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00:00We've all seen the pictures and read the stories in the history books about the kings and queens with their power and privilege and silks and furs.
00:12But in this series, I want to discover the other side of history. I'm already quite nervous.
00:18The side we don't often hear about. How ordinary British people lived their lives.
00:24From the Tudors, you'll see why it did attract my attention.
00:31Disgusting.
00:32To the Victorians.
00:34Throw a stone in Victorian London, you will hit a drunken cabman. There's that many of them.
00:38We are not amused.
00:41From the Georgians.
00:43You take the sword.
00:44Oh my God.
00:44It's horrible just seeing you do that.
00:48To the people who really fought the Second World War.
00:51James could hear the ping of bullets and the platter of shrapnel.
00:58One thing's for sure, these people knew the meaning of the word tough.
01:03I'll be finding the truth about their daily lives.
01:07What they ate.
01:08How long would that have lasted?
01:10Up to three years.
01:12How they made a living.
01:15There's even value in a rat when it's dead.
01:18And those vital necessities of life.
01:20What did you do if you wanted to pee?
01:22Go in the bucket.
01:23The bucket.
01:24This is British history from the bottom up.
01:28You've got to admit, I am terrifying.
01:30The Nazis were the most terrifying enemies in one of the nastiest wars in history.
01:47But taking them on wasn't just down to men like him.
01:52Britain fought the Second World War with a bunch of ordinary office workers,
01:56workers, grocers, bakers and housewives.
02:00Aye!
02:01We know the result.
02:03But what was it really like for ordinary Britons caught up in it all?
02:08Most of the people who still remember the Second World War were only children at the time.
02:13But even though they were just kids, a lot of them still have vivid memories of having to seek shelter
02:21because their country was under brutal attack.
02:27In 1940, eight-year-old Babs Clark and her family found themselves in the thick of it all in London's East End.
02:35So what did Babs' mum do?
02:38She grabbed the kids and headed for the countryside.
02:43Thousands of parents had the same idea.
02:46Nearly a million schoolchildren were packed off to the country.
02:51Babs and her mum and sister Jean ended up in Torquay.
02:56It was amazing.
02:58They had a small cottage on a farm
03:01and went to a local school.
03:06Best of all, they could play on the beach every day, safe from the bombs.
03:11Or so they thought.
03:15Babs, now in her 80s, still remembers one particular incident like it was yesterday.
03:21There was a couple of planes coming in from the sea.
03:25And I was saying to my sister,
03:28I wonder what they are, Jean.
03:32And it was two Messerschmitts.
03:34And they machine-gunned the beach we were on.
03:42Of course, we came home full of it, telling my mum.
03:46And I won't say the actual words my mum said,
03:49but in other words, it was so-and-so that for a game of soldiers.
03:52We're going back to London.
03:54I'd rather have the bombs coming down
03:55than the bloody German's machine can in my kids.
04:05Babs and her mum and sister
04:07hot-footed it back to the family home in Bethnal Green.
04:10And which was yours?
04:14This one.
04:15So, when you got back to London, what was your house like?
04:20It was all right, apart from the fact we had to have a tarpaulin over the roof.
04:23Because the roof had got blown off during the Blitz.
04:29And you still live there?
04:31Oh, yeah.
04:32Yeah, of course you did.
04:33The family's unscheduled break in Torquay may well have saved their lives.
04:43And after Hitler had had his way with the East End,
04:46it was even more fun than the beach.
04:50If, well, a little dangerous.
04:53More of a problem for growing kids was food.
05:03The government was keen to make sure nothing got wasted.
05:09To make sure Britain didn't run out,
05:11the amount of food everybody could eat was rationed.
05:14And every time you wanted to buy something,
05:17you got a stamp in this,
05:19your ration book.
05:22For Babs' mum, it was a right old drag.
05:26Stuffed this for a game of soldiers.
05:29And provided for only a limited menu.
05:34This is what Babs would have been allowed in her rations.
05:38A couple of pints of milk,
05:39some sugar,
05:41a little bit of cheese,
05:42some jam,
05:43some marge,
05:45some lard,
05:46one egg,
05:47and some egg powder,
05:49this much meat,
05:50and a few sweets.
05:52It would make a lovely meal, wouldn't it?
05:54But it had to last Babs a whole week.
