Eyewitness: 1940-1949 (BBC Radio Collection)

ISBN 10: 0563530944 ISBN 13: 9780563530947

Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd, 2004

Synopsis

Authentic voices from the past illustrate this unique history of the Twentieth Century, written by Joanna Bourke and presented by Tim Pigott-Smith Eyewitness provides a rare and fascinating opportunity to hear the events of the century described by those who saw them happen. A wealth of BBC archive recordings, some never previously broadcast, is interwoven with an illuminating commentary by the historian Joanna Bourke. Published in ten volumes, Eyewitness examines the role and the life of the British people in each decade of the century. In May 1940, Hitler invaded the Netherlands and the phoney war was over. It would take five years to defeat Nazi tyranny in Europe and finally, in August 1945, the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan to bring the Second World War to an end. Post-war Britain saw a return to austerity, but conditions gradually improved and the National Health Service came into being. Internationally, Soviet Russia retreated behind the Iron Curtain. A new enemy was defined communism. Servicemen and women remember the battles on air, sea and land; prisoners of war describe how they coped and civilians speak of bombs and doodlebugs. The words of Winston Churchill, JB Priestley and the irreverence of ITMA boosted morale in the darkest hours, and throughout it all the BBC s own correspondents all over the world reported on this turbulent decade. Thought-provoking and moving, these are the voices of the past, speaking to the present.

About this title

Review

"A wonderful idea and excellently executed ..best possible use of the medium and a great narrator" -- The Independent

"Eyewitness is a treasure trove of lost accents and cadences..." -- The Observer

"This must be as close to the horse’s mouth that history gets." -- The Guardian

"...mines the BBC’s sound archives to produce what will surely become the greatest oral history series..." -- The Times

A compelling selection that gives stimulating insights into great events... -- Sunday Times Culture

A perfect 10! -- North West Evening Mail

Eyewitness is a treasure trove... -- The Observer, January 2005

Rich and varied, bringing history alive... -- Songs of Praise Magazine, Spring 2005

This must be as close to the horse's mouth as history gets... -- The Guardian, January 2005

From the Author

ADDITONAL FROM THE PUBLISHER: The war inevitably dominates the decade, but here in particular are the voices of ordinary people coping with extraordinary events. Coping strategies are a relatively recent concept and it's perhaps instructive for us, living under the threat of international terrorism, to understand how individuals dealt with years of fear, anxiety and the possibility of sudden death. Courage is displayed in many forms, from conscientious objectors unwilling to jettison their principles even in a just cause to so-called enemy aliens interned by the country they had regarded as a safe haven.

Evacuation memories explore a wide mix of emotions. For many, it’s one of the defining experiences of their lives. Some people recall virtual abuse and forced labour, while others found happiness in a hitherto unknown rural setting, and the affection of a new family. These were the extremes, but leaving home for the first time, worrying about family left to face the realities of urban bombing, made an enormous impact on everyone who speaks here. They were right to worry. Accounts here give some of the reality behind the ‘Britain can take it!’ bravado, with experiences of looting after the Café de Paris bomb and the tragic events at Balham and Bethnal Green Underground stations.

The more predictable dangers faced by those in uniform continue to haunt and fascinate us. These voices take us beyond the familiar mythologies. For example, while Richard Hillary talks of the role of the fighter pilot in almost mystical terms, a survivor of the Battle of Britain cheerfully debunks the whole thing as ‘over-rated’. He compares his own gung-ho heroics unfavourably with the less glamorous task of those fighting the Battle of the Atlantic. Soldiers talk of the complex trauma of the moment of capture, and there is much insight into the less well-known psychological problems of coping with being a prisoner of war. An ex-POW's throwaway line ‘home or homo by Christmas’ contrasts with another who found libido the first casualty of the Stalags.

There are grim memories of battle and loss, but the lighter moments add their own surreal touch. Walking home in the blackout in Derby a woman encountered something odd in the road, which she could only identify by touch. It was an elephant. Mrs Cardwell, a WVS veteran, puts Mrs Miniver in the shade as she describes how she disarmed and captured a German parachutist. All in a day’s work.

These memories prompt a more complex understanding of how the British behaved under the extreme pressures of war. They both reinforce our admiration of simple fortitude shown by so many and raise the question as to whether the war-time myths were really a 1950s need, an attempt to make sense of recent sacrifices.

Post-war, one feels that things should have been so much easier. Too many problems to solve in India, Palestine and Berlin, and rationing, austerity and reconstruction at home. The big freeze of 1946/7 feels like the last straw. But hang on... there was always fun and games at Butlins to lift the spirits, even if the announcer on
Radio Butlins did sound impossibly posh, and the place ran on pseudo-public school lines, with a house captain and all sorts. Very different voices, full of optimism for a new life, are heard at the end of the decade as the MV Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury with 492 Caribbean immigrants on board.

Edition details

• Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0563530944
• ISBN 13: 9780563530947
• Binding: Audio CD
• Language: English