Published: May 23, 2007
Highbridge D-Day veteran's war story is turned into brand new film

Every soldier has a tale to tell and Highbridge D-Day veteran John Gundy has just had his first-hand account turned into a moving new film, made especially for schools.

‘Finding Buck’ traces Private John Gundy’s return to the battlefields of France to revisit places he saw, remember the events he experienced, and to find the resting place of a comrade-in-arms.

For over 60 years John had kept a scrapbook from his time in the army, which included a newspaper cutting asking for information about Private Albert ‘Buck’ Buckley.

‘Buck’ - John’s friend and a fellow soldier in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire
Regiment, Third Division - had been reported missing in action on D-Day plus one.

Last year, when John told his granddaughter, Lindsay Brookes, that he didn’t
know what had happened to ‘Buck’ she was inspired to organize his trip to Normandy.

One of his other granddaughters, Deb Richardson, whom he is pictured alongside on the right, has close links with the Engine Room and was equally inspired to film the journey and through research and newspaper appeals in the Midlands, trace Buck’s daughter, Pauline.

Sadly, Pauline had never met her father as she was born just three months after he had died and was surprised to hear that he was to be the subject of a new film.

‘Finding Buck’ features archive footage of the D-Day landings on Sword Beach from the Imperial War Museum collection and was created as a resource for history teachers.

The limited edition DVD will be distributed free to schools and libraries in Somerset and the surrounding areas. It also contains additional interview material about army life and the ‘death camps’, as witnessed by John, as well as useful links to related websites such as the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth and Veterans UK.

The DVD has been produced by the Engine Room, a community media centre based in Bridgwater and a registered charity dedicated to education, training and production through digital media.

The film, as with all of the Engine Room’s production, was a training vehicle for aspiring new filmmakers. The film project was fully funded by the Veterans Challenge Fund, a national fund that initiates new projects or research in support of the Strategy for Veterans.

The Engine Room is now busily distributing the film in time for this year’s D-Day anniversary. Teachers who are interested in receiving a copy or getting further information can contact The Engine Room on 01278 433187 or by email.

The film will be launched at King Alfred School in Highbridge on the afternoon of Wednesday 6th June, the anniversary of D-Day anniversary. The school's head of history, Martin Ellis, has invited John to have lunch with some of the students from the school and this will be followed by a special screening and Question and Answer session with John and the filmmakers.

The film’s producer, Deb Richardson, attended King Alfred School and studied World War II there at A Level. The school’s lunch will also be being assessed for a national award.