This film is part of Free
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_480x270/public/hero-images/DLOokYc8UKM-fB9H4xMDoxOjA4MTsiGN_2.jpg?itok=ORje57e9)
Ralph Pringle Interviewing Private Ward V.C. Hero in Leeds (1901)
An ordinary hero of the Boer War in a curious silent 'interview'.
Overview
Private Charles Ward was a Leeds infantryman who returned from the Boer War a local hero, bearer of the last Victoria Cross awarded by the Queen herself. This intriguing item shows him interviewed - silent - by showman and regular Mitchell and Kenyon collaborator Ralph Pringle, who clearly saw Ward's newfound celebrity as an opportunity to attract a large paying audience of proud locals.
The screening of this film was apparently accompanied by the local regiment the Leeds Rifles. It's not clear, though, whether a commentator would have spoken some of Ward's words (though Pringle is seen taking some notes during the interview). Private Ward's Second Battalian Yorkshire Light Infantry was overwhelmed by Boer forces at Lindley, South Africa, in June 1900. With his officers all dead or wounded, Ward crossed enemy lines to deliver a message calling for reinforcements, and was seriously wounded in the process. Ward's elevation to the status of national hero reflects a trend in the Victorian and Edwardian periods of honouring the bravery of ordinary 'Tommies'; previously accolades had been reserved for the officer class. All the same, the more celebrated Boer War heroes still tended to be officers, among them Lords Kitchener and Roberts (both of whom turn up in more than one Mitchell & Kenyon film).
Related
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo206302483_2.jpg?itok=8w1o3Yco)
Return of the Brave Manchester Volunteers (1901) Return of the Brave Manchester Volunteers (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 5 mins Silent Location: Manchester
Crowds throng the streets for the return of Manchester's Volunteers from South Africa.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/Royal%2520Scots%2520Regiment%2520at%2520Edinburgh%2520Castle.jpg?itok=dzFXAg6m)
Royal Scots Regiment at Edinburgh Castle (1901) Royal Scots Regiment at Edinburgh Castle (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 5 mins Silent Location: Edinburgh Castle
Troops play up for the camera in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/MGngRNnbuHoiqTJH4xMDoxOjA4MTsiGN_2.jpg?itok=nTs1Oin1)
Return of the Lancaster Volunteers (1901) Return of the Lancaster Volunteers (1901)
Non-Fiction 1902 3 mins Silent Location: Lancaster
Some nifty product placement creeps in to this formal portrait of the Lancaster Volunteers.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo210432854_2.jpg?itok=Z5HtF7RE)
Torpedo Flotilla Visit to Manchester (1901) Torpedo Flotilla Visit to Manchester (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 19 mins Silent Location: Manchester
The might of the British Navy struts its stuff down the Manchester Ship Canal.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/DLOokYc8UKM-fB9H4xMDoxOjA4MTsiGN_2_3.jpg?itok=0fyM_Slo)
Parade of the Bolton Artillery Volunteers (1901) Parade of the Bolton Artillery Volunteers (1901)
Non-Fiction 1904 3 mins Silent Location: Bolton
The Bolton Artillery Volunteers put on an impressive parade despite the snow.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/promo206126919_2.jpg?itok=duxvAx6b)
Fleet in the Tyne (1901) Fleet in the Tyne (1901)
Non-Fiction 1901 3 mins Silent Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Destroyers from the Edwardian Royal Navy filmed from a ship in the Tyne.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/N_213831_01of01.jpg?itok=bj2vsYcT)
Spy Ring Spy Ring
1965 1 mins Location: Leeds
There is never a dull moment in this International Spy Game of foreign spies competing to trick their way into sixteen different embassies.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/N_214300_01of01.jpg?itok=7XXzlXC-)
Yorkshire Post: Sports Fan Yorkshire Post: Sports Fan
1973 1 mins Location: Leeds
An Olympic Games hopeful bundles into a Leeds newsagents, only to be met by a new shopkeeper from The Smoke, bemused by the Yorkshire Post.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/N_211869_01of01.jpg?itok=DqGdMYVW)
The Big Country The Big Country
Promotional 1970 16 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Tuning into the biggest consumer market for television advertising in Britain with Trident TV.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/N_213783_01of01.jpg?itok=75d26NWF)
Railroader Railroader
1964 1 mins Location: Leeds
The great Western way of dog eat dog as opponents try to dynamite each other in their pursuit of what really matters in life, railways and money.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/N_214420_01of01.jpg?itok=tFtgMefX)
Moorhouse Lemon Cheese Moorhouse Lemon Cheese
1966 1 mins Location: Leeds
Butter, eggs, and lemons, what else could better evoke the healthiness of the countryside than this delicious traditional desert topping?
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/N_213855_01of01.jpg?itok=HotKqilF)
Future Scientists Future Scientists
1966 1 mins Location: Leeds
With the subatomic world getting ever smaller, Waddingtons recognised that a microscope was just what was needed “for the man of the future.”
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/muscleqanda.jpg?itok=8sw22r7R)
Muscle - Exclusive Q&A Muscle - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 34 mins
Director Gerard Johnson talks Nia Child through the making of Muscle, an adrenalized drama that tears into the stereotypes of masculinity and male friendship.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/silverhazeqaextended_0.jpg?itok=T-FOBodE)
Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A Silver Haze - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 29 mins
Vicky Knight sits down with Rowan Woods for an extended discussion on the making of the film Silver Haze. *Contains Spoilers*
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/cymande.jpg?itok=Jqu3O2zo)
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/west-case1.jpg?itok=A5Q_9vtZ)
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/landscape_32x18/public/hero-images/scala5.jpg?itok=qfLzK5jz)
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.