1 00:00:00,125 --> 00:00:03,490 (melancholy instrumental music) 2 00:00:03,490 --> 00:00:05,840 It's now 100 years since the end 3 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:07,083 of the First World War, 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:10,030 a conflict that claimed the lives 5 00:00:10,030 --> 00:00:12,523 of over 3/4 of a million British men. 6 00:00:13,670 --> 00:00:18,670 Now, featuring rare and previously unseen personal testimony 7 00:00:18,750 --> 00:00:21,600 alongside newly restored archive film, 8 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:23,648 this groundbreaking three-part series 9 00:00:23,648 --> 00:00:25,650 (cannon shots exploding) will tell the story 10 00:00:25,650 --> 00:00:27,580 of the Great War as never before 11 00:00:29,470 --> 00:00:31,880 from the suffering and sacrifice experienced 12 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:33,790 by the men on the front line. 13 00:00:33,790 --> 00:00:35,840 The corpses there, 14 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,173 they all had rats nests in the cage of the chest. 15 00:00:41,860 --> 00:00:43,080 And when you disturbed them, 16 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,657 the rats ran out of the chest. 17 00:00:45,657 --> 00:00:47,863 You can't forget things like that. 18 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,210 To the dramatic change in women's lives 19 00:00:51,210 --> 00:00:52,943 on the home front. 20 00:00:52,943 --> 00:00:55,255 Oh, I felt when I was working on munitions, 21 00:00:55,255 --> 00:00:56,630 I really felt, 22 00:00:56,630 --> 00:00:59,110 well, I haven't got any brothers to go and fight. 23 00:00:59,110 --> 00:01:00,350 I'm doing the next best thing, 24 00:01:00,350 --> 00:01:03,433 and I was quite pleased to be able to do it. 25 00:01:05,050 --> 00:01:06,350 In this film, 26 00:01:06,350 --> 00:01:08,470 we'll meet the veterans who volunteered 27 00:01:08,470 --> 00:01:10,310 to fight at the beginning of the war. 28 00:01:10,310 --> 00:01:13,750 I had a pal in the army 29 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,000 and we were the best of pals together 30 00:01:19,380 --> 00:01:20,630 and they called him, Joe. 31 00:01:23,599 --> 00:01:24,432 Poor Joe. 32 00:01:26,810 --> 00:01:28,350 And we'll find out what happened 33 00:01:28,350 --> 00:01:29,923 to those they left behind. 34 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,660 I couldn't really imagine him not being there. 35 00:01:34,660 --> 00:01:37,383 I couldn't imagine it. 36 00:01:37,383 --> 00:01:42,383 I thought maybe one day they'll find out they made a mistake 37 00:01:42,770 --> 00:01:45,613 and perhaps he might turn up one day. 38 00:01:46,820 --> 00:01:49,300 This is the story of the tragedy 39 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:52,523 and turmoil of Britain's Great War. 40 00:01:52,523 --> 00:01:56,356 (dramatic instrumental music) 41 00:02:02,916 --> 00:02:06,916 (melancholy instrumental music) 42 00:02:07,882 --> 00:02:09,378 (horses clip-clopping) 43 00:02:09,378 --> 00:02:14,230 Britain declared war on Germany on the 4th of August, 1914, 44 00:02:14,230 --> 00:02:18,079 after the German army invaded Belgium on route to Paris. 45 00:02:18,079 --> 00:02:20,070 (army boots stomping in tandem) 46 00:02:20,070 --> 00:02:23,020 Britain's small regular army set sail to engage them 47 00:02:24,110 --> 00:02:27,260 and reserves from the army and navy were mobilized, 48 00:02:27,260 --> 00:02:28,853 ready for action. 49 00:02:28,853 --> 00:02:31,490 (melancholy instrumental music) 50 00:02:31,490 --> 00:02:34,157 (horse huffing) 51 00:02:36,652 --> 00:02:39,920 (crowd cheering) 52 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:42,600 Fearing a long and bloody conflict, 53 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,850 Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, 54 00:02:44,850 --> 00:02:48,540 called for 100,000 volunteers to take up arms 55 00:02:48,540 --> 00:02:50,239 in a new civilian army. 56 00:02:50,239 --> 00:02:52,570 (army boots stomping in tandem) 57 00:02:52,570 --> 00:02:54,363 The response was extraordinary. 58 00:02:55,450 --> 00:02:57,553 Your country needs you. 59 00:02:59,131 --> 00:03:00,880 The Kitchener's 60 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,650 famous picture, 61 00:03:03,650 --> 00:03:05,130 so we went 62 00:03:05,130 --> 00:03:06,630 to stop 63 00:03:06,630 --> 00:03:10,053 being taken over by some foreign country. 64 00:03:11,142 --> 00:03:12,440 It was our duty, 65 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,353 nothing out of the ordinary. 66 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:16,613 It was obvious. 67 00:03:17,917 --> 00:03:22,000 (melancholy instrumental music) 68 00:03:26,299 --> 00:03:29,840 I was working with Chrishall Manufacturing Company 69 00:03:31,150 --> 00:03:33,520 and this war broke out. 70 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:35,260 And as a young man 71 00:03:36,430 --> 00:03:37,990 it was 72 00:03:37,990 --> 00:03:41,500 my duty and the duty of every young man 73 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:44,800 to go and defend it against all invaders 74 00:03:45,660 --> 00:03:47,313 and to give, if necessary, 75 00:03:48,150 --> 00:03:49,573 our lives to do it. 76 00:03:52,060 --> 00:03:57,060 Kitchener had no trouble in finding the first 100,000. 77 00:03:57,290 --> 00:03:59,150 Dammit, couldn't get into the bloody army, 78 00:03:59,150 --> 00:04:01,878 there was such a rush to get there, 79 00:04:01,878 --> 00:04:02,711 to get on 80 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,466 and defeat the enemy 81 00:04:06,466 --> 00:04:09,993 and prevent him from taking over this country. 82 00:04:14,387 --> 00:04:17,557 (vehicles humming by) 83 00:04:17,557 --> 00:04:20,178 (horses clip-clopping) 84 00:04:20,178 --> 00:04:21,011 (transport trolley bell dinging) 85 00:04:21,011 --> 00:04:24,250 Well, the war was declared in August 86 00:04:24,250 --> 00:04:25,810 and everywhere you went in Glasgow, 87 00:04:25,810 --> 00:04:27,810 the great, big poster's up of Kitchener 88 00:04:27,810 --> 00:04:30,770 with his finger pointing at you. 89 00:04:30,770 --> 00:04:31,603 No matter where you were, 90 00:04:31,603 --> 00:04:33,237 this finger seemed to be pointing at you. 91 00:04:33,237 --> 00:04:35,299 "Your king and country needs you." 92 00:04:35,299 --> 00:04:39,299 (upbeat Scottish bagpipe music) 93 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,770 I worked in an insurance office 94 00:04:49,770 --> 00:04:54,770 and now and again I could hear a piper and the left, right, 95 00:04:54,980 --> 00:04:55,963 left, right. 96 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:59,240 And I went to the window and I could see 97 00:05:00,230 --> 00:05:05,000 probably two or 300 men and the pipes always seemed 98 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,681 to do something to arouse my enthusiasm. 99 00:05:07,681 --> 00:05:08,860 And I thought to myself, 100 00:05:08,860 --> 00:05:10,810 well, I want to do something like this. 101 00:05:12,337 --> 00:05:15,084 And when I told my manager of my insurance company, 102 00:05:15,084 --> 00:05:16,120 they said, well, 103 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:19,490 it'll be a nice six months holiday for you. 104 00:05:19,490 --> 00:05:20,941 Yes, you join up. 105 00:05:20,941 --> 00:05:22,308 So I joined up. 106 00:05:22,308 --> 00:05:25,975 (upbeat instrumental music) 107 00:05:32,393 --> 00:05:37,390 I was only 15 when I joined up. 108 00:05:37,390 --> 00:05:39,620 I was working down the coal mine 109 00:05:40,870 --> 00:05:42,963 at a place called Rainford, 110 00:05:44,430 --> 00:05:46,318 just outside Ormskirk. 111 00:05:46,318 --> 00:05:48,467 (heavy machinery rumbling) 112 00:05:48,467 --> 00:05:50,700 We were about six men 113 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:54,560 from Ormskirk who used to be on night work. 114 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:59,060 And this particular night one of the men was late 115 00:05:59,950 --> 00:06:00,783 and he said, 116 00:06:00,783 --> 00:06:02,847 "There's no work tonight, chaps. 117 00:06:02,847 --> 00:06:06,170 "The war is breaking out tomorrow." 118 00:06:06,170 --> 00:06:08,663 So we got to report to the headquarters. 