Passchendaele plays out again in virtual reality
THE Great War could be the first conflict to be kept fresh in the public conscience by using virtual reality technology.
Dan Snow, the historian, and the Royal British Legion have launched a hi-tech, immersive view of Passchendaele. The technology could revolutionise military history and keep alive the immediacy of the trenches and Western Front for generations to come, Mr Snow said.
He spoke as the legion unveiled six virtual reality experiences to mark the centenary of one of the most notorious battles of that war. The films use archive photographs and film to recreate the battle that caused 325,000 Allied and 260,000 German casualties and give the viewer a 360-degree experience of “going over the top”.
Bill Hunt, 83, a Chelsea Pensioner who spent 25 years in the Royal Horse Guards, told The Daily Telegraph: “I could see the hedgerows and the star shells. I could have been there, lying in a field.” The displays can be downloaded from the legion’s website.