13 Facts About William Haggar

William Haggar was a British pioneer of the cinema industry.

William Haggar's films were shown worldwide and his short Desperate Poaching Affray is believed to have influenced early narrative drama in American film, especially in chase genre.

William Haggar was born in Dedham, Essex, where he was apprenticed as a shipbuilder and later a watchmaker.

An accomplished musician, William Haggar left home at the age of eighteen and joined a troupe of travelling players, working as a stage carpenter.

William Haggar travelled around mid and west Wales to the south Wales valleys, wintering in Aberdare.

In 1897, on a trip to London, William Haggar visited one of the early cinemas.

William Haggar continued to take his show around the fairgrounds of South Wales and decided to give 'The Castle Theatre' to his eldest son William, while he focused his energies on promoting 'Haggar's Royal Electric Bioscope' show.

In 1901, William Haggar began making his own films, filming the arrival of a train at Burry Port.

In 1902 William Haggar began making narrative shorts, and these found distribution from Gaumont, Charles Urban and the Warwick Trading Company.

William Haggar never used a studio, and many of his shorts were shot near a river and wrapped up in under two hours.

William Haggar's work was held in high esteem by Gaumont who presented him with a film camera, mechanical tripod and supplied him with film stock, all free of charge.

William Haggar's films were recognised for their intelligent use of depth of staging and screen edges, while film academic Noel Burch praised William Haggar's effective use of off-screen space.

William Haggar was elected to the Merthyr Board of Guardians of the Poor in 1913 and the next year he became a councillor to Aberdare Urban District Council.