Reel History of Britain — Season 1, Episode 3: Soldier, Soldier
Documentary • 30 min • 1 season, 20 episodes • ★ 6.0/10
Episode synopsis
At the Queen's Lancashire Regiment Museum and Barracks in Preston, Melvyn looks back to the First World War, when British men answered the call to fight for king and country. Rita Humphrey shares the remarkable story of her uncle, Walter Tull, who overcame great prejudice to become the first black officer in the British Army. Richard Bell talks about his great uncle Donald who received the highest award for valour during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. And Accrington man Les Bond gives his verdict on the sacrifice made by the men of his home town's Pals Battalion, including his uncle Harry, who died at the battle of the Somme.
About Reel History of Britain
Reel History of Britain is a 20 part series being shown on BBC Two, presented by Melvyn Bragg and about the history of modern Britain; through the eyes of people who were there. It was shown from 5–30 September 2011. The programme is a social history documentary, charting the course of the twentieth century through archive film, plus interviews and recollections of key events that have taken place in the last one-hundred years, since the advent of moving film. In each episode, Bragg goes to a different place in the UK and shows people film in a 1950s Ministry of Technology mobile cinema, then gauges their reactions and captures them on film.
More episodes from Season 1
- E1Britain's Wartime Evacuees
- E2Britain's First Teenagers
- E4Britain's Black Diamonds
- E5The Roaring Twenties
- E6Britain's Home Guard
- E7Britain's National Disgrace
- E8Britain On the Move
- E9The Glory Days of Fishing
- E10Sun, Sea and Sangria
- E11The Birth of the NHS
- E12Steel Ships and Iron Men
- E13A Right Royal Knees Up