FILMING GALLIPOLI

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 125, 31 May 1927, Page 15

FILMING GALLIPOLI

CAMERA MAN'S EXPERIENCES

FOLLOWED BY> SPIES

- "It has become quite an open secret that the Turk, who is extremely suspicious of the movements of British, subjects, official and private, on the Gallipoli peninsula, has something to conceal there," ; declared r Mr. Brooks-Car-rington, a camera man.who has just returned from the Dardanelles after taking films of the scenes of battle there, states the London correspondent of the "Sydney Morning Herald.^

"The presence of men' and munitions, rolls of new barbed wirej and freshlycut trenches in an area which, by the Treaty of Lausanne, was declared international, is something that the Turk naturally does not ',lsh to be well known," he adds. .

Mr. Carrington has been engaged in taking "shots" for a new film on the Gallipoli campaign, which was to have had .a trade showing in London last month. The film has been produced by an Australian, Mr. A. 6. Tinsdale, who will himself take his work to the Commonwealth later in the year. Six months' negotiation were required before Mr. Tinsda,le could get beyond the barrier of the Turkish Embassy in London. Even after that had been surmounted the difficulties if taking films at Gallipoli had only just begun. Finally, it was arranged.that Mr. BrooksCarrington, the camera man, should travel to the Dardanelles with the Bt. Barnabas Pilgrimage last year. An armed guard came on board the steamer to prevent any films being taken whilst the steamer was entering the Narrows, but it seems that the camera man, under canvas, worked at top speed under the very nose of the guard. Actually there were two camera men, and whilst one of them mingled with the 300 pilgrimß taking "snaps" all over the Peninsula, the second man got excellent films of all the historic battle sites. After all-kinds of vexing formalities and delays had been overcome, Mr Bro.oks-Carrington set out for Chanak. It is, apparently, impossible to travel a distance of more than 12 miles on Gallipoh without a permit. Thus a record is kept of everyone's movements on the Peninsula. Defying the authorities who had communicated with the Government at Angora, the photographers set-out early ono morning from Kilia, taking their time in viewing the country on the way out with the intention of putting in a full day's work on the ivay back.

. After arriving at Chunuk Bair, they were surveying the landscape when the Turkish commandant himself arrived with an armed escort, having ridden over from Kilia for the express purpose of intercepting them. The photographers refused to discontinue their work, and for the rest of the day they were under constant surveillance. Returning to Kilia the same evening, they bad a further visit from the commandant, who informed them that they would be permitted to photograph the ceme*n?Btve J followil >8 morning accompamed by the commandant and an ofloort. . . ,-

"By this time," said Mr. Brooks-Car-nngton, "we , had realised that every Briton on Gallipoli is treated as a sp/. We toured the whole of the Anzac area J^V-J he»«.conditions,:;and were always treated with what is called 'dumb inaolence.' Nevertheless,'we filmed Suvla Itt hi? C Coyo 'Ari B»»»u, Walker's Bidge, Shrapnel Valley, and Russell's Top, from which Lord Kitchener vLwel the whole of the front, and then returned to Kilia. The next day's tour was m the Cape Helles sector. This day our escort duly lost us, for-which we were very thankful, for we were wm ° l n uludo scenes that otherwise would not have been permitted." Pr • Turks, according to Mr. BrooksCarrington, are not allowed to have a «ngle armed soldier within the internal tional zone. Yet, he say ß) there are gZdarmerie who are, in every «•««««# prov, d ed they are not armed. *Yet Bri tish people living in Constantinople have the greatest troubl 9 in obtaining lftT nt- Wh6n One hai ««cceedJd iS getting there, every movement is subBrffuS CTta^ '"Pwvision, and every uof a^tial/s'pyT^ " 8n actnsf' During the visit, the pilgrim shiD ran on top of H.M.S. Trlumphf the ship for Uie salvage of which the Au.traUan and New Zealand forces offered a month's ay.av- The night before the party left niw aY, IghtVut' cruiiod 'ound the pilgrim ship and eventually searched it carefuUv * I 1""', Thei "' h*wev«. ™ carefully stowed away amonir the clothe, of the women passengers! tJ£° S? merf,, men retur«»ed to London from Marseilles, followed by sbies They slept on their films all nighLn": til they wore able to hand them over to the British Customs. Meanwhile a British intelligence officer, who, under instruction from the War Office had £. Sr Ptl° d ? e pil«rim * unkn°" »to anyone at the time, held up the films for six TubsideT the Tu'k^ cxc»^ n rhud