Ronald L. Read ("Ronnie / Ron")

Ronnie Read was listed as a sound engineer with Gaumont British from 1933 onwards. In about 1936 he was featured in a Gaumont British publicity photograph, using his sound equipment next to a camera car. The Gaumont British listing ends in 1936, and in January 1937 Read was credited as working with Paramount cameraman W.M. Macgregor [qv] on the interviews for ‘OXFORD’S WALL GAME CAUSES UNCIVIL ‘WAR’' in British Paramount News No.615. In February 1937 Read reappeared with Macgregor interviewing the Archbishop of Canterbury for ‘PRIMATE OPENS LCC TECHNICAL SCHOOLS SHOW’ in No.622, and they were again credited for ‘NEWS FLASHES FROM EVERYWHERE - Two hundred planes rehearse coronation salute’ in No.659 of June 1937. They seem to have worked together frequently in this period, including interviewing the Air Minister for ‘SPITFIRE PUTS RAF ONE UP’ in No.768 of July 1938. In November 1938 Read was also credited as soundman for Jack Harding [qv] on an interview that was not used in the reel. However, Read was not exclusively a sound engineer. Ian Struthers [qv] of Paramount remembered him as ‘a sound recordist who became a cameraman,' and Read seems to have taken film for ‘YEOMEN SALUTE THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER’ in No.663 of July 1937. However, in September 1937 the shotlist credits ‘Sound Recordist R. Read’ in ‘GRACIE STARTS MILLION FREE WHEELS ROLLING’ in No.688.

In March 1938 Read was credited in the team that covered ‘CHELTENHAM STEEPLECHASE’ for British Paramount News No.734. In May 1939 Read and Macgregor filmed a demonstration of air-raid defence by Spitfires, but the footage was not used in the reel. Read remained at Paramount after the outbreak of war in September 1939, and in October 1940 he was credited as cameraman for part of ‘NEW AIR CHIEF WILL KEEP BOMBERS BUSY’ in British Paramount News No.1004. This was the first of a series of cameraman credits - although in November 1940 he again acted as sound engineer for cameraman Jack Harding [qv] on interviews for ‘NEWS FLASHES - Yorkshire’ in No.1015 and ‘ARMY LIFTS VEIL ON LATEST GUNS’ in No.1016. In December 1940 Read acted as sound engineer when cameraman Jimmy Gemmell [qv] filmed an interview with General de Gaulle in London for ‘TYRANNY FORCES THE ISSUE’ in No.1021. Read later became a war correspondent for Paramount, and in August 1941 went with Macgregor to film the Atlantic meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt, acting both as soundman and as silent cameraman. Their material appeared as ''BEING MET TOGETHER’' in British Paramount News No.1093 and ‘ICELAND VISIT’ in No.1094, with the note that it was ‘filmed for the Newsreel Association of Great Britain by W M Macgregor and R L Read with the co-operation of the Ministry of Information.' Both men spoke to camera in No.1094, describing the trip.

In October 1943 Read was listed among the eight cameramen and two sound engineers on Paramount’s London staff, working with cameraman Arthur Farmer [qv] on the anti-aircraft story for ‘NEWS FLASHES - STOP PRESS’ in No.1318. Read continued to work on domestic stories for Paramount, acting as sound engineer for cameraman Lovat Cave-Chinn [qv] on ‘BELGIANS PERFECT INVASION TACTICS’ for British Paramount News No.1352 of February 1944, and for Arthur Farmer [qv] on ‘DEEP SHELTERS MAKE ALERTS ALL CLEAR’ in No.1400 of July 1944. However, by August 1944 Read was acting as a Paramount war correspondent in France. He worked both as cameraman - providing film for ‘THE RACE OF THE REICH’ in British Paramount News No.1411 of September 1944, and as sound engineer - to Maurice Ford [qv] in ‘ALLIED FORCES HONOUR PARIS’ in No.1414 of the same month. In September 1944 Read and Ford filmed the surrender of General Elster and his troops, with Read acting both as sound engineer and silent cameraman for the cut-ins. Read described it as ‘the most fantastic story,' and it ran as ‘TWENTY-THOUSAND SURRENDER TO TWENTY-FOUR’ in British Paramount News No.1416.

In May 1945 Read was the only British cameraman to film the German unconditional surrender at SHAEF headquarters, which became ‘THE HISTORIC SURRENDER’ in British Paramount News No.1483. ‘Very rush coverage,' Read noted on his dopesheet: ‘This whole story was terribly rushed and the lighting very restricted.' Read then took exclusive film of the ratification of the surrender in Berlin, noting that ‘the hardest job was trying to keep Russian cameramen out of the picture.' He managed to film the signing, ‘when I could dodge the Russian officers with the Leicas who swarmed everywhere’: ‘This was artificially lit and for the best part of the time the lights were being covered up by the officers running around - complete chaos.' Read wanted to remain in Berlin to film, but the Russians refused permission. In November 1945 Read worked with sound engineer John Bertrand [qv] to cover the Nuremberg Trials for ''THEY SHALL BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE AND PUNISHED’ - CHURCHILL / ARCH WAR CRIMINALS FACE ALLIED TRIBUNAL’ in British Paramount News No.1539. He was again unimpressed with the reporting arrangements, noting that the Russian cameramen ‘are being given the facilities which we have asked for.'

In March 1946 Read was filming for Paramount in Geneva, but by February 1947 he was back in London filming ‘MARY CHURCHILL WEDDING’ for British Paramount News No.1666. In January 1952 Read took footage for ‘FIRST PICTURES: ‘FLYING ENTERPRISE’ ON TOW’ in No.2177, the reel noting ‘Paramount Cameraman Ronald Read flies over American merchant ship as it was being towed to Falmouth with Captain aboard.' In February 1952 Read was listed on the British Paramount News ‘Daily Assignment Sheet’ for coverage of the funeral of George VI, setting up gear in Windsor. Read was still listed on Paramount’s ‘Daily Assignment Sheets’ in October 1952, and he was in the Paramount camera team that filmed ‘THE CORONATION’ for British Paramount News No.2323 of June 1953, filming from the Colonial Office.

Sources

BUFVC, British Paramount News files, Number 1563 (Paramount ‘Daily Assignment Sheet,' 12/10/1943), Number 1416 (Read’s dopesheet, September 1944), Number 1483 (Read’s dopesheets, May 1945), Number 1539 (Read’s rota dopesheets, 20/21/26 November 1945), Number 1666 (Read’s dopesheet, c.November 1945), Number 2292 ('Daily Assignment Sheet,' 20/10/1952), Number 2323 (Paramount memo, 28/5/1953), Number 2329 ('Daily Assignment Sheet,' 14/2/1952): NFTVA photograph: J. Ballantyne (ed) ‘Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels’ (BUFVC, 1983), p.89: J. Ballantyne (ed) ‘Researcher’s Guide to British Newsreels: Vol.III’ (1993), p.76: BUFVC, British Paramount News files, NR 8135, NR 8492, NR 15192.