Show Notes
There are now no living veterans of WW1, but it is still possible to go back to the First World War through the memories of those who actually took part. In a unique partnership between the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, two sound archive collections featuring survivors of the war are brought together for the first time. The Imperial War Museums' holdings include a major oral history resource of remarkable recordings made in the 1980s and early 1990s with the remaining survivors of the conflict. The interviews were done not for immediate use or broadcast, but because it was felt that this diminishing resource that could never be replenished, would be of unique value in the future. Speakers recall in great detail as though it were yesterday the conditions of the trenches, the brutality of the battlefield, the experience of seeing their first casualty and hearing their first shell, their daily and nightly routines as soldiers, pilots or navy members of all ranks, and their psychological state in the face of so much trauma. This series will broadcast many of these recordings for the first time. Among the BBC's extensive collection of archive featuring first hand recollections of the conflict a century ago, are the interviews recorded for the 1964 TV series 'The Great War', which vividly bring to life the human experience of those fighting and living through the war. Dan Snow narrates this new oral history, which will be broadcast in short seasons throughout the commemorative period. This is an omnibus edition of five programmes that were first broadcast October 2014, in which soldiers recall the state of their morale in 1914, the First Battle of Ypres, the trenches, their experiences as Prisoners of War, and the much-mythologised Christmas Truce.
More from Voices of the First World War
In an omnibus edition of selected programmes from the final series, Dan Snow looks at some of the key events of 1918, from the German Spring Offensive in March, to the impact that the arrival of massed American troops had on the war. In interviews recorded by the BBC and the Imperial War Museums, those who were there recall the devastation caused by the Spanish Flu epidemic from May onwards, and the rapid advances made in the autumn as the Germans retreated. Finally Dan looks at the closing moments of the war on 11th November 1918, when the armistice took effect. When 11 o'clock came, alongside relief, disbelief, and celebrations, veterans recall that there was also an empty feeling, and a looming question that seemed to trouble many of them: what were they going to do now? Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales, and then
Dan Snow presents the final episode of Voices of the First World War, veterans recall what they were doing when the armistice took effect at 11 o'clock on 11th November 1918, and how they felt now the end of the war had at last arrived. Alongside relief, disbelief, and celebrations, there was also an empty feeling, and a looming question that seemed to trouble many of them: what were they going to do now? Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales
Dan Snow hears accounts of those who witnessed the restlessness, disorder and eventual mutiny of the sailors of the German High Seas Fleet in early November 1918, and recollections of one of the most remarkable sights in British Naval history, 10 days after the Armistice. The German Fleet, as a condition of the Armistice, surrendered to the Allies, and arrived in the Firth of Forth on the 21st. Members of the British Grand Fleet, some privileged to be above deck, some peeking through port holes, remembered a stunning sight as both fleets met off the coast of Scotland, against the backdrop of a large, red setting sun. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales
'Green fields, no barbed wire, nothing…'. Those who were there recall what it felt like to be advancing at last in the autumn of 1918, after years of stalemate. After a series of assaults on the Hindenburg line, the vast system of German trenches, many remember excitement as they advanced so far they lost contact with their command. But there were pockets of fierce resistance, and an eerie feeling as they set about reclaiming abandoned villages where snipers and booby traps might lie in waiting for them. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales
In August 1918 after years of disappointment, bloodshed and stalemate, Allied troops launched a surprise overwhelming attack on the German Army - a short, four day battle in which the Allied forces advanced 12 miles, more than the total advance of the Somme and Passchendaele offensives combined. Veterans recall how they did it. Presented by Dan Snow Produced by Megan Jones for BBC Wales