119 00:06:09,810 --> 00:06:13,560 (ominous instrumental music) 120 00:06:17,166 --> 00:06:19,227 They shouted, they said, 121 00:06:19,227 --> 00:06:21,057 {\an8}"What do you want, sonny?" 122 00:06:21,057 --> 00:06:22,207 {\an8}"Well," I said, 123 00:06:22,207 --> 00:06:25,920 {\an8}"I want to join up with the other chaps." 124 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:26,753 So he said, 125 00:06:26,753 --> 00:06:28,990 "You're so young, aren't you?" 126 00:06:28,990 --> 00:06:30,970 I said, "No, I'm not so young." 127 00:06:30,970 --> 00:06:33,040 I said, "I'm 18." 128 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:33,873 So he said, 129 00:06:33,873 --> 00:06:35,133 "Are you sure?" 130 00:06:35,133 --> 00:06:37,650 I said, "Yes, I'll go home and get my birth certificate." 131 00:06:37,650 --> 00:06:39,457 He said, "It's all right. 132 00:06:39,457 --> 00:06:41,447 "I'll take your word for it." 133 00:06:43,245 --> 00:06:45,210 Of course, I got home. 134 00:06:45,210 --> 00:06:47,370 And I told my parents 135 00:06:48,700 --> 00:06:50,257 and my mother pled hell 136 00:06:50,257 --> 00:06:51,150 (Dick chuckling) 137 00:06:51,150 --> 00:06:55,510 because I'd no right going and she was going to stop me. 138 00:06:55,510 --> 00:06:57,387 And my father said, 139 00:06:57,387 --> 00:06:58,767 "Don't interfere with him. 140 00:06:58,767 --> 00:07:00,427 "If he wants to go, 141 00:07:00,427 --> 00:07:01,514 "let him go." 142 00:07:01,514 --> 00:07:05,140 (ominous instrumental music) 143 00:07:05,140 --> 00:07:06,680 It never entered your head, really, 144 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:11,173 to think about what the results was going to be. 145 00:07:12,749 --> 00:07:16,916 (upbeat brass instrumental music) 146 00:07:28,950 --> 00:07:31,870 On the day the war broke out, 147 00:07:31,870 --> 00:07:34,563 I was just 20 years of age. 148 00:07:41,500 --> 00:07:45,260 I thought I'd liKe to be a soldier and do a bit of shooting. 149 00:07:45,260 --> 00:07:47,060 I was fancying being a rifleman, 150 00:07:47,060 --> 00:07:48,643 that was the point. 151 00:07:49,893 --> 00:07:52,840 And I went up to this place in Shepherd's Bush 152 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:54,600 where we joined on. 153 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,290 And they gave me then the choice 154 00:07:58,290 --> 00:08:03,290 of all three different regiments I could've been in 155 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,270 but the third one was the old Sherwood Foresters. 156 00:08:08,270 --> 00:08:13,050 It's a battalion and they were called the Robin Hood Rifles. 157 00:08:13,050 --> 00:08:14,600 So I fancied that and I thought, 158 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,157 oh, I'd like to be a Robin Hood Rifle. 159 00:08:17,157 --> 00:08:18,151 (upbeat instrumental music) 160 00:08:18,151 --> 00:08:20,812 (horses clip-clopping) 161 00:08:20,812 --> 00:08:24,812 (army boots stomping in tandem) 162 00:08:32,446 --> 00:08:35,823 I didn't understand anything about what war was like 163 00:08:35,823 --> 00:08:37,223 or what it was all about. 164 00:08:42,890 --> 00:08:47,890 {\an8}When we went to the (indistinct) at Colchester, 165 00:08:47,930 --> 00:08:50,970 you have to ride all different horses, 166 00:08:50,970 --> 00:08:53,220 nothing on them, no straddle, 167 00:08:53,220 --> 00:08:55,250 no bridle, no nothing. 168 00:08:55,250 --> 00:08:59,023 You have to have a stick and a little cane under each arm. 169 00:09:00,327 --> 00:09:05,000 And then when the riding masters cracked the whip, 170 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,173 he didn't say anything. 171 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,440 He just cracked the whip and the horses, 172 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,365 all the horses that you were on stopped dead. 173 00:09:12,365 --> 00:09:13,378 (horse neighing) 174 00:09:13,378 --> 00:09:15,270 I never come off. 175 00:09:15,270 --> 00:09:18,661 I would sit there but I'd put my arms around his neck. 176 00:09:18,661 --> 00:09:21,670 I knew, but half of them fell off. 177 00:09:21,670 --> 00:09:23,089 And the sergeant major shouted, 178 00:09:23,089 --> 00:09:26,186 "Who the hell told you to dismount?" 179 00:09:26,186 --> 00:09:27,033 (Albert chuckling) 180 00:09:27,033 --> 00:09:27,914 See. 181 00:09:27,914 --> 00:09:29,118 (melancholy instrumental music) 182 00:09:29,118 --> 00:09:32,368 (horses clip-clopping) 183 00:09:39,350 --> 00:09:42,260 While Britain's young men rushed to volunteer, 184 00:09:42,260 --> 00:09:44,580 it was their loved ones at home who were left 185 00:09:44,580 --> 00:09:46,153 to deal with the consequences. 186 00:10:07,726 --> 00:10:09,976 The day war was declared, 187 00:10:10,920 --> 00:10:12,950 we as a family were all 188 00:10:14,090 --> 00:10:16,378 living on a farm. 189 00:10:16,378 --> 00:10:20,461 {\an8}(melancholy instrumental music) 190 00:10:25,290 --> 00:10:29,663 Nobody more excited than my elder brother, George. 191 00:10:31,330 --> 00:10:33,293 Keen for so long to be a soldier, 192 00:10:34,820 --> 00:10:36,531 here was his chance. 193 00:10:36,531 --> 00:10:38,310 (horses clip-clopping) 194 00:10:38,310 --> 00:10:42,417 My father tried to persuade him against going so soon, 195 00:10:42,417 --> 00:10:45,057 "Stopping through the harvesting," he said, 196 00:10:45,057 --> 00:10:46,277 "and go then." 197 00:10:47,540 --> 00:10:50,390 But nothing anybody did or said 198 00:10:52,300 --> 00:10:53,563 would alter him. 199 00:10:54,900 --> 00:10:59,900 He went into my mother's bedroom and he picked up a stick, 200 00:11:00,690 --> 00:11:03,857 tucked it under his arm and marched about the bedroom. 201 00:11:03,857 --> 00:11:07,191 "This is how I shall strut about the London parks," he said. 202 00:11:07,191 --> 00:11:08,420 (Len chuckling) 203 00:11:08,420 --> 00:11:09,935 Jokingly, of course. 204 00:11:09,935 --> 00:11:11,991 (Len chuckling) 205 00:11:11,991 --> 00:11:12,824 And 206 00:11:14,390 --> 00:11:16,000 we sang him the little song. 207 00:11:17,773 --> 00:11:21,320 ♪ No more will I work in the harvest field ♪ 208 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,805 ♪ To reap the golden corn ♪ 209 00:11:24,805 --> 00:11:29,805 ♪ But I'm going to join the army and I'm off tomorrow morn ♪ 210 00:11:34,900 --> 00:11:37,617 I don't think it occurred to any of them 211 00:11:37,617 --> 00:11:39,863 that they might never come back again. 212 00:11:41,146 --> 00:11:45,146 (melancholy instrumental music) 213 00:11:57,988 --> 00:12:01,821 We were desperately in love with each other, 214 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:07,073 thinking of him day and night and he was me, yes. 215 00:12:16,590 --> 00:12:20,130 We made that promise that as soon as the war was over, 216 00:12:20,130 --> 00:12:23,230 which was about Christmas, 217 00:12:23,230 --> 00:12:24,443 we'd get engaged, 218 00:12:26,390 --> 00:12:29,170 because he was quite convinced that 219 00:12:31,601 --> 00:12:33,433 he was going to be killed. 220 00:12:35,930 --> 00:12:37,350 I didn't know what to say. 221 00:12:37,350 --> 00:12:40,587 I know nothing about war or anything like that. 222 00:12:40,587 --> 00:12:43,400 But all I could do was to tell him 223 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:45,130 to look on the bright side, 224 00:12:45,130 --> 00:12:49,113 that there were better days in store when it was all over. 225 00:12:50,550 --> 00:12:54,760 That was a promise he went away with in his heart 226 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:56,762 that it wouldn't be for long. 227 00:12:56,762 --> 00:12:59,038 (indistinct chatter) 228 00:12:59,038 --> 00:13:01,920 By the end of November, 1914, 229 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:05,144 over a million volunteers had joined Kitchener's army. 230 00:13:05,144 --> 00:13:07,780 (melancholy instrumental music) 231 00:13:07,780 --> 00:13:09,413 Meanwhile, on the Western front, 232 00:13:09,413 --> 00:13:11,580 (cannon shots exploding) the British had already lost 233 00:13:11,580 --> 00:13:13,413 close to 100,000 men. 234 00:13:15,130 --> 00:13:18,200 What had begun as a mobile campaign had turned 235 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,230 to stalemate as both sides settled into the trenches 236 00:13:22,230 --> 00:13:24,730 that would become the defining feature of the war. 237 00:13:26,820 --> 00:13:29,510 They would soon stretch in a continuous line 238 00:13:29,510 --> 00:13:32,513 from the North Sea to the Swiss Alps. 239 00:13:34,184 --> 00:13:38,351 (digging spades clanging in soil) 240 00:13:41,490 --> 00:13:45,540 Transforming Kitchener's new recruits into fighting men, 241 00:13:45,540 --> 00:13:48,220 ready for the demands of trench warfare, 242 00:13:48,220 --> 00:13:50,360 would take training and discipline, 243 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,053 the like of which most had never experienced before. 