Ernest Symmons was 32 in 1914. He had been apprenticed to the London Stereoscopic Company and then moved north to York, where he set up Debenham and Co with his brother-in-law, Leslie Holderness. He also established a cinema in Beverley, at the Corn Exchange.
On hearing of the bombardment of Scarborough, Symmons hastened to the seaside town and filmed the damage, as shown in this exhibition.