The Forgotten General

Director Karl Zohrab’s docudrama makes the case for World War I military leader Major General Sir Andrew Russell to be resurrected in Kiwi popular memory alongside the likes of Freyberg. Based on Jock Vennell's biography, the film spans Russell’s life from his Hawke’s Bay childhood to Gallipoli and the Western Front — where the New Zealand Division commander was acknowledged for his tactical nous — to the latent effect of his war experience. It screened on The History Channel for Anzac Day 2014. Colin Moy (In My Father’s Den) plays Russell in battlefield dramatisations.

We all grew up hearing about the likes of Lieutenant General [Bernard] Freyberg, but never of Russell. I read about him and just thought his story was intriguing and worth putting on film. He was constantly wanting to fight ... but he was an incredibly humane man. He very quickly realised the cost of war and he realised how he had to reduce the cost of war.

– Director Karl Zohrab, NZ Herald, 19 April 2013

Key Cast & Crew

Karl Zohrab

Director, Writer, Producer

Ken Blackburn

As: Sir James Allen

Geoff Houtman

As: Major Bob Wilson

Peter Daubé

As: General Alexander Godley

Elisabeth Easther

As: Gerturde Russell

Colin Moy

As: Sir Andrew Russell