HMS Barham 1914 - 1941

Monday, June 4, 1945

Film can't be shown

"Daily Mirror" Reporter

Locked away in a safe at the Admiralty is a film that may never be shown in a public cinema in this country.

It is an historic piece of celluloid recording the loss of the battleship Barham in the Mediterranean on November 25, 1941.

Although it runs for only a few minutes, it shows the tragedy from the moment the great ship was torpedoed until she turned on her side, blew up and disappeared in a huge cloud of black smoke. That was how fast the Barham sank.

This film "scoop" was obtained by a cameraman for a British newsreel company who was on board another ship. He had his camera trained on the battleship taking a "stock shot" at the moment the Barham was torpedoed, and continued taking pictures.

The film shows the great ship continuing to steam ahead, but heeling over fast as she goes. As men are seen scrambling over the anti-torpedo bulges into the water, there comes the terrific explosion which shatters the ship and hides the last act of the tragedy.

The smoke clears ... and there is a little wreckage floating on the calm sea.

About a quarter of the battleship's crew of 1,172 escaped with their lives, but the film would be too poignant for the hundreds of people who lost relatives on the Barham.

That is why it will never be shown in public.


Phil John Turner, cameraman, born March 31 1915; died March 7 2007

Navy