ALEXANDER RIDLAND
Born 1882
AB# 164
Province Southland
Rank Rifleman
Died 1918,
France
Grave France
JAMES McNEECE
Born 1885
AB# 199
Province Southland
Rank Private
Died 1917,
Belgium
Grave France
ERIC HARPER
Born 1877
AB# 112
Province Canterbury
Rank Trooper
Died 1918,
Palestine
Grave Not known
ALBERT DOWNING
Born 1886
AB# 176
Province Auckland
Rank Sergeant
Died 1915,
Gallipoli
Grave Not known
ERNEST DODD
Born 1880
AB# 83
Province Wellington
Rank Lance Sergeant
Died 1918,
France
Grave France
HENRY DEWAR
Born 1883
AB# 175
Province Taranaki
Rank Sergeant
Died 1915, Gallipoli,
Grave Not known
ROBERT BLACK
Born 1893
AB# 211
Province Otago
Rank Corporal
Died 1916,
France
Grave Not known
JAMES BAIRD
Born 1893
AB# 190
Province Otago
Rank Private
Died 1917,
Belgium
Grave France
 
Video, Television, Corporate, DVD Production and Filming. Based in Auckland, New Zealand. From concept planning to filming to final output. Over 10 years experience.
 
 
 
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NEWS
A ROTTEN SHAME
Broadcast on TV1 July 6th. It is hoped that DVD copies will be available soon from HOBANZ. Please direct any enquiries to their office.
2001 - Best Documentary
2001 - Best Script
2005 - AVA Silver medal
Documentary making is our passion. Be it a personal ambition or part of someone else's desire to tell the world their story - we will listen, shoot and give it all the attention it deserves.         
                                                                                                                                         Bruce Nixon
Click to download a PDF version of our CV.
Experienced & friendly
Competitive & flexible
Able to provide any
Can direct & operate
Based in New Zealand
Bruce Nixon of Nixon Pictures.
'All Blacks At War: The First XIII'
Current Stage: Hoping NZ wins the 2011 world cup!
Date Established: September 2007
Projected Broadcast Date: Post 2011
Broadcaster: NZ & International Release
Funding: NZ on Air and/or Foreign Funding
Producer: Larry Keating (as of 2010)
Co-Producer & Creator: Bruce Nixon
Director: John Hagen (as of 2010)
Director of Photography: Renaud Maire (as of 2010)
Presenter/Narrator: All Black Marc Ellis (as of 2010)
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We need to gather necessary missing information about these 13 All Blacks. We can access the usual player statistics and their basic background, however  we now need their own life stories. Are you able to help us bring them back to 'life' by providing surviving family contact information, photographs, stories and memorabilia? This is hopefully where you can help - by spreading the word or getting in touch.
 
Documentary - All Blacks At War: The First XIII
The 13 All Blacks who lost their lives in WWI no longer have a voice to tell their tale of what it was like to grow up in a new country on the brink of war. Now they can have that voice - through this film. We'll delve back into the early 1900's and examine each man, his personality, his rugby career and ultimately, the price he eventually
paid for his King and country. Presented
and narrated by a former All Black,
we'll travel between the past and
present, returning to the battlefields
with our film crew.
 
INFORMATION & MATERIAL REQUIRED:
SURVIVING FAMILY CONTACT DETAILS
PHOTOGRAPHS & FILM
STORIES, YARNS AND HEROIC TALES
MEMORABILIA
The First XIII
DAVID GALLAHER
Born 1873
AB# 97
Province Auckland
Rank Sergeant
Died 1917, Belgium
Grave Belgium
GEORGE SELLARS
Born 1886
AB# 182
Province Auckland
Rank Private
Died 1917, Belgium
Grave Not known
REGINALD TAYLOR
Born 1889
AB# 202
Province Taranaki
Rank Lance Corporal
Died 1917,
Belgium
Grave Belgium
HUBERT TURTILL
Born 1880
AB# 139
Province Canterbury
Rank Sergeant
Died 1918,
France
Grave France
FRANK WILSON
Born 1885
AB# 166
Province Auckland
Rank 2nd Lieutenant
Died 1916,
France
Grave France
 
If you can assist in our venture, please contact us:
Email info@nixonpictures.co.nz
Or visit the 'about us' link for more contact information. Thank you for your interest and helping us to pay our respect to these 13 sportsmen who knew what it meant to give everything they had, be it on the rugby field or the battle field.
  n 1905, a rugby team from New Zealand in an all black strip took on the might of the United Kingdom and France and won convincingly. The British and French were stunned, and could only marvel at the strength, power and audacity of these opponents who represented a whole new breed of rugby player. A whole new breed of man that epitomised this young country far away on the other side of the world.

Yet with this All Black legend barely cemented, fate was set to test the qualities of these men like never before. Within 10 years, the First World War had broken out.

All Black players were back to Europe once more, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of their fellow countrymen. But this time, the stakes were to be very different. Instead of fighting for match winning points, they were now fighting for their lives amid the blood and horror of Gallipoli, the Somme, Passchendaele, Messines and the scorching sands of Palestine.

This series is the story of 13 All Blacks who made that journey and never returned.

Following in their footsteps will be 1992 All Black Marc Ellis. He will walk the battlefields today, bringing into sharp focus the excitement, the fear and the desperation of each of these thirteen players.  Scrambling the dusty cliffs of Gallipolli, crawling through the forests of France, sinking into the muddy fields of battle amid lethal gunfire he will bring to life the war and its impact. Yet as well as their darkest hours there will be the uplifting triumphs that shine through. Their spiritual victories. Their moments of hope. Their support, camaraderie and fortitude. Precisely the qualities they exhibited on the rugby field.  Where to win, it was similarly important to stay focussed and full of self belief against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Historical footage, photographs and letters will add depth to each story as the characters unfold. And All Black rugby will remain at the heart of the story as the driving force, linking these men together. A reminder of a parallel, almost surreal life.

Nearly a century on, the memory of these thirteen players will live again.

A celebration of the qualities they possessed both on and off the rugby field.
 
A recognition of their achievements and their ultimate sacrifice.

This is truely a global human story, portrayed by a sign over a market square in Les Quesnoy, France, which reads simply... 'Place des All Blacks.'
I
Award Winning...
 
 
Nixon Pictures is
a member of
Made From New Zealand; An open global community of New Zealand businesses and entrepreneurs. 
 
 
L.B.I.P.P Qualified
Screenwriter: Phil Gifford (as of 2010)