Concentration camp inmates. Film crews. Head shaving. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Great Britain--Personal narratives. Military training camps. Operation Neptune. Tanks. War photographers--Personal narratives. World War, 1939-1945--Atrocities. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--France--Normandy. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Western Front. World War, 1939-1945--Collaborationists--France. World War, 1939-1945--Concentration camps--Liberation. World War, 1939-1945--Motion pictures and the war. World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, British. World War, 1939-1945--Photography. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--Belgium. World War, 1939-1945--Underground movements--France. World War, 1939-1945--Veterans--Great Britain. Men--Personal narratives.

    Administrative Notes

    Holder of Originals
    Imperial War Museum
    Provenance
    The interview was conducted by the Imperial War Museum as part of their retrospective oral history interview program. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired a copy of the interview with Richard Leatherbarrow from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995.
    Record last modified:
    2023-11-16 08:17:25
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn510835

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