05:59The government was full of useful advice
06:01on how to make everything go further.
06:04But there was one thing
06:05that wasn't in short supply for Babs and her family.
06:08Greens.
06:09We pay spinach.
06:11We had our allotment,
06:12and we grew a lot of veg,
06:14and our allotment was in there.
06:16My dad used to be quite proud of that a lot,
06:18but what things he grew.
06:21Yeah.
06:22What did your mum make you?
06:25Stew.
06:26We used to have a lot of stews.
06:27After tea,
06:30as night fell,
06:32Babs and her mum and sister
06:33would head down
06:34to the newly built
06:35Bethnal Green tube station.
06:40EastEnders depended on the underground
06:43as the best place to hide from Hitler's bombs.
06:48My mum got a bunk down here for us.
06:51A bunk?
06:51Yeah,
06:52it was a three-tiered bunk.
06:54Bottom,
06:54middle and top.
06:56There was loads of space
06:58because the rails
06:59hadn't yet been laid
07:00in the new station.
07:03But it's surprising
07:04the bunks didn't collapse.
07:06They'd been assembled
07:07by Boy Scouts
07:08from a flat pack.
07:10How far down that tunnel
07:12did you used to sleep?
07:14I wouldn't like to say
07:15how many yards,
07:16but it was a good
07:1710,
07:1815-minute walk.
07:19It was quite a way down.
07:21And you didn't feel claustrophobic?
07:24No.
07:25No.
07:26I mean,
07:26you had the bunk
07:27either side
07:27and the walkway
07:28in the middle
07:29and I think it's because
07:30we knew so many people.
07:32My mum would stop
07:32and talk to them
07:33and you got to your bunk
07:35in the end.
07:36What did you do
07:37if you wanted to pee?
07:38Go in the bucket.
07:40The bucket?
07:41Yeah,
07:41they had buckets.
07:43Every so far along
07:44with a curtain round it.
07:47Very smelly.
07:50Cool.
07:54Apart from the smell,
07:55it all sounds rather jolly.
07:57It was like an underground town
07:59with a library,
08:01doctor's surgery,
08:03say art,
08:04and a hall
08:07for weddings or parties.
08:09Every time a soldier came home,
08:11they had a jolly shindig.
08:13Did you feel safe here?
08:17Yeah.
08:18But there again,
08:19you see,
08:20I had my mum and my sisters
08:21so I felt safe
08:22because I was with them.
08:24I wonder if you left
08:24anything down there.
08:26It was chewing gum.
08:27I stuck it on one of the walls.
08:29Could still be there,
08:30couldn't it?
08:30I reckon it still is there,
08:32yeah.
08:32But the fun
08:34was about to come
08:35to a juddering halt
08:37as once again,
08:38the realities of war
08:39hit home.
08:41On the 3rd of March 1943,
08:43an incident took place
08:44at Bethnal Green,
08:46which in moments
08:47became a major tragedy.
08:49Coming up,
08:50disaster in the underground
08:51and Babs' family
08:53had caught up
08:54in the panic and turmoil.
08:55There were so many people
08:56down the stairs,
08:57they were all falling
08:58on top of all.
08:59And the young office boy
09:01who left his fiancée
09:02and dad
09:03for the front line.
09:13In London's East End
09:14during the 2nd World War,
09:16people like 8-year-old Babs Clark
09:18depended on the London underground
09:20for their survival.
09:22But one evening in 1943,
09:25something truly tragic happened,
09:27a Bethnal Green tube.
09:30It was a rainy night,
09:32the air raid siren
09:33went off at 8.17.
09:35People started coming down
09:36into the tube
09:37as they always did.
09:39But at that moment,
09:40anti-aircraft guns
09:41began to start firing
09:43in Victoria Park,
09:44just over the road there.
09:49So more and more people
09:51came down.
09:52And it was very dark,
09:54they only got one light
09:55because of the blackout.
09:57And there weren't handrails
09:58here then like there are now.
10:01And all the steps
10:02were really slippy.
10:03And a woman tripped over
10:05with her son
10:06and some old chap
10:07fell on top of them
10:08and more and more people
10:10kept pressing down
10:12until they were right up
10:13to the ceiling
10:14crushing each other.
10:17Although Babs survived,
10:19many didn't.
