History / Movies

Richard Benge - WWII footage

15:10 pm on 25 June 2023

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A collection of wartime footage capturing military life in New Zealand during World War II has been made available to the public for the first time. It was shot between 1942 and 1943 by Academy Award-winning US Marines cinematographer Norman T Hatch, but much of it has never been seen since. Now it has been retrieved and archived by Nga Taonga following a joint effort by filmmaker Steve La Hood and the Kapiti United States Marine Trust. Richard Benge, the chair of the Kapiti US Marine Trust, told Jesse Mulligan all about it.