Peter Crookston
The late Brian Duffy, photographer and film director, invited Peter Crookston to write the script for a television documentary about the first day of the Battle of the Somme - July 1, 1916 - he was making with producer Brian Harding for Channel 4. Lions Led by Donkeys filmed the last survivors of the battle, in which the British Army suffered 57,000 casualties; 21,000 died - mainly working class volunteers in 'The Pals' infantry battalions - and 60 per cent of the front line officers were killed.
television: Lions Led by Donkeys
The Lions - British Infantry
The Donkeys – British Staff Officers
Field Marshal Douglas Haig (later Earl Haig), Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force in France
Lions Led by Donkeys is a phrase popularly used to describe how the British infantry was commanded by its generals in the First World War. Historian Alan Clark used Donkeys as the title for his book that was a scathing critique of the High Command
© Peter Crookston - Enquiries to info@petercrookston.com
Extracts from Channel 4 documentary Lions Led By Donkeys
© Old Pals Productions