Idea 1 : The Kingsclere Massacres
The idea that I propose is of a little known incident that occurred in a small village situated a short distance northwest of Basingstoke at the Crown Public House in Kingsclere where a gruesome triple murder took place. It's referred to as the Kingsclere Massacre and the pub is now said to be haunted by one of the three unfortunate victims.
On Thursday 5th October 1944 a US army engineering unit arrived in Kingsclere from Exeter and was stationed at Sydmonton Court. Early that evening ten of the men broke bounds and headed to the Bolton Arms Public House where they were stopped by Regimental Police and instructed to return to camp and change from their working clothes into their uniforms.
The men hitchhiked back to camp but not to change as they had been ordered. Instead the men cut through the chains of a rack of M1 carbines and took them, together with 100 rounds of ammunition. Now armed and with murderous intent, stating they would kill every policeman in the town, the men searched the local pubs for the Police beginning at the Bolton Arms and concluding at the Crown. Knowing their intended victims to be inside, the men took up position in the churchyard opposite and waited.
On leaving the pub, two Regimental Policemen were confronted by a semi circle of men armed with the M1 carbines. A barrage of shots were unloaded on the pair hitting one (Anderson) in the chest but missing the second altogether (Brown). Brown dived back inside remaining on the ground until the shooting had subsided, whilst Anderson was somehow able to get up and run the 150 yards to the corner of the road where he collapsed in the garden of a Mr Freddie Digweed in North Street. Unfortunately he died. The men continued with a continuous volley of fire into the Crown killing another two people. One was Private Coates who was sat with his back to the window and was killed by a shot to the back of the head. The other was the landlady Mrs Rose Napper whose husband had dragged her to the ground when the shooting started. There are two versions of what happened next - one was that a ricochet bullet passed through her left cheek, through her tongue and out through her neck. The second was a splinter or glass from a window hit by a bullet passing through it, striking her in the neck also resulting in her death.
The Kingsclere Massacre was hushed up by the allies at the time and for many years afterwards as it was feared that Anglo/American relations would be affected. This was one of many incidents that took place during the Second World War. Also it was feared that on the run-up of Operation Overlord (D Day) the Nazi propaganda ministry could make good use of the incident.
Another reason given for hushing up the massacre and other incidents is that they mainly involved black American soldiers.
During the Second World War approximately 10% of the occupying American forces in Britain were black. The British Government stated, at the time, that this was an unwelcome intrusion into the British way of life. Until blacks were deployed to British Shores many British people particularly in rural areas had never had contact with a black person and the black population in Britain was negligible.
This incident also portrays the underlying feeling of the suppressed American black soldiers. Some locals stated that the soldiers being black was a motivating factor in the incident while others disagree but as the listener to them consumes this information it does not seem to be sincere, but this and other issues can be investigated in the participatory part of the documentary where the audience can make their own interpretation.
Shortly after the incident occurred General Eisenhower's (the Supreme Commander Allied Forces Europe and latter the President of the USA) sorrow and regret of what became known as the Kingsclere Massacre was expressed to the residents of Kingsclere through a letter to inhabitants of the village and through the Rural District Council. The village also received a visit from the Second-in-Command to General Eisenhower and other United States officers in the United Kingdom, who stated that General Eisenhower had requested to convey to the local authority and also to the whole United States Army Command that this most unfortunate and regrettable affair resulting in the death of a local resident should have occurred and have been caused by the United States troops. He sincerely hoped that the effect of this occurrence would not tend to excite public opinion and to detract from the friendly good-feeling and spirit of co-operation which excited between our two English speaking nations, which was so necessary and essential to the world now and in years to come. They also gave General Eisenhower's assurance that the fullest possible investigation would be made to the matter and appropriate action taken.
What Happened to the Soldiers?
The ten soldiers involved in the incident were court martialed by the US Army at Thatcham in Berkshire within weeks of it.
Of the ten men involved in the incident nine were convicted of murder, riotous assembly and being absent without leave.
They were dishonorably discharged form the army and sentenced to hard labour for the rest of their natural lives.
The tenth soldier, Private Herbert Lawton, was acquitted of murder and riotous assembly but convicted of being absent, and was discharged form the army and sentenced to 10 years hard labour but later reviewed and he received the same sentence as his comrades.
The ten men went back to the United States to serve their sentences and it has proved difficult to find out what happened to them since that time. The shootings are forgotten. There is nothing to mark the violence that suddenly erupted among the still of the Hampshire Downs, and the only memorial, in the cemetery overlooking the village, is Mrs Napper's until recently unkempt grave.
The documentary would take the form part investigatory highbred documentary with the style of both participatory where questions would be asked to witnesses of the incident and the interviewer will ask options and theories of why there was a cover up and how the locals felt about the American soldiers. Did the race of the men involved play any part in these feelings or play any part in the actual incident itself? How were the black soldiers treated by their white officers and was this somehow a motivating factor? Part Political Reflexive to develop the audiences awareness, part docudrama where actors would recreate the incident or event Ethno fiction where ethic/social group members could be used to play the role of the people involved in the incident.
The documentary would meet the needs of the audience and would work well if thorough research and investigation would be completed to ensure it targets the right market in the documentary. As it's an incident that occurred in the Second World War and took place in Kingsclere on the Hampshire and Berkshire border and would target the local community and would appeal to a larger target market of residents of both counties. But Geographic's could cover national and international because of the subject matter of the documentary which would be included in the psycho graphics, main streamers reformers, individuals, freebirds and tribe wired. The demographics would include people of an age range of mid-teens upwards and of both sexes, all classes, earnings and educations. The target market would further include an appeal to audiences with an interest in local history, black history and modern history practically those focused on the history of the Second World War and its secrets.
In the first few seconds of the documentary the consumer's attention will be grabbed and held. They will be spoken in a way and language they both understand and hear and use every day and that there is clear information on the subject.
Further research:
http://hampshireconstabularyhistory.org.uk/?page_id=219
http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?p=1361003
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAeisenhower.htm
Idea 2 : The Forgotten Soldiers
My second idea also concerns soldiers but this this time British soldiers in more modern times. It would be about a group of ex-soldiers who upon leaving school joined the army and served in one of the elite regiments were they spend a number of years. Completing tours in numerous countries and being involved in many peace keeping missions and conflicts, some unknown, to the general public and others that were such as Bosnia and Kosovo.
Due to what happened while they were on one of these tours one of them was discharged from the army suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and shortly after the others were court martialed and also had to stand trial in a civilian court after spending time in Colchester military prison they were released and received little to no help from the army. They turned to drink and drugs and took a criminal path as well as doing surveillance work for a number of large companies. After a few years pursing this way of life. Some of them went on to own small businesses while others followed a more slippery road.
My idea work be to follow their lives and interview them about their pasts as well interviewing their families and friends and maybe talking to the army to receive feedback about the situation they found themselves in and find out how many ex-service personnel find themselves in similar positions.
Those involved in the filming could be accused of encouraging and participating in any crimes as well as breaching the University of Winchesters Ethic Rules, OFFCOM rules as well as any number of civil and bylaws. Having agreed initially there could be the risk of the primaries changing their mind and pulling out.