244 00:13:58,430 --> 00:14:01,890 (trainees chanting) 245 00:14:01,890 --> 00:14:03,173 I certainly enjoyed it. 246 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:06,920 Some of them were weaklings. 247 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:08,400 I was a weakling, 248 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:09,630 being an insurance roller, 249 00:14:09,630 --> 00:14:12,320 but some of them were weaker than I was. 250 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:13,543 But it hardened me. 251 00:14:14,430 --> 00:14:16,030 The more training you got, 252 00:14:16,030 --> 00:14:18,330 the harder you became and the more used to it. 253 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:24,860 We began to do these physical jerks, physical exercises. 254 00:14:24,860 --> 00:14:27,230 And this particular sergeant, 255 00:14:27,230 --> 00:14:31,947 he got a nasty wagging tongue and he used to call us all, 256 00:14:31,947 --> 00:14:35,173 "You flipping little mother's boys," 257 00:14:35,173 --> 00:14:36,857 and all that sort of talk 258 00:14:38,530 --> 00:14:42,553 and used language that we never liked at all. 259 00:14:42,553 --> 00:14:47,030 He used to use swear language too and we used 260 00:14:47,030 --> 00:14:50,126 to absolutely dislike this fellow when he came 261 00:14:50,126 --> 00:14:51,606 and took over. 262 00:14:51,606 --> 00:14:54,440 (army boots stomping in tandem) 263 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:56,183 There was one little bugger, 264 00:14:58,215 --> 00:14:59,630 a mustache 265 00:15:00,690 --> 00:15:02,300 turned up 266 00:15:02,300 --> 00:15:04,133 and yapping and shouting. 267 00:15:05,189 --> 00:15:09,189 {\an8}(melancholy instrumental music) 268 00:15:14,733 --> 00:15:18,064 And he used to call me Littlefair 'cause he was shouting 269 00:15:18,064 --> 00:15:20,069 and he couldn't get Littlefair. 270 00:15:20,069 --> 00:15:23,050 And I was in one of them good humors, 271 00:15:23,050 --> 00:15:24,343 I never answered him. 272 00:15:25,547 --> 00:15:27,214 So he come up to me, 273 00:15:29,027 --> 00:15:31,637 "Who the hell do you think you are?" 274 00:15:31,637 --> 00:15:33,511 And I just stood. 275 00:15:33,511 --> 00:15:34,344 And he said, 276 00:15:34,344 --> 00:15:35,630 "I think you're a bastard." 277 00:15:35,630 --> 00:15:37,287 As soon as he said that I, 278 00:15:37,287 --> 00:15:39,212 (George clapping fist) 279 00:15:39,212 --> 00:15:41,786 I hit him in the mouth with that. 280 00:15:41,786 --> 00:15:43,869 I said, "Don't prove it." 281 00:15:44,871 --> 00:15:48,621 (ominous instrumental music) 282 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,123 (indistinct chatter) 283 00:15:54,750 --> 00:15:57,430 We saw these boys and they were all 284 00:15:59,250 --> 00:16:00,880 sticking 285 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,310 bayonets into sacks of 286 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:08,960 straw where children used to play. 287 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,980 And they were running towards them 288 00:16:10,980 --> 00:16:14,520 and told just where about in the sack, 289 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:16,831 that bayonet had to go. 290 00:16:16,831 --> 00:16:20,370 (ominous instrumental music) 291 00:16:20,370 --> 00:16:25,199 Your bayonets were always there to be used if necessary. 292 00:16:25,199 --> 00:16:27,870 (trainees shouting) 293 00:16:27,870 --> 00:16:30,880 You're killing the enemy when you're learning that, 294 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:35,360 when you're stabbing a sandbag full of sand. 295 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:37,482 When you stick that bayonet into it, 296 00:16:37,482 --> 00:16:39,840 you're sticking one of the enemy, 297 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,660 you're not sticking the sandbag 298 00:16:41,660 --> 00:16:43,783 and that's how you're taught. 299 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,300 You had to learn how to use a gun. 300 00:16:49,300 --> 00:16:51,893 You used to go on musketry courses. 301 00:16:54,318 --> 00:16:55,330 I got to be, 302 00:16:55,330 --> 00:16:56,310 as it happened, 303 00:16:56,310 --> 00:16:58,870 quite a good shot. 304 00:16:58,870 --> 00:17:03,000 And I became eventually what they called a marksman 305 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:08,000 and so for which I got an extra sixpence a day on my wages. 306 00:17:08,447 --> 00:17:11,210 You used to get an extra sixpence a day 307 00:17:11,210 --> 00:17:14,710 if you were a qualified marksman which I was. 308 00:17:16,007 --> 00:17:19,007 (gunfire exploding) 309 00:17:20,970 --> 00:17:22,438 We were all, I think, 310 00:17:22,438 --> 00:17:26,605 very proud to be in the army defending our country 311 00:17:27,467 --> 00:17:30,134 for the people to come after us. 312 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:36,914 The morale was tremendous. 313 00:17:36,914 --> 00:17:40,441 We were anxious to get on with the job. 314 00:17:40,441 --> 00:17:44,493 We wanted to go to France and stop this nonsense. 315 00:17:45,626 --> 00:17:48,626 (gunfire exploding) 316 00:17:49,881 --> 00:17:50,970 (cannon shots exploding) 317 00:17:50,970 --> 00:17:53,060 Back on the Western front, 318 00:17:53,060 --> 00:17:56,990 the British army was facing a crisis as its artillery shells 319 00:17:56,990 --> 00:17:59,912 were being used faster than they could be produced. 320 00:17:59,912 --> 00:18:03,079 (somber piano music) 321 00:18:04,260 --> 00:18:06,600 So to increase production, 322 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,100 thousands of women left their traditional domestic roles 323 00:18:10,100 --> 00:18:12,943 and instead began making munitions. 324 00:18:22,210 --> 00:18:26,770 Well, I had no brothers to go and fight for us, 325 00:18:26,770 --> 00:18:29,067 so I said to dad, 326 00:18:29,067 --> 00:18:32,580 "Could I go and work on munitions?" 327 00:18:32,580 --> 00:18:34,240 And he said, "No." 328 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:35,073 And I said, 329 00:18:35,073 --> 00:18:38,318 "Oh dad, we haven't got anybody to go and fight for us." 330 00:18:38,318 --> 00:18:41,985 (somber instrumental music) 331 00:18:54,711 --> 00:18:56,005 I must admit, 332 00:18:56,005 --> 00:18:58,970 dad was always my favorite (Daisy chuckling) 333 00:18:58,970 --> 00:19:03,030 and weedled around him to let me go to the Labor Exchange 334 00:19:03,030 --> 00:19:06,973 and see if I could get work on the munitions. 335 00:19:12,970 --> 00:19:15,050 You were supposed to be 18. 336 00:19:15,050 --> 00:19:19,570 I was three or four months off of my 18th birthday. 337 00:19:19,570 --> 00:19:22,898 But they wanted the workers so badly, 338 00:19:22,898 --> 00:19:24,600 they 339 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:26,997 said, "Yes, all right then you can come." 340 00:19:29,340 --> 00:19:31,549 I felt, when I was working on munitions, 341 00:19:31,549 --> 00:19:35,124 I really thought I haven't got any brothers to go and fight, 342 00:19:35,124 --> 00:19:36,540 I'm doing the next best thing. 343 00:19:36,540 --> 00:19:39,783 And I was quite pleased to be able to do it. 344 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,130 Meanwhile, the red cross had launched an appeal 345 00:19:45,130 --> 00:19:47,780 to recruit women aged over 19 346 00:19:47,780 --> 00:19:50,723 to work as volunteers alongside professional nurses. 347 00:19:53,180 --> 00:19:57,243 Known as the Voluntary Aid Detachment or VAD for short, 348 00:19:58,150 --> 00:20:01,540 most were recruited from middle and upper class families, 349 00:20:01,540 --> 00:20:03,643 as the job was unpaid. 