In May 1915 the rumour that the Germans had crucified an unidentified Canadian Sergeant near Ypres, Belgium swept around the world. Was it propaganda? Was it a myth of the trenches? After all, it was just weeks since the historical change in warfare – when the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time against the Allies.

In 1915, few questioned it and The Crucified Soldier swiftly became headline news. It even became a Hollywood movie, “The Prussian Cur”. After the war, the German government suggested that the story was libelous and demanded an investigation. A Canadian enquiry resulted in the verdict “not proven”. But even today, 107-year-old veteran Jack Davis remembers hearing about The Crucified Soldier.

And as time has passed, reports of German war atrocities in two other Belgian towns have surfaced. With these reports came a rekindled interest in The Crucified Soldier. A Red Cross nurse’s 1915 report, and letters written to a Canadian sergeant’s family have also come to light making it clear that The Crucified Soldier cannot be forgotten.

This one-hour documentary delves into the history of The Crucified Soldier. Research has unearthed heart-wrenching letters sent from the front, old film clips and a bronze sculpture depicting the Canadian’s rumoured crucifixion. Belgium and British WWI survivors recall their terror and interviews with experts and historians from Oxford, Cambridge and London explain how this type of atrocity story can take over. Shot in Canada, the United Kingdom and Belgium, The Crucified Soldier follows this controversy as the mystery unfolds.