Robert Gilson: Memoirs of an infantry officer

I am again working through all of my blog posts here at thetolkienist.com as well as all the posts over at Steady.

One of the many little details I noticed is that many years ago I introduced you to a documentary called Tolkien’s Great War.

This came into being as part of the exhibition at King Edward’s School about the First World War and its consequences that was opened in 2014.

However, what I had forgotten to add as well is that there were a total of four documentaries done by Old Edwardians Zander and Elliot Weaver. This duo has been rather successful in recent years with their company Elliander Pictures.

All four films – on JRR Tolkien, Robert Cary Gilson, John Osborn Walford, and an additional film on the history of the Somme – are available with the KES website.

I would love to share this documentary with you, detailing the life of one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s best friends: Robert Quilter Gilson.

ROBERT GILSON: Memoirs of an Infantry Officer from Elliander Pictures on Vimeo.

Do also have a look at what Trinity College, Cambridge, has put together on Gilson.

And yes, John’s excellent Tolkien & the Great War will tell you something about him but you should you try and get access to Tolkien Studies 8 in which he delivers Robert Quilter Gilson, T.C.B.S.: A Brief Life in Letters; do also visit his short post on the documentary’s premiere.