350 00:20:03,643 --> 00:20:07,560 (relaxing instrumental music) 351 00:20:15,038 --> 00:20:17,310 I had to go up to (indistinct) 352 00:20:17,310 --> 00:20:19,470 to see the head of the red cross. 353 00:20:19,470 --> 00:20:23,130 He interviewed me over a double desk 354 00:20:23,130 --> 00:20:27,190 and I was always very good at reading on the other side 355 00:20:27,190 --> 00:20:29,410 when I was sitting there. 356 00:20:29,410 --> 00:20:31,247 And he said, 357 00:20:31,247 --> 00:20:33,366 "How old are you?" 358 00:20:33,366 --> 00:20:35,830 So I said, "20, sir." 359 00:20:35,830 --> 00:20:36,783 So he said, 360 00:20:37,707 --> 00:20:38,940 "How old?" 361 00:20:38,940 --> 00:20:42,310 And I see him now looking over the top of his glasses 362 00:20:42,310 --> 00:20:45,290 and I said, "20, sir." 363 00:20:45,290 --> 00:20:48,961 I saw him right down, age 20. 364 00:20:48,961 --> 00:20:51,590 Apparent age, 16. 365 00:20:51,590 --> 00:20:52,423 And I said, 366 00:20:52,423 --> 00:20:53,696 "Now you've written it down, sir, 367 00:20:53,696 --> 00:20:54,529 "in black and white, 368 00:20:54,529 --> 00:20:56,407 "you can't alter it. 369 00:20:56,407 --> 00:20:58,912 "But it isn't 16, it's 17." 370 00:20:58,912 --> 00:21:00,243 (Marjorie chuckling) 371 00:21:00,243 --> 00:21:02,997 And he did a grin and left it as it was and passed me. 372 00:21:05,339 --> 00:21:09,006 (upbeat instrumental music) 373 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:13,280 By the early summer of 1915, 374 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,640 the first units of Kitchener's volunteer army 375 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:18,350 left their training camps to begin the journey 376 00:21:18,350 --> 00:21:20,881 to the battlefields of France and Belgium. 377 00:21:20,881 --> 00:21:23,440 (horses clip-clopping) 378 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:25,433 Most had never been abroad before. 379 00:21:27,604 --> 00:21:29,920 I thought it was great, 380 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:32,460 you know, getting out of England, 381 00:21:32,460 --> 00:21:33,693 going to somewhere new, 382 00:21:34,828 --> 00:21:36,246 that's the feeling, 383 00:21:36,246 --> 00:21:38,553 a lad's feeling as you might say. 384 00:21:40,183 --> 00:21:42,973 It was more or less a novelty to you. 385 00:21:44,604 --> 00:21:46,730 Well, we've never been out of England. 386 00:21:46,730 --> 00:21:50,040 We've never seen out. 387 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,399 Aye, that was how 388 00:21:52,399 --> 00:21:53,523 we felt. 389 00:21:54,865 --> 00:21:56,750 We certainly wanted to 390 00:21:58,260 --> 00:21:59,943 get out and do our bit. 391 00:22:01,777 --> 00:22:04,343 Of course, you never know what it was going to be, 392 00:22:05,350 --> 00:22:07,171 whether you were gonna shoot Germans 393 00:22:07,171 --> 00:22:09,870 or whether they were gonna shoot you. 394 00:22:09,870 --> 00:22:11,720 You never know (Jack chuckling) 395 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,863 what the future held. 396 00:22:13,863 --> 00:22:17,696 (relaxing instrumental music) 397 00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:20,900 I don't think I was ever afraid. 398 00:22:20,900 --> 00:22:22,863 It never seemed to worry me. 399 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,330 Something was happening and you wanted to see 400 00:22:27,330 --> 00:22:32,194 what was happening and you were there to witness it. 401 00:22:32,194 --> 00:22:34,511 (whistle blowing) 402 00:22:34,511 --> 00:22:36,861 I never thought of being killed. 403 00:22:36,861 --> 00:22:38,061 I never thought of that. 404 00:22:39,143 --> 00:22:41,941 And I thought it'd be good fun killing somebody. 405 00:22:41,941 --> 00:22:43,614 (train clackety-clacking on rails) 406 00:22:43,614 --> 00:22:46,280 (train horn blowing) 407 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:50,020 We were the best country in the world, 408 00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:51,530 the best everything in the world. 409 00:22:51,530 --> 00:22:55,500 We were all very proud of ourselves and that's why, 410 00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:58,253 I think, Kitchener had no difficulty 411 00:22:58,253 --> 00:23:01,373 in finding 100,000 men to go 412 00:23:01,373 --> 00:23:04,580 and defend it against all invaders 413 00:23:05,460 --> 00:23:07,805 and to give, if necessary, 414 00:23:07,805 --> 00:23:09,480 our lives to do it. 415 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:10,756 (melancholy instrumental music) 416 00:23:10,756 --> 00:23:12,850 (train clackety-clacking on rails) 417 00:23:12,850 --> 00:23:13,940 Joining the men on their way 418 00:23:13,940 --> 00:23:16,843 to the front were the nurses who'd look after them. 419 00:23:19,770 --> 00:23:21,570 At the beginning of the war, 420 00:23:21,570 --> 00:23:24,673 volunteers in the VAD weren't allowed to go overseas. 421 00:23:26,060 --> 00:23:28,420 But as the casualty figures soured, 422 00:23:28,420 --> 00:23:32,023 inexperienced recruits found themselves on route to France. 423 00:23:33,032 --> 00:23:34,990 You don't know the word, 424 00:23:34,990 --> 00:23:36,593 fear, at 17. 425 00:23:38,300 --> 00:23:41,533 At least I don't think you do. 426 00:23:41,533 --> 00:23:43,313 I never felt that at least. 427 00:23:45,673 --> 00:23:49,270 I think the worst moment was really saying goodbye 428 00:23:49,270 --> 00:23:53,813 to mother and father and wondering about coming back or not. 429 00:23:53,813 --> 00:23:56,106 (crowd cheering) 430 00:23:56,106 --> 00:24:00,695 (motivational instrumental music) 431 00:24:00,695 --> 00:24:03,695 (ship horn blowing) 432 00:24:17,690 --> 00:24:20,010 We landed at Baloise. 433 00:24:20,010 --> 00:24:24,080 Of course, we had no idea where we were going to. 434 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,220 We were just on foot marching as it were, 435 00:24:27,220 --> 00:24:29,600 laden right up with all our equipment 436 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:30,760 and all you could carry, 437 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:32,400 you know, everything on. 438 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:35,354 And you wondered what it was gonna be like. 439 00:24:35,354 --> 00:24:39,521 (motivational instrumental music) 440 00:24:43,710 --> 00:24:44,995 We were all happy. 441 00:24:44,995 --> 00:24:46,403 We'd start singing. 442 00:24:47,940 --> 00:24:51,207 {\an8}No, there was no unhappiness about because 443 00:24:51,207 --> 00:24:55,440 {\an8}at that time we hadn't been in the front line trenches. 444 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,880 We didn't know what war really was. 445 00:24:57,880 --> 00:24:58,780 You could probably 446 00:24:59,820 --> 00:25:00,653 hear a very, 447 00:25:00,653 --> 00:25:04,150 very faint noise of gunfire, 448 00:25:04,150 --> 00:25:05,990 very, very faint. 449 00:25:05,990 --> 00:25:07,526 And then the nearer we got, of course, 450 00:25:07,526 --> 00:25:10,486 then we realized what we're in against. 451 00:25:10,486 --> 00:25:14,900 (melancholy instrumental music) 452 00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:19,100 Suddenly you begin to see the sky lighting up, flashing, 453 00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:21,130 flashing, flashing, 454 00:25:21,130 --> 00:25:24,450 and you begin to hear the noise of the guns. 455 00:25:24,450 --> 00:25:26,430 You know you're getting nearer. 456 00:25:26,430 --> 00:25:27,653 You're getting nearer. 457 00:25:29,220 --> 00:25:32,607 You can't help feeling butterflies in your tummy. 458 00:25:32,607 --> 00:25:35,072 (gunfire exploding) 459 00:25:35,072 --> 00:25:37,264 You began to shake then. 460 00:25:37,264 --> 00:25:42,030 You began to shake then the nearer we got to the front line. 461 00:25:42,030 --> 00:25:45,360 When you heard that noise you began to realize that 462 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:46,193 we're for it. 463 00:25:48,058 --> 00:25:52,290 You went up the line wondering what it was like, 464 00:25:52,290 --> 00:25:53,523 will I come back. 465 00:25:53,523 --> 00:25:56,630 All these things went through your mind, aye. 466 00:25:57,492 --> 00:25:59,163 If a bloody Jerry comes for me, 467 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:01,920 I'll give him the bayonet. 