10:20A memorial next to
10:21Bethnal Green tube station,
10:23erected surprisingly recently
10:25in 2017,
10:27marks the worst British civilian disaster
10:29in World War II.
10:32173 people
10:33were crushed to death.
10:35What do you remember
10:36about that night?
10:37I know I got pushed
10:39and I fell over something
10:40and somebody fell on me.
10:43There were so many people
10:44down the stairs,
10:45they were all falling
10:46on top of them.
10:47And I just heard
10:48my sister saying,
10:50oh, don't pull me out yet,
10:51I've got my little sister here.
10:54And with that,
10:54whoever it was,
10:55pulled the pair of the set.
10:58Didn't know what had happened
10:59to my mum.
11:03And my sister was going round
11:06asking if people had seen
11:07anything of her mum,
11:08which they hadn't.
11:10And then an air raid warden
11:11said to her,
11:12go in that room,
11:13she might be in there.
11:15Jean went in there
11:16and it was all dead bodies
11:19she had to look at
11:20to see if her mum was there.
11:23Luckily,
11:24Bab's mum had survived.
11:26And the next day,
11:27life went on as usual.
11:30She still got us up
11:31the next morning
11:32for me to go to school.
11:34And the headmaster
11:35was in assembly
11:36and he said,
11:38there's been a bad accident
11:39at Besson Green Truth Station.
11:42And he said,
11:42any of you children
11:43that were in it,
11:44you can go home for the day.
11:46Well,
11:47after school come home,
11:49they all watched out.
11:55Did you ever use
11:56that shelter again
11:57or was it closed down?
11:58Oh, no,
11:59we used it
11:59this following night.
12:03Babs and her family
12:04just kept calm
12:05and carried on.
12:08The German bombing campaign
12:10deliberately set out
12:11to undermine our morale.
12:14But talking to Babs,
12:15I get a real sense
12:17of the conviction
12:18and determination
12:20that was shared
12:21by almost everyone.
12:22And I reckon
12:23it was that,
12:24as much as anything,
12:25that got us through.
12:28Many, though,
12:29faced a different kind
12:30of danger.
12:32Hundreds of thousands
12:33of ordinary young men
12:34were learning
12:35how to fight
12:36and to kill.
12:39James Palmer
12:40was one of them.
12:42James Palmer
12:43lived in Hume,
12:44Manchester
12:44with his dad.
12:46He was very larky,
12:48very jokey
12:49as a lad.
12:50Oh, by it,
12:51do you think
12:51they're impressed?
12:52That's a flippin'
12:53well-oopsil.
12:55Very good.
12:55What's next?
12:57By 1939,
12:59he was working
12:59as an office boy
13:00in the garage.
13:02He spent a lot of time
13:03with his girlfriend,
13:04Muriel,
13:05and he was just
13:06about to turn 21.
13:10James's birthday
13:11was on July 1st.
13:14But it was
13:14a slightly glum affair.
13:17War was on the horizon
13:19and young men
13:20between the ages
13:21of 20 and 22
13:22were being recruited
13:23by the government
13:24to boost army numbers.
13:27James must have
13:28opened his birthday cards
13:30with mixed feelings.
13:33Especially as one
13:35of the cards
13:36wasn't a card at all.
13:38It was his call-up notice.
13:40Within two weeks,
13:42James was being seen
13:43off at the station
13:44by his girlfriend
13:45and his dad.
13:47James's parting
13:48from his father
13:49was emotional
13:50for both men.
13:51His dad had served
13:52in the first war
13:53and had seen
13:55the horrors
13:55of the battlefield
13:56firsthand.
13:57And when his wife
13:58had died,
13:59he'd devoted himself
14:00to looking after his son.
14:02And now,
14:04he was going to have
14:05to let him go.
14:06He must have been
14:07worried sick.
14:08He knew all about war.
14:12James wrote in his diary
14:13on the day he left,
14:14Mural was in tears,
14:17clinging to my arm.
14:18Dad turned away
14:19as she kissed me.
14:21A lump in my throat
14:22prevented me
14:22from saying much.
14:24I was on my way
14:25to God knows where
14:26or what.
14:27Where James was actually
14:29headed was Warminster
14:30to join the 13th Tank Regiment.
14:33On his first day,
14:41James was presented
14:42with loads of stuff.
14:47I'm meeting Alex Jones,
14:48a war veteran
14:49and army historian,
14:51to find out more.
14:52So he would suddenly
14:54have been responsible
14:55for all this?
14:56Absolutely.
14:57As soon as they arrived,
14:58they'd have been given
14:59a kit bag in the QM stores.
15:00And of course,
15:01if the army gives someone
15:02kit and equipment,
15:03you know there's going
15:04to be inspections coming up.
15:05He'd have had to have
15:06bolt his boots.
15:07He'd have had to have
15:08pressed his kit.
15:09He would have had to have
15:10blank-o'd the webbing as well.
15:12So giving it this kind of
15:14nice green protective layer,
15:15which all the soldiers
15:16thought was utterly pointless.
15:18Don't say a word.
15:19Absolute silence.
15:21So this is what his set-up
15:23would have been like.
15:24He's not real, by the way,
15:25just in case you were wondering.
15:27He'd have had a cupboard
15:28like this with all his stuff
15:30in it and his uniforms
15:31laid out.
15:32And he'd have had
15:33a regulation blanket.
15:36Everything ship-shape,
15:37all out there for the world
15:38to see.
15:39But amidst all this
15:41Boise jollity,
15:42James met the corpora
15:43in charge.
15:47Jock, a regular soldier.
15:50On the first night,
15:51the lights go out,
15:53darkness,
15:54you're supposed to go to sleep.
15:56But some of the recruits
15:57keep on talking.
16:00And Jock tells them
16:01to shut up.
16:01But they don't.
16:02In fact,
16:02they're talking even louder.
16:05And Jock goes,
16:06When I tell you to do
16:07something,
16:08you do it!
16:10And it goes
16:11completely silent.
16:13And then one of the recruits
16:14says,
16:15Get stuffed!
16:17And then all hell
16:18breaks loose.
16:19Jock grabs him
16:20and punches him
16:21straight in the face
16:22and knocks him out cold.
16:24Oh.
16:25Welcome to the war, Jocks.
16:29But it wasn't only
16:30this mouthy private
16:31who got a rude shock
16:32from army life.
16:34James and the new soldiers
16:35like him were complete
16:36fishes out of water,
16:37weren't they?
16:38They really were,
16:39because they didn't have
16:39any prior military training.
16:41Maybe the only experience
16:42they had were the stories
16:43made from their fathers.
16:44We know James' father
16:45was a veteran of the Somme,
16:46for example.
16:47Yeah.
16:47What would his training
16:48have been?
16:49Well, James,
16:50when he first turned up,
16:51would have undertaken
16:52eight weeks of basic
16:53military training.
17:00It also would have
17:01consisted of
17:02anti-gas training.
17:04The army was very
17:04concerned about
17:05the gas threats.
17:08Behind you,
17:09there is
17:09a pretty fearsome
17:11looking instrument.
17:12Presumably,
17:12he would have been
17:13trained on that.
17:14Yes, this is
17:14the Vickers machine gun,
17:16which would have been
17:16the standard armament
17:17in a lot of
17:17British light tanks
17:18at the start of the war.
17:20James recounts
17:20when he first gets
17:21his chance
17:22to shoot on a live range,
17:24he's so excited,
17:25he just fires off
17:26all the rounds at once.
17:27He's going
17:27blab, blab, blab, blab, blab,
17:28blab, blab, blab, blab, blab,
17:29blab, blab, blab, blab,
17:29forever and ever.
17:30Well, no,
17:30because all he has,
17:32given the cuts
17:32to training allowances,
17:34is 20 rounds
17:35to practice with.
17:37Which,
17:38at about 500 rounds
17:39a minute,
17:40meant that James
17:40would be out of ammo
17:42in,
17:43oh,
17:43about two seconds.
17:44perhaps because
17:49of his enthusiasm,
17:50James was assigned
17:52to be a gunner
17:52on a tank.
17:58Then,
17:59in late May 1940,
18:01the call
18:01finally came.
18:03James was going
18:04to fight
18:04in France.
18:06He was given
18:0648 hours leave,
18:08and then
18:08he was off.
18:10He spent
18:13his last day
18:13in Britain
18:14with his girlfriend
18:15Muriel and his father
18:16before heading
18:17across the channel.
18:22When he landed,
18:24the German army
18:24was only a few miles away,
18:26and his tank troop
18:27soon found itself
18:29under attack.
18:34As we topped
18:35the rise,
18:36anti-tank guns
18:37hit us from
18:37the right flank.
18:38Four of our tanks
18:39were ablaze
18:40before we'd gone
18:41ten yards.
18:42We were sitting ducks.
18:44It was sheer murder.
18:47I saw some men
18:48running amongst the trees
18:49with their clothes
18:50burning like torches.
18:52Men were dragging
18:52their pals
18:53through the mud
18:54away from the
18:54burning tanks,
18:56and the smell
18:57of burning flesh
18:57was catching my throat.
19:00James crouched,
19:01and he could hear
19:01the ping of bullets
19:03and the platter
19:04of shrapnel,
19:05but his tank driver
19:06pressed on and on
19:08through the hailstorm
19:09of fire,
19:11and eventually
19:12he reached the other
19:13side of the valley.
19:15Their first action
19:16had been a disaster,
19:17though.
19:18Only four of the
19:1925 lads in James's troop
19:21were still alive.
19:25Soon,
19:26his regiment
19:27was desperately
19:27retracing the path
19:29back to the coast
19:30as the army retreated
19:31via Dunkirk.
19:34They were off
19:35back to Blighty
19:36almost as soon
19:37as they'd left.
19:41James returned
19:42to Manchester
19:43and proposed
19:44to Muriel.
19:46She said yes,
19:47but now James
19:49had a war to win.
19:50He'd be in some
19:51of its most crucial battles
19:53before life would return
19:55to anything like normal,
19:56and he and his
19:57new fiancée
19:58could finally
19:59tie the knot.
20:02Coming up,
20:03the truck-driving
20:04grocer's daughter
20:05who rubbed shoulders
20:06with royalty.
20:08Little did she know,
20:09though,
20:09what use her driving
20:10skills would be
20:11once the war started.
20:13And life under
20:15German occupiers
20:16in the Channel Islands.
20:17They had fixed bayonets
20:19and they went through
20:19the toy basket
20:20under the bed,
20:21wicker toy basket,
20:23and it went right
20:23through my panda bear's
20:24stomach.
20:24For many ordinary Brits,
20:34taking on Hitler's
20:35fearsome war machine
20:36demanded a brazen response.
20:41And women especially
20:42suddenly found themselves
20:44doing all sorts of things
20:46they'd never imagined doing.
20:51Women like Eileen Herron.
20:53In 1939,
20:56Eileen was 23,
20:58but she still lived
20:59at home
20:59because she worked
21:00for her family's
21:01grocery business
21:02in Folkestone,
21:03where she served
21:04behind the counter
21:05and drove the delivery van.
21:08Eileen was a bit
21:08of a pioneer.
21:10When she was only 20,
21:11she'd been among
21:12the first women
21:13to take the newly
21:13introduced driving test.
21:16Little did she know,
21:17though,
21:18what use her driving
21:19skills would be
21:20once the war started.
21:23Just three months
21:24into it,
21:2543,000 women
21:27volunteered
21:27for the
21:28Auxiliary
21:29Territorial Service,
21:31or ATS,
21:32the Women's Infantry.
21:34And Eileen decided
21:35to do her bit
21:36and join them.
21:40The army welcomed her
21:42with an armful of jabs,
21:43just a scratch,
21:45from a needle
21:46already blunted
21:47by the other recruits.
21:50She shared
21:51a freezing
21:52Nissan hut
21:53with around
21:5320 other women,
21:55but at least
21:56they could help
21:56each other
21:56take their medicine,
21:58before settling down
22:00on a lumpy mattress.
22:02Oh,
22:03night-night.
22:04I wonder if Eileen
22:05regretted her decision
22:06as she sat
22:07in her
22:08freezing cold
22:09barracks.
22:10There was
22:11three feet
22:11of snow
22:12on the ground,
22:13and OK,
22:14the recruits
22:14were given
22:15a bucket
22:15of coal a day,
22:16but one bucket
22:17was hardly
22:18going to make
22:18any impact
22:19at all
22:20in a tin building.
22:24At the end
22:24of the first week,
22:25she trudged
22:26all the way
22:26to the nearest town
22:28for a hot bath
22:29at the swimming pool
22:30and a nice
22:31cup of cocoa.
22:34But getting used
22:35to unsumptuous
22:36living conditions
22:37was the easy bit.
22:39Eileen was
22:39in the army now,
22:40and there was
22:41a whole new
22:42world of pain
22:42to embrace.
22:44For the new recruits,
22:46training was
22:47intense
22:47and relentless.
22:49From the shrill
22:50sound of the bugle
22:51at 6am,
22:52the whole day
22:55was a long list
22:56of drills,
22:59physical exercises
23:01and skills training.
23:04And all
23:05for a measly
23:0711 shillings
23:08a week,
23:08two-thirds
23:09of what a man
23:10of the same rank
23:11would have got.
23:12But Eileen
23:13was special.
23:15She was a high-value
23:16recruit
23:16because she had
23:17something the army
23:18needed.
23:19She could drive
23:20a truck.
23:24So-called
23:25tilly trucks
23:25were used
23:26as anything
23:27from ambulances
23:28to carriers
23:29of vital
23:29military equipment.
23:30and I'm having a go
23:33on one.
23:35The clutch
23:35and the accelerator
23:36and the braking
23:37is great,
23:37but the steering,
23:39oh,
23:41it leaves
23:42a lot to be desired
23:43compared with
23:44today's cars.
23:45Every time I go
23:46around a corner,
23:47I feel it
23:48in my biceps.
23:49But these
23:50were brilliant
23:50vehicles.
23:51They were so
23:52adaptable,
23:53real dog's
23:54bodies
23:54vehicles.
23:57But the downside
23:58was that they
23:59were very bumpy
24:00and uncomfortable.
24:01I'm having a great
24:02time,
24:02but I'm only doing
24:03it for one
24:04morning.
24:05Eileen had to do
24:06it month after
24:07month.
24:09Poor old
24:09Eileen.
24:10She must have
24:10been knackered.
24:11In fact,
24:12she called it
24:13her wretched
24:14tilly.
24:15That was a
24:15really good drive.
24:17It was nice
24:17and simple.
24:18There's only
24:18four or five
24:19little things
24:20to push and
24:20pull on it.
24:21But the vis
24:22is not very
24:23good at all.
24:23It must have
24:23been very
24:24difficult at
24:24night.
24:25Absolutely,
24:26and especially
24:26because of the
24:27blackouts,
24:28headlights would
24:28have been
24:29just a glimmer
24:29of light
24:30coming from
24:30that.
24:31And obviously
24:31the threat
24:32of invasion
24:32was at its
24:33height,
24:33so all of
24:34the signposts
24:34were being
24:35taken down.
24:35So they'd
24:36have to rely
24:36on map
24:36reading and
24:37knowing where
24:37they were
24:37going.
24:38Juliet
24:39Pattinson
24:39is a
24:40historian
24:41of the
24:41ATS.
24:42She knows
24:42all about
24:43everyday life
24:44for women
24:44like Eileen.
24:46Well,
24:46they're in
24:46barracks,
24:47so they're
24:47going to be
24:47having mass
24:48catering,
24:49hearty,
24:49nutritious meals
24:51that could
24:51be feeding
24:52hundreds of
24:52people.
24:56They actually
24:56got better
24:57rations than
24:58the ordinary
24:58civilian,
25:00so I think
25:01she would have
25:01been well-fed.
25:02And the rest
25:03of the time
25:03when she wasn't
25:04working?
25:05She worked
25:05long hours,
25:06but she would
25:06always have
25:07time off,
25:08and they would
25:09go to the
25:09cinema,
25:10there would
25:10always be
25:10dances on a
25:11Saturday.
25:11women were
25:12very much
25:12in demand
25:13at local
25:14army barracks,
25:15so I think
25:15they played
25:15hard and
25:15worked hard.
25:19There's lots
25:19of nice
25:20accounts where
25:20women talk
25:21about wearing
25:21a bit of
25:21lipstick,
25:22wearing non-regulation
25:24underwear,
25:24because nobody's
25:25going to notice
25:25that they're not
25:26wearing their
25:26khaki pants.
25:28So there are
25:29opportunities for
25:29these women to
25:30individualise the
25:31muddy, green,
25:