This film is part of Free
Trial of Casement
Crowds throng Bow Street during the trial of British diplomat turned Irish nationalist Roger Casement.
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent
Overview
The extraordinary story of Sir Roger Casement - British diplomat turned humanitarian activist turned Irish nationalist - is not well documented on film. Only one piece of footage of Casement himself is known to exist, and Topical Budget's newsreel cameras had to improvise as his dramatic downfall played out. This short item from 17 May captures crowds waiting "in vain" outside Bow Street Magistrate's Court for a glimpse of the prisoner: traitor to some, hero to many.
Arrested on 21 April 1916, hours after landing on the Kerry coast in a German submarine and just three days before the Easter Rising began in Dublin, Casement was whisked away to London to stand trial for treason. He was finally executed on 3 August, his fate sealed by the discovery and distribution of the legendary 'Black Diaries', which contained accounts of his homosexual activities. His body was buried in quicklime at Pentonville Prison and his remains not repatriated to Ireland until 1965.
Related
Handpicked by our curators
This Most Gallant Gentleman
Documentary 1966 10 mins
The remains of Irish nationalist Roger Casement are repatriated to Ireland almost half a century after his execution.
The Trial of Sir Roger Casement
Drama-documentary 1960 52 mins
Peter Wyngarde plays the gay British diplomat turned Irish nationalist, executed for treason in 1916
Dublin after Easter Rising 1916
1916 18 mins Silent
A first draft of history: astounding images of Ireland's rubble-strewn capital in the aftermath of a historic rebellion.
1916 on Film
Shower Baths in the Trenches
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent
A humble scrub is all it takes to get these French troops in a lather.
Tests from Aeroplanes
Non-Fiction 1916 13 mins Silent Location: Chingford
Developing the lifebelt of the air - or "how the stranglehold demon was exorcised"
Devonshire Hospital Buxton
Non-Fiction 1916 2 mins Silent Location: Buxton
Rheumatic soldiers are treated with the latest in hydrotherapy at the Devonshire Hospital in Buxton, Derbyshire.
In the Interests of Mercy
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Croydon
Firepower and fancy dress as a captured German field gun is the focus of a parade through Croydon to mark Red Cross Week.
Topical Budget 245-1
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Location: Kensington and Chelsea
Brass bands, bicycles and marching special constables outside the Albert Hall for a Sunday presentation before Bishop John Taylor-Smith outside the Albert Hall.
Palm Sunday Celebrations
Non-Fiction 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Westminster
Palms and fanfare ahead of Easter - a salient event in the Christian calendar is captured with crisp clarity.
New
Bamboozled
Comedy 1919 35 mins Silent
A protective father masquerades as an automatic doll in this bonkers interwar comedy.
Spirit of Mayday
1937 11 mins Silent
May Day – a significant day for the labour movement – is covered by the cameras of the Film and Photograph League.
Cornelius Cardew 1936-1981
Performance 1986 55 mins
An exploration of the life and work of the controversial British composer.
Circulation
1935 9 mins
Let it bleed? This exemplary education film gets to the heart of the matter.
U.A.B. (Workers Newsreel No.3)
Non-Fiction 1935 12 mins Silent
Punchy political film capturing mass protests against unemployment.
The Merry Month of May
1937 15 mins Silent
A spirited satire on the coronation of George VI made by members of the Film and Photograph League.