468 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,020 Yeah, no, 469 00:26:03,020 --> 00:26:05,286 all that went through your mind. 470 00:26:05,286 --> 00:26:08,170 (melancholy instrumental music) 471 00:26:08,170 --> 00:26:09,003 And then, of course, 472 00:26:09,003 --> 00:26:09,927 you get on the front line and the first thing you want 473 00:26:09,927 --> 00:26:12,263 to do is where are the Germans? 474 00:26:13,236 --> 00:26:15,110 You put a foot up on the fire step, 475 00:26:15,110 --> 00:26:16,910 which might be 18 inches, 476 00:26:16,910 --> 00:26:18,477 two feet up and somebody says, 477 00:26:18,477 --> 00:26:19,717 "Sit down, you silly bee, 478 00:26:19,717 --> 00:26:20,627 "you'll get shot." 479 00:26:21,843 --> 00:26:25,066 You still wanted to look over to see where the Germans were? 480 00:26:25,066 --> 00:26:28,250 (melancholy instrumental music) 481 00:26:28,250 --> 00:26:29,870 For the most part, 482 00:26:29,870 --> 00:26:33,440 life in the trenches consisted of daily routine, 483 00:26:33,440 --> 00:26:36,703 lack of sleep and utterly miserable conditions. 484 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,460 When you get in the front line, 485 00:26:42,460 --> 00:26:44,560 you're completely lost and you're cut off 486 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:47,380 from the rest of the world as it were 487 00:26:47,380 --> 00:26:50,646 and you got to be there until you can be relieved. 488 00:26:50,646 --> 00:26:55,646 (wind howling) (rain trickling) 489 00:26:57,170 --> 00:26:58,473 When the rain came down, 490 00:27:00,410 --> 00:27:04,652 it would just stay there and you'd be walking about in mud. 491 00:27:04,652 --> 00:27:06,680 (water splashing) 492 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:10,780 And then when that dried you can guess the condition 493 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:13,723 of your feet or your legs, 494 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:17,797 particularly to those who wore a quilt. 495 00:27:17,797 --> 00:27:21,433 If the mud would work up onto their bare knees, 496 00:27:22,590 --> 00:27:25,220 it was pretty painful at times when the mud dried 497 00:27:25,220 --> 00:27:27,397 and the hairs were rubbing. 498 00:27:27,397 --> 00:27:29,334 It was pretty painful. 499 00:27:29,334 --> 00:27:32,119 (water splashing) 500 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:33,680 (mud squishing) 501 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,260 You never get a chance of a wash or a shave 502 00:27:37,260 --> 00:27:38,793 for several days, 503 00:27:39,710 --> 00:27:40,743 nothing like that. 504 00:27:41,660 --> 00:27:45,343 So you can just imagine the state we were in. 505 00:27:46,501 --> 00:27:49,743 You had to sleep more or less sitting up. 506 00:27:50,940 --> 00:27:53,140 You can't sleep sitting down in the mud, 507 00:27:53,140 --> 00:27:53,973 for instance, could you? 508 00:27:53,973 --> 00:27:55,923 You couldn't sleep in the mud. 509 00:27:57,610 --> 00:28:00,650 You were sitting on what they call a fire step. 510 00:28:00,650 --> 00:28:03,970 You just sit on there and doze. 511 00:28:03,970 --> 00:28:07,262 You couldn't lay on the ground unless it was dry weather. 512 00:28:07,262 --> 00:28:10,929 (somber instrumental music) 513 00:28:11,970 --> 00:28:14,770 Once their shift in the trenches was over, 514 00:28:14,770 --> 00:28:18,143 the men could enjoy a few days respite behind the lines. 515 00:28:19,230 --> 00:28:21,060 Here, they could relax, 516 00:28:21,060 --> 00:28:24,100 get clean and rid their bodies of the lice 517 00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:25,683 which were a constant nuisance. 518 00:28:27,530 --> 00:28:31,310 The worst thing in the war was being so lousy, 519 00:28:31,310 --> 00:28:36,310 you could run along with a candle with your shirt 520 00:28:38,130 --> 00:28:40,403 today and you'll be just as bad tomorrow. 521 00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:42,920 That was terrible. 522 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:44,720 That was the worst thing of the lot. 523 00:28:46,970 --> 00:28:49,880 I used to get paraffin out of a damn Tilley lamp 524 00:28:51,666 --> 00:28:53,193 and just rub me, 525 00:28:53,193 --> 00:28:56,124 rub myself all over with paraffin. 526 00:28:56,124 --> 00:28:57,866 That killed the buggers. 527 00:28:57,866 --> 00:29:00,949 (upbeat brass music) 528 00:29:03,173 --> 00:29:05,270 Safe behind the lines, 529 00:29:05,270 --> 00:29:07,600 the men often put on their own entertainment 530 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:08,593 to boost morale. 531 00:29:11,860 --> 00:29:13,950 Someone lent me an old drum. 532 00:29:13,950 --> 00:29:15,980 It wasn't much good but there was a drum 533 00:29:15,980 --> 00:29:18,600 and there was a couple of sticks to it. 534 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:22,160 And so I got up there and I Sanmao number 535 00:29:23,220 --> 00:29:24,930 with the drum. 536 00:29:24,930 --> 00:29:26,056 And it was. 537 00:29:26,056 --> 00:29:29,200 ♪ Beholded me, a one-man band ♪ 538 00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,131 ♪ There once were six but down the strand ♪ 539 00:29:32,131 --> 00:29:35,361 ♪ We clicked for a bob and five got canned ♪ 540 00:29:35,361 --> 00:29:38,160 (Jack imitating drumming music) 541 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:40,853 ♪ So I have just come here to say ♪ 542 00:29:40,853 --> 00:29:43,691 ♪ Everybody's got to live some way ♪ 543 00:29:43,691 --> 00:29:46,704 ♪ And the only tune that I can play is ♪ 544 00:29:46,704 --> 00:29:49,750 (Jack imitating drumming music) 545 00:29:49,750 --> 00:29:50,583 And I had went on, 546 00:29:50,583 --> 00:29:52,749 there was about three verses to that one, 547 00:29:52,749 --> 00:29:55,740 till when I got to the end I stuck the sticks right 548 00:29:55,740 --> 00:29:57,374 through the bloody drum. 549 00:29:57,374 --> 00:29:58,207 (Jack chuckling) 550 00:29:58,207 --> 00:30:01,095 And of course that caused roars of laughter at the back. 551 00:30:01,095 --> 00:30:04,424 (men chuckling) 552 00:30:04,424 --> 00:30:08,290 (cannon shots exploding) 553 00:30:08,290 --> 00:30:10,430 But all too soon the men were back 554 00:30:10,430 --> 00:30:13,780 in the trenches where the greatest danger came 555 00:30:13,780 --> 00:30:15,600 from German artillery fire. 556 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,555 (cannon shots exploding) 557 00:30:19,555 --> 00:30:23,420 And the first dorsal trenches I had was Sint-Elooi 558 00:30:23,420 --> 00:30:25,527 on the right of Ypres. 559 00:30:25,527 --> 00:30:29,120 It was supposed to be the cushy part of the line 560 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:32,646 which still a lot of shit flew over the top of your head. 561 00:30:32,646 --> 00:30:34,257 (George chuckling) 562 00:30:34,257 --> 00:30:38,282 (canon shots exploding) 563 00:30:38,282 --> 00:30:40,680 You could see the trench mortars coming over, 564 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:42,830 a great, big thing like that with a sort of 565 00:30:44,810 --> 00:30:45,980 two-foot handle on it. 566 00:30:45,980 --> 00:30:48,400 It looked like that from just up in the air. 567 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:49,500 You could see it coming, 568 00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:52,680 going up and then you could see it coming down. 569 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,030 If it's coming and you think it's coming towards you, 570 00:30:55,030 --> 00:30:57,350 you run to the left or run to the right. 571 00:30:57,350 --> 00:30:59,800 And if you're lucky you miss it. 572 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:01,113 If you're unlucky, well, 573 00:31:02,230 --> 00:31:03,735 you've gone. 574 00:31:03,735 --> 00:31:07,152 (cannon shots exploding) 575 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:10,310 All the time you wondered 576 00:31:10,310 --> 00:31:12,917 whether you were gonna be the next one to be killed. 577 00:31:12,917 --> 00:31:14,230 (canon shots exploding) 578 00:31:14,230 --> 00:31:16,053 The padre used to say a little prayer. 579 00:31:16,053 --> 00:31:16,886 And he said, 580 00:31:16,886 --> 00:31:20,584 "However near," and that helped us and that helped me, 581 00:31:20,584 --> 00:31:23,307 "however near you are to death, 582 00:31:23,307 --> 00:31:25,660 "there's somebody nearer." 