Tales from the Battlefields

In this episode we talk to the best selling author, historian and broadcaster, Richard Van Emden about his friend Harry Patch, the Somerset man who was the last soldier to die (aged 111)  who could recall the fighting in the Great War. We learn what a character Harry was, and how Richard persuaded him, at the age of 100, to discuss his wartime memories and feelings. We hear from Harry himself as he talks about going “over the top” at Passchendaele in 1917 and how he was seriously wounded a few weeks later. And we learn how Harry planted some acorns at his nursing home, to remember the Germans who sacrificed their lives in the war.

In this episode we look at the incredible story of a man who, after being given a white feather, served in the trenches during the Great War and masterminded the British Airborne operation on D Day during World War 2. A popular commander, known as a “soldier’s soldier”, we learn how he gave up his career in the City of London to become a junior Officer on the Western Front and had several close encounters with death. We discover how he established the 6th Airborne Division and why he was decorated for his bravery in both conflicts. We hear a recording of him guiding a battlefield tour to Normandy and learn how he slept on the glider during the crossing to the battlefield on D Day.

In this episode we travel to the small town on Albert that became so familiar to the Allied soldiers of the Great War. A location just behind the 1916 Somme battlefields, we find out why it was so important to them and what happened there. We hear from a soldier who saw his first dead body on the way up to the line from Albert, and how the famous Basilica was destroyed by shell fire, and then rebuilt again. And we then move the clock forward to discover what the veterans discovered when they returned to Albert after the war, and how war came again to Albert in 1940. We also discover the strange story of the ghostly wagon and horses, still travelling up the Bapaume road years after it was destroyed by a shell.

In this episode we travel to Norfolk and follow the incredibly brave story of Edith Cavell, the Christian nurse who helped 200 Allied soldiers escape back home. We explore her home village of Swardeston and learn about how an American diplomat tried to save her life. We then go to Norwich and discover how she is remembered and we pay our respects at her final resting place in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral and reflect on your extraordinary life.

In this episode we try to gain a deeper understanding of what it was like to live, fight and die on the Western Front. Through the eyes of the soldiers who were there, we venture into an abandoned German dugout on the Somme and discover how a British soldier comforted a wounded German in his final moments. This story demonstrates the compassion and spirit between enemies. We compare the impact of shellfire in built up areas, on civilians and soldiers, compared to being in the shelter of the trenches and we also discover a young pilot from Australia who is buried in Norfolk. Who was he?