Paul Wyand

Paul Wyand began his career as a motor mechanic at Brooklands, but was encouraged by his uncle Leslie Wyand [qv], who worked for the American Pathe News, to combine this with taking news photographs to sell through the Sport and General Press Agency. In May 1927 Leslie Wyand offered his nephew the job of assistant cameraman on the Pathe News at £4 a week, and Wyand took it, recalling that at this time ‘the élite among cameramen were those representing the American Newsreels.' His first assignment was in the camera team covering the visit of President Doumergue to London for ‘VIVE L’ENTENTE CORDIALE!' in Pathe Gazette No.1399 of May 1927, but he failed to get any film. One of his first successful assignments was filming crowd scenes on ‘CAPTAIN LINDBERGH AFC’ in No.1403 in June 1927, the main shots being supplied by Bassill [qv]. Wyand’s first credit was for ‘SPEED KING’S FAREWELL’ in No.1405 of the same month. In 1928 Pathe News cut its staff with the coming of sound, and Paul Wyand was fired. However, he was soon taken on by Fox News as their London cameraman, at £5 a week. In the following year Wyand joined the Pathe Gazette at £9 a week, his first credited story being ‘LONDON’S OWN’ in No.1591 of March 1929. His last credited story was ‘THE GREATEST ROAD RACE ‘EVER’,' in No.1634 of August 1929, after which he left to join Movietone, at £10 a week rising to £14. One of his earliest assignments was to film ‘R101 AIRSHIP’ for British Movietone News No.20 of October 1929. In 1934 Wyand was married.

In October 1938, according to Norman Fisher [qv] of Movietone, he and Wyand were sent to film Chamberlain’s return to London after the Munich Crisis. Fisher got the story, but Wyand’s camera broke down. On the outbreak of war in 1939 Wyand was put in uniform as a Movietone war correspondent, but as Movietone’s editor, Gerald Sanger [qv], recalled, Wyand was a sound cameraman and thus ‘was confined to England during the early years, much to his regret.' In November 1939 Wyand filmed ‘CONVOYS BEATING THE U-BOATS’ for British Movietone News No.546, sailing from Wapping to Leith in a merchant ship. Wyand later recalled filming ‘the Allied forces on their return from Dunkirk’ for ‘B.E.F. BOYS REACH HOME’ in British Movietone News No.574 of June 1940. In January 1941 Wyand accompanied the King and Queen on a tour of Norfolk air bases, for ‘ROYAL VISIT TO RAF STATIONS’ in British Movietone News No.609 released the following month. He subsequently covered domestic stories, including the military exercises in October 1941 for ‘BRITAIN BEATS OFF ANOTHER ‘INVASION’' in British Movietone News No.645. In December 1941 Wyand and Martin Gray [qv] accompanied Winston Churchill on his visit to the United States, filming his address to Congress for ‘MR. CHURCHILL SPEAKS TO AMERICA’ in British Movietone News No.567A of January 1942. Wyand also covered Churchill’s visit to Ottawa, and was shown filming in ‘MR CHURCHILL’S NEW ATTIRE’ in British Movietone News No.660 of January 1942.

In June 1942 Wyand was borrowed by the War Office to film a series of tank-recognition films, which he recalled as ‘dull, mechanical work.' In November 1943 Movietone sent Wyand and Gray to Italy with a camera truck, to undertake the first sound filming at the front. Their first sound report was ‘GARIGLIANO FRONT - Cameraman Paul Wyand films the shelling of the hamlet of Suio and a bridge across the Garigliano river,' in British Movietone News No.764A of January 1944. Wyand and Gray obtained other impressive sound film for ‘MONTE CASSINO - THE BOMBING’ in British Movietone News No.769 of February 1944, Wyand’s dopesheet noting ‘I believe this to be first authentic sound tracks of air raid.' Wyand and Grey also appeared on film, being presented to the King in ‘THE KING IN ITALY’ in No.792 of August 1944. In October 1944 Wyand and Gray returned to England, and in January 1945 they travelled to Brussels to accompany the British army into Germany. In April 1945 Wyand and Gray filmed the liberation of Belsen concentration camp for ‘ATROCITIES - THE EVIDENCE’ in British Movietone News No.830. Wyand recalled that ‘we made our way round the camp, photographing scenes which, it seemed, could not possibly be the responsibility of civilised man’: ‘On three or four occasions Martin and I had to break off work in order to vomit.' For the same issue they also filmed Josef Kramer, the commandant of Belsen, in military prison. Wyand also filmed material for the war crimes trials.

In May 1945 Wyand was allowed to film General Montgomery’s victory speech for a British Movietone News exclusive in No.831A, ‘THE FIELD MARSHAL OFFERS THANKS.' In October 1946 Wyand left Southampton with Scales [qv] on board the Queen Elizabeth, for its maiden voyage, which was covered in reports beginning with ‘OUTWARD BOUND ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE’ in No.907. In February 1947 Wyand covered the Royal Tour to South Africa, with Derek Stiles [qv] as his sound engineer. Their reports began with ‘EN ROUTE TO CAPE TOWN’ in No.923, and ended with ‘ROYAL GOODBYES AT CAPE TOWN’ in No.935 in May 1947. In 1952 Wyand was in the international newsreel pool which covered the Olympic Games in Helsinki, along with Henry Hawkins [qv]. In June 1953 Wyand took colour film of the Coronation, filming from the triforium inside Westminster Abbey, and in September 1953 he travelled to Los Angeles with Jack Ramsden [qv] to arrange with Movietone’s parent company to film the Royal Tour of the Commonwealth in Cinemascope. From December 1953 to May 1954 Wyand filmed the tour, with Reg Sutton [qv] as sound engineer and Mark McDonald [qv] as his assistant. Their material was released as ‘The Flight of the White Heron.' Wyand filmed his last assignment as cameraman in May 1956, afterwards becoming Movietone’s assignments manager. However, Wyand did continue to film on special projects, and in 1957 he was cameraman on the film ‘Inspiring Leadership,' which featured Harold MacMillan and was made by Movietone for the Conservative Party. In March 1961 Terry Gallacher [qv] returned to Movietone as assignments manager, and Wyand apparently became production manager. Wyand appears in the Movietone staff list for January 1964 as production manager, and remained at Movietone until his death in 1968.

Sources

BUFVC, British Paramount News files, Number 1356 (copy of Wyand’s rota dopesheet, February 1944): G. Sanger ‘The Story of British Movietone News in the War Years,' c.1946, copy in BUFVC: Paul Wyand ‘Useless If Delayed’ (London, 1959), passim: Illustrated, 12/10/1957, pp.3-4, ‘Now it’s Mac the Actor’: J. Ballantyne (ed) ‘Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels: Vol.III’ (1993), p.10: BUFVC, T. M. Gallacher, ‘Additional Notes,' October 1998.