583 00:31:25,660 --> 00:31:28,109 And that always happens in the trenches. 584 00:31:28,109 --> 00:31:29,994 (dramatic ominous instrumental music) 585 00:31:29,994 --> 00:31:32,696 (gunfire exploding) 586 00:31:32,696 --> 00:31:35,310 I was with a friend and all 587 00:31:35,310 --> 00:31:39,062 of a sudden there was this terrific bang overhead. 588 00:31:39,062 --> 00:31:40,724 (canon shot exploding) 589 00:31:40,724 --> 00:31:44,750 It was a terrific bang so it must've been very near to us. 590 00:31:44,750 --> 00:31:46,230 And all of a sudden, of course, 591 00:31:46,230 --> 00:31:49,810 all the earth above us all suddenly collapsed 592 00:31:49,810 --> 00:31:53,380 and came right down straight on top of us, 593 00:31:53,380 --> 00:31:55,700 absolutely as we were sitting there, 594 00:31:55,700 --> 00:31:58,220 buried us just completely alive. 595 00:31:58,220 --> 00:31:59,683 It covered us right in. 596 00:32:00,790 --> 00:32:04,586 And I knew I must've been struggling hard to breathe. 597 00:32:04,586 --> 00:32:06,270 I couldn't move. 598 00:32:06,270 --> 00:32:08,230 I couldn't move a hand, foot, 599 00:32:08,230 --> 00:32:10,563 only my toes in my boots. 600 00:32:12,257 --> 00:32:17,090 How I survived on whatever breath I had got in my body, 601 00:32:17,090 --> 00:32:19,937 I have no idea from that day to this. 602 00:32:19,937 --> 00:32:24,230 (melancholy instrumental music) 603 00:32:24,230 --> 00:32:25,320 Wounded men were taken 604 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:26,820 to casualty clearing stations 605 00:32:26,820 --> 00:32:28,403 behind the lines for treatment. 606 00:32:30,330 --> 00:32:33,670 Here, inexperienced volunteer nurses worked 607 00:32:33,670 --> 00:32:36,070 alongside their professional colleagues, 608 00:32:36,070 --> 00:32:37,900 dealing with the terrible injuries caused 609 00:32:37,900 --> 00:32:39,283 by bullets and shrapnel. 610 00:32:41,550 --> 00:32:44,490 You were called the dirty nurse and you had 611 00:32:44,490 --> 00:32:47,100 to do all the mucky things. 612 00:32:47,100 --> 00:32:50,860 And they had just amputated the leg and they had put it 613 00:32:50,860 --> 00:32:54,415 in a bucket and I had to take the wretched thing away 614 00:32:54,415 --> 00:32:57,916 in a bucket down to the incinerator. 615 00:32:57,916 --> 00:32:59,036 I didn't like it. 616 00:32:59,036 --> 00:33:01,753 You have no idea what a leg weighs 617 00:33:01,753 --> 00:33:04,248 when its one that's amputated. 618 00:33:04,248 --> 00:33:07,101 I had to take it like that 619 00:33:07,101 --> 00:33:09,949 with the foot sticking up like that, 620 00:33:09,949 --> 00:33:13,195 all the way down to the incinerator. 621 00:33:13,195 --> 00:33:15,654 I didn't enjoy that at all. 622 00:33:15,654 --> 00:33:19,654 (melancholy instrumental music) 623 00:33:21,590 --> 00:33:26,590 The girls of my age or inexperienced girls of any age, 624 00:33:27,110 --> 00:33:29,416 it wasn't what you do normally. 625 00:33:29,416 --> 00:33:30,360 But, of course, 626 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,790 in war you do different things 627 00:33:32,790 --> 00:33:34,943 from what you do in other times. 628 00:33:36,270 --> 00:33:39,253 You just carry on as soon as you can. 629 00:33:41,740 --> 00:33:43,480 For the men on the front line 630 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,590 who lived with the constant threat of death, 631 00:33:46,590 --> 00:33:50,200 comradery was vital to morale and close bonds 632 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,992 of friendship were formed in the trenches. 633 00:33:52,992 --> 00:33:53,825 Well, they would ask, 634 00:33:53,825 --> 00:33:55,210 where do you come from, 635 00:33:55,210 --> 00:33:56,520 what did you do, 636 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:59,650 {\an8}what did you work at, any cigarettes, 637 00:33:59,650 --> 00:34:00,483 {\an8}you got a light, 638 00:34:00,483 --> 00:34:02,040 {\an8}you got a gasper? 639 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:02,940 {\an8}And they're all friendly. 640 00:34:02,940 --> 00:34:04,440 Are you married, no. 641 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:05,840 Any girl, oh yes, 642 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:06,713 half a dozen. 643 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:08,970 Yes. 644 00:34:08,970 --> 00:34:10,003 Yes, very friendly. 645 00:34:13,548 --> 00:34:15,780 {\an8}I had a pal in the army 646 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:20,160 and we were the best of pals together 647 00:34:21,887 --> 00:34:23,553 and they called him, Joe. 648 00:34:26,652 --> 00:34:28,709 {\an8}He was a grand lad. 649 00:34:28,709 --> 00:34:33,040 {\an8}(melancholy instrumental music) 650 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:35,422 We had our ups and downs between us, but still, 651 00:34:35,422 --> 00:34:37,463 we were always good pals. 652 00:34:37,463 --> 00:34:38,659 We 653 00:34:38,659 --> 00:34:40,974 helped one another. 654 00:34:40,974 --> 00:34:41,807 Aye. 655 00:34:44,460 --> 00:34:45,630 What I had 656 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,573 was his and what he had was mine. 657 00:34:51,750 --> 00:34:52,683 If he had no writing paper 658 00:34:52,683 --> 00:34:55,060 and wanted to write a letter and I had it, 659 00:34:55,060 --> 00:34:57,273 he got it, a pen. 660 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:00,574 We were all like that. 661 00:35:00,574 --> 00:35:02,125 Aye. 662 00:35:02,125 --> 00:35:05,670 (indistinct chatter) 663 00:35:05,670 --> 00:35:06,900 The ritual of writing 664 00:35:06,900 --> 00:35:10,610 and receiving letters was one of the few treats the men had 665 00:35:10,610 --> 00:35:11,560 to look forward to. 666 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:14,700 Around 2 billion letters were delivered 667 00:35:14,700 --> 00:35:16,570 by the British Army Postal Service 668 00:35:16,570 --> 00:35:17,920 over the course of the war. 669 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:22,930 Let raised the spirits and a reassuring note 670 00:35:22,930 --> 00:35:26,193 from a sweetheart could ease the pain of separation. 671 00:35:30,646 --> 00:35:33,733 {\an8}I used to write letters to him and tell him 672 00:35:33,733 --> 00:35:35,430 {\an8}that I missed him, 673 00:35:35,430 --> 00:35:38,290 missed him an awful lot and 674 00:35:38,290 --> 00:35:43,213 I wish that he was a bit nearer so I could see more of him. 675 00:35:46,290 --> 00:35:50,340 I'd always tell him that I wouldn't look at anybody else 676 00:35:50,340 --> 00:35:53,550 while he was away and that I'd wait for him, 677 00:35:53,550 --> 00:35:56,890 I'd wait for him for eternity. 678 00:35:56,890 --> 00:36:01,070 As long as ever it was necessary, 679 00:36:01,070 --> 00:36:02,603 I would wait for him. 680 00:36:04,550 --> 00:36:05,777 I said to him, I said, 681 00:36:05,777 --> 00:36:07,337 "Just think of the future, 682 00:36:07,337 --> 00:36:09,310 "the future and us." 683 00:36:09,310 --> 00:36:11,191 And that's what I thought of. 684 00:36:11,191 --> 00:36:16,191 I was living for the future and to live my future with him. 685 00:36:17,762 --> 00:36:21,120 (canon shots exploding) (ominous instrumental music) 686 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,200 Back on the Western front, 687 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:25,430 it was the job of the army's marksmen 688 00:36:25,430 --> 00:36:27,453 to harass the enemy whenever they could. 689 00:36:28,780 --> 00:36:30,360 This often meant leaving the trench 690 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,073 to crawl into no man's land. 691 00:36:33,110 --> 00:36:37,190 You had a camouflage hood made of this big wooden thing 692 00:36:37,190 --> 00:36:40,080 that's all like green leaves with holes 693 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,180 in the front so you could see. 694 00:36:42,180 --> 00:36:44,800 You had a camouflage suite on. 695 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:49,090 You had camouflage gloves and a camouflage sort of 696 00:36:49,090 --> 00:36:51,753 to hide your gun till you got lying down. 697 00:36:53,290 --> 00:36:54,930 And if you see anything 698 00:36:54,930 --> 00:36:58,070 that's really worthwhile having a pot at, 699 00:36:58,070 --> 00:37:00,113 you used to have a shot or two. 700 00:37:00,113 --> 00:37:04,090 (ominous instrumental music) 701 00:37:04,090 --> 00:37:06,507 If your target is close enough 702 00:37:06,507 --> 00:37:10,240 and your target is still enough that you've got the time 703 00:37:10,240 --> 00:37:12,120 to think of when to shoot, 704 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,047 I should probably shoot at the head. 705 00:37:15,047 --> 00:37:18,633 (gunfire exploding) 706 00:37:18,633 --> 00:37:21,600 - For many, there was always the temptation 707 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:23,960 to take a pot shot from an observation post 708 00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:25,003 within the trench. 709 00:37:25,890 --> 00:37:28,307 My best friend, Lenny (indistinct), 710 00:37:31,375 --> 00:37:34,357 I'd had five or six shots and then he said, 711 00:37:34,357 --> 00:37:36,600 "Let me have a go, Smiler." 712 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:39,211 And he jumps onto the fire trench. 713 00:37:39,211 --> 00:37:42,290 I'm down in the trench and the fire trench is up there 714 00:37:42,290 --> 00:37:46,040 where you stand on and shoot through that little hole. 715 00:37:46,040 --> 00:37:47,620 And 716 00:37:47,620 --> 00:37:50,490 he said, "Let me have a go." 717 00:37:50,490 --> 00:37:54,803 And he had two or three and then I could see him falling. 718 00:37:56,519 --> 00:38:00,929 The sniper had got him right through that little hole and 719 00:38:00,929 --> 00:38:04,690 his rifle was still stuck in the hole up there. 720 00:38:04,690 --> 00:38:08,560 Lenny, Lenny's rifle still stuck in the hole there. 721 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:10,157 The sniper had got him through there 722 00:38:10,157 --> 00:38:13,773 and the bullet went right through here and out the back. 723 00:38:13,773 --> 00:38:17,773 (melancholy instrumental music) 724 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:22,810 That finished me as far as that go, 725 00:38:22,810 --> 00:38:25,100 thinking at the minute I had got two 726 00:38:25,100 --> 00:38:27,693 or three other good mates, but Lenny, 727 00:38:29,062 --> 00:38:31,693 I never really forgot it, 728 00:38:31,693 --> 00:38:33,713 not till this day. 729 00:38:33,713 --> 00:38:37,713 (melancholy instrumental music) 730 00:38:39,810 --> 00:38:42,159 After a year of stalemate in the trenches, 731 00:38:42,159 --> 00:38:43,240 (horse huffing) 732 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:45,070 the allies planned a major offensive 733 00:38:45,070 --> 00:38:48,530 against German positions in Champagne and Artois, 734 00:38:48,530 --> 00:38:50,814 to begin in the autumn of 1915. 735 00:38:50,814 --> 00:38:52,350 (horses clip-clopping) 736 00:38:52,350 --> 00:38:55,229 The British would attack 40 miles south of Ypres, 737 00:38:55,229 --> 00:38:57,623 at the French coal mining town of Loos. 738 00:38:58,518 --> 00:39:01,030 It would be the first time over the top 739 00:39:01,030 --> 00:39:03,476 for the men of Kitchener's army. 740 00:39:03,476 --> 00:39:05,980 You've got to get on with the job. 741 00:39:05,980 --> 00:39:08,493 You've got to go forward and beat the enemy. 742 00:39:10,630 --> 00:39:14,570 You were surrounded with a lot of damn good chaps. 743 00:39:14,570 --> 00:39:17,651 They were all damn good fellas out to fight 744 00:39:17,651 --> 00:39:19,380 for their country. 745 00:39:19,380 --> 00:39:20,657 As Kitchener said, 746 00:39:20,657 --> 00:39:22,517 "Your king and country needs you." 747 00:39:22,517 --> 00:39:24,750 And we were out (indistinct). 748 00:39:24,750 --> 00:39:26,944 If you got shot, 749 00:39:26,944 --> 00:39:28,453 well, that's too bad. 750 00:39:29,840 --> 00:39:33,868 Not too bad but you got to get on with the job. 751 00:39:33,868 --> 00:39:35,660 (horses clip-clopping) 752 00:39:35,660 --> 00:39:37,660 A huge artillery bombardment 753 00:39:37,660 --> 00:39:40,703 to knock out the German defenses would precede the attack. 754 00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:46,310 At home, Britain's munitions workers toiled around the clock 755 00:39:46,310 --> 00:39:48,100 to meet the demands. 756 00:39:48,100 --> 00:39:49,960 12-hour shifts each time. 757 00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:53,640 12 hours day one week, 758 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:55,640 12 hours night the next week. 759 00:39:55,640 --> 00:40:00,010 You came off at 07:30 Sunday morning and you started 760 00:40:00,010 --> 00:40:03,053 on day work 07:30 on Monday morning. 761 00:40:05,820 --> 00:40:07,247 Week in, week out. 762 00:40:10,150 --> 00:40:12,780 I had never stayed up all night in my life 763 00:40:12,780 --> 00:40:14,353 when I started on night work. 764 00:40:15,730 --> 00:40:18,935 I never thought I'd get through that shift. 765 00:40:18,935 --> 00:40:22,171 But I did and like everything else, 766 00:40:22,171 --> 00:40:24,468 it's surprising what you can do when you've got to. 767 00:40:24,468 --> 00:40:26,085 (Daisy chuckling) 768 00:40:26,085 --> 00:40:30,085 (melancholy instrumental music) 769 00:40:40,804 --> 00:40:44,170 (canon shots exploding) 770 00:40:44,170 --> 00:40:47,253 (gunfire exploding) 771 00:40:51,209 --> 00:40:55,270 Your main object was to get to the German weir 772 00:40:55,270 --> 00:40:56,983 as soon as you got your coat. 773 00:40:59,130 --> 00:41:00,580 You got to feel like 774 00:41:01,860 --> 00:41:03,550 in a race. 775 00:41:03,550 --> 00:41:07,083 You're waiting to start off in a race, 776 00:41:08,417 --> 00:41:11,090 a sprint or a long distance race 777 00:41:11,090 --> 00:41:14,350 and they're just waiting for the word, 778 00:41:14,350 --> 00:41:15,403 for the off. 779 00:41:18,201 --> 00:41:20,951 (bomb exploding) 780 00:41:22,011 --> 00:41:22,970 (whistle blowing) 781 00:41:22,970 --> 00:41:23,897 At 6:30 a.m., 782 00:41:24,910 --> 00:41:29,093 the men went over the top under a barrage of artillery fire. 783 00:41:29,093 --> 00:41:32,410 (gunfire exploding) 784 00:41:32,410 --> 00:41:35,323 I was that near to one of the guns 785 00:41:35,323 --> 00:41:37,620 that it burst my ear 786 00:41:37,620 --> 00:41:41,477 because the eardrum, it bled. 787 00:41:41,477 --> 00:41:46,477 It bled and they had to pack it with cotton wool. 788 00:41:46,610 --> 00:41:51,610 So I went over the top with my ears already wounded. 789 00:41:51,752 --> 00:41:54,752 (gunfire exploding) 790 00:41:56,070 --> 00:41:57,430 The Battle of Loos, yes, 791 00:41:58,387 --> 00:42:00,233 it was the 25th of September. 792 00:42:01,766 --> 00:42:04,125 Well, I was afraid then. 793 00:42:04,125 --> 00:42:06,551 (gunfire exploding) 794 00:42:06,551 --> 00:42:07,617 You get the word, advance, 795 00:42:07,617 --> 00:42:08,683 and you advance. 796 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:12,997 You're not on the parade ground when you're over the front. 797 00:42:12,997 --> 00:42:13,880 The parade ground, 798 00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,100 you've got to be so many inches away from each other. 799 00:42:16,100 --> 00:42:18,163 But when you go over the top, 800 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,760 you can't measure that. 801 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:22,663 Some can run faster than the others. 802 00:42:23,690 --> 00:42:24,930 (bombs exploding) 803 00:42:24,930 --> 00:42:27,610 You didn't do anything bloody daft. 804 00:42:27,610 --> 00:42:29,333 You know, I'm a British, 805 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:32,347 that style, you didn't do that. 806 00:42:32,347 --> 00:42:34,285 You went over very quietly 807 00:42:34,285 --> 00:42:36,010 and where there was a bit of shelter, 808 00:42:36,010 --> 00:42:37,184 you took it. 809 00:42:37,184 --> 00:42:38,830 Aye. 810 00:42:38,830 --> 00:42:39,768 Aye. 811 00:42:39,768 --> 00:42:41,470 (motivational instrumental music) 812 00:42:41,470 --> 00:42:43,500 As the men moved forward, 813 00:42:43,500 --> 00:42:46,540 it became apparent that the bombardment had failed 814 00:42:46,540 --> 00:42:48,343 to destroy the German defenses. 815 00:42:49,500 --> 00:42:53,290 It's not a nice experience to see neighbors, 816 00:42:53,290 --> 00:42:55,100 if you like to call it, 817 00:42:55,100 --> 00:42:57,547 neighbors falling by your side. 818 00:42:57,547 --> 00:43:00,350 (gunfire exploding) (gunfire whizzing) 819 00:43:00,350 --> 00:43:02,645 You could feel the whizzing of the machine gun 820 00:43:02,645 --> 00:43:05,559 while its flying past you, 821 00:43:05,559 --> 00:43:08,113 just missing you kind of thing. 822 00:43:09,239 --> 00:43:10,950 You hadn't to stop. 823 00:43:10,950 --> 00:43:14,343 You had to keep on no matter what happened. 824 00:43:14,343 --> 00:43:17,852 Even if you're losing men by the thousands, 825 00:43:17,852 --> 00:43:19,499 you had to keep on going. 826 00:43:19,499 --> 00:43:21,420 (gunfire whizzing) (gunfire exploding) 827 00:43:21,420 --> 00:43:25,175 And the guns would fire almost straight at you. 828 00:43:25,175 --> 00:43:26,100 (gunfire whizzing) 829 00:43:26,100 --> 00:43:28,000 More than once you could hear the whiz 830 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,183 of a shell going past. 831 00:43:31,621 --> 00:43:32,820 The chap here on my right, 832 00:43:32,820 --> 00:43:34,900 I was speaking to him about something 833 00:43:37,936 --> 00:43:39,750 and then I turned to this fellow, 834 00:43:39,750 --> 00:43:41,580 I turned back again, 835 00:43:41,580 --> 00:43:42,413 he was missing. 836 00:43:43,890 --> 00:43:46,791 One of those shells straight at him. 837 00:43:46,791 --> 00:43:47,763 He was missing. 838 00:43:48,690 --> 00:43:50,293 Then I turned to this fella on my left, 839 00:43:50,293 --> 00:43:52,417 I said, "Bill's gone." 840 00:43:52,417 --> 00:43:53,943 And I turned to this fellow, 841 00:43:55,670 --> 00:43:57,873 lying there, he's down. 842 00:43:57,873 --> 00:44:00,992 (canon shots exploding) 843 00:44:00,992 --> 00:44:03,992 (gunfire exploding) 844 00:44:07,540 --> 00:44:08,373 The shells bursting 845 00:44:08,373 --> 00:44:13,373 and there was shrapnel flying all over. 846 00:44:14,130 --> 00:44:18,630 I knew what had happened and down he went and groaned. 847 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:22,650 If I'd had time to do it, 848 00:44:22,650 --> 00:44:25,620 to lift his head up and try to talk to him, 849 00:44:25,620 --> 00:44:28,250 that's what I would've tried to do. 850 00:44:28,250 --> 00:44:29,083 But 851 00:44:29,940 --> 00:44:31,075 no good, 852 00:44:31,075 --> 00:44:32,623 you had to keep going, 853 00:44:33,670 --> 00:44:36,133 either that or get trampled on. 854 00:44:42,523 --> 00:44:43,739 Poor Joe. 855 00:44:43,739 --> 00:44:47,842 (melancholy instrumental music) 856 00:44:47,842 --> 00:44:51,250 We'd not even said so long to one another. 857 00:44:58,787 --> 00:44:59,620 Aye. 858 00:45:06,693 --> 00:45:08,770 (horses clip-clopping) 859 00:45:08,770 --> 00:45:10,860 By the end of the battle, 860 00:45:10,860 --> 00:45:14,113 British casualty figures totaled over 50,000 men. 861 00:45:16,620 --> 00:45:18,723 Over 16,000 had been killed. 862 00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:23,783 Among them was Len Whitehead's brother, George. 863 00:45:27,370 --> 00:45:28,903 The first we knew of it, 864 00:45:29,870 --> 00:45:31,720 of his being killed was 865 00:45:33,580 --> 00:45:35,180 a pal of his, 866 00:45:35,180 --> 00:45:37,483 who joined up at much the same time, 867 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:39,557 wrote to my mother. 868 00:45:39,557 --> 00:45:41,977 {\an8}"Dear Mrs. Whitehead, 869 00:45:41,977 --> 00:45:44,817 {\an8}"I am writing to tell you your son, George, 870 00:45:44,817 --> 00:45:46,157 {\an8}"has been killed." 871 00:45:47,770 --> 00:45:49,170 My mother, of course, 872 00:45:49,170 --> 00:45:50,400 burst into tears 873 00:45:51,590 --> 00:45:53,180 and 874 00:45:53,180 --> 00:45:58,180 after a time when she calmed down a little she said to me, 875 00:45:58,417 --> 00:45:59,807 "Go and tell your father." 876 00:46:01,220 --> 00:46:05,150 My father was plowing in the field near to the farmhouse 877 00:46:05,150 --> 00:46:06,660 and I waited for him 878 00:46:07,730 --> 00:46:10,883 to finish about with his plow and two horses. 879 00:46:11,927 --> 00:46:13,200 "George has been killed," 880 00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:14,063 I told him. 881 00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:16,553 And 882 00:46:17,610 --> 00:46:19,223 he didn't answer 883 00:46:20,220 --> 00:46:24,510 but left his horses all steaming in the 884 00:46:24,510 --> 00:46:26,140 mild 885 00:46:26,140 --> 00:46:27,500 late October weather 886 00:46:28,500 --> 00:46:31,663 and we walked back in silence to the house. 887 00:46:32,670 --> 00:46:35,350 When we got to the house he went to the bottom 888 00:46:35,350 --> 00:46:38,473 of the stairs and called up, 889 00:46:39,457 --> 00:46:41,107 "That's all right, (indistinct)." 890 00:46:42,600 --> 00:46:46,600 He made no attempt to go up to comfort my mother 891 00:46:48,710 --> 00:46:50,593 but went into the kitchen. 892 00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:56,100 Sat in his wooden armchair and put his arms on the table 893 00:46:56,100 --> 00:46:59,640 and his head on his arms for a little while, 894 00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:00,693 wept, I think, 895 00:47:02,290 --> 00:47:03,890 and he went back to his plowing. 896 00:47:04,959 --> 00:47:08,584 (melancholy instrumental music) 897 00:47:08,584 --> 00:47:11,834 (horses clip-clopping) 898 00:47:13,720 --> 00:47:16,470 Across Britain, scenes like these 899 00:47:16,470 --> 00:47:20,210 were now becoming all too familiar as thousands were left 900 00:47:20,210 --> 00:47:21,833 to mourn lost loved ones. 901 00:47:23,150 --> 00:47:25,660 And with no body to bury, 902 00:47:25,660 --> 00:47:29,250 it was hard for some to accept that those dearest 903 00:47:29,250 --> 00:47:30,900 to them would not be coming home. 904 00:47:34,420 --> 00:47:38,358 I was working at Palace Hotel Buxton, 905 00:47:38,358 --> 00:47:39,191 a little 906 00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:45,920 housemaid, and one of the porters came up with this letter 907 00:47:46,730 --> 00:47:49,303 from the War Office. 908 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:54,700 When I saw it my heart sank a little bit. 909 00:47:54,700 --> 00:47:57,500 I thought it must be something very, very important. 910 00:47:57,500 --> 00:47:58,860 And 911 00:47:58,860 --> 00:48:01,773 I thought if it was a letter from Ted, 912 00:48:01,773 --> 00:48:02,920 it'd be an ordinary, 913 00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:06,140 it'd be a smaller affair 914 00:48:06,140 --> 00:48:09,730 and a soldier's one. 915 00:48:09,730 --> 00:48:12,468 But this one looked quite important. 916 00:48:12,468 --> 00:48:16,310 (melancholy instrumental music) 917 00:48:16,310 --> 00:48:17,790 When I opened it, 918 00:48:17,790 --> 00:48:21,840 it was to say that they regretted to tell me 919 00:48:21,840 --> 00:48:24,893 that Ted had been killed. 920 00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:34,360 The letters from me were found on his body 921 00:48:34,500 --> 00:48:35,855 and 922 00:48:35,855 --> 00:48:39,833 that's why they could find out where I was, 923 00:48:41,910 --> 00:48:42,743 you see. 924 00:48:46,950 --> 00:48:50,654 I couldn't really imagine him not being there. 925 00:48:50,654 --> 00:48:52,050 I couldn't imagine it. 926 00:48:52,050 --> 00:48:57,050 I thought maybe one day they'll find out they made a mistake 927 00:48:58,390 --> 00:49:01,053 and perhaps he might turn up one day. 928 00:49:03,350 --> 00:49:07,930 I couldn't imagine life without him, I couldn't. 929 00:49:07,930 --> 00:49:10,110 But it dawned on me after a while 930 00:49:10,110 --> 00:49:12,503 but stayed with me for years, 931 00:49:13,830 --> 00:49:15,204 years after. 932 00:49:15,204 --> 00:49:18,954 (somber instrumental music) 933 00:49:28,594 --> 00:49:30,440 I thought to myself, 934 00:49:30,440 --> 00:49:33,776 if my time comes let's hope it's a bullet, 935 00:49:33,776 --> 00:49:35,767 let's hope its sudden. 936 00:49:35,767 --> 00:49:36,753 (whistle blowing) 937 00:49:36,753 --> 00:49:38,010 If I've got to go, 938 00:49:38,010 --> 00:49:39,087 I've got to go. 939 00:49:39,087 --> 00:49:40,670 Let's hope its sudden. 940 00:49:40,670 --> 00:49:44,087 (cannon shots exploding) 941 00:49:45,322 --> 00:49:48,817 We were able to see the infantry 942 00:49:48,817 --> 00:49:51,600 (cannon shots exploding) going forward. 943 00:49:52,518 --> 00:49:55,553 In some cases they didn't get very far. 944 00:49:57,520 --> 00:49:58,867 They were just wiped out. 945 00:50:01,378 --> 00:50:05,295 (dramatic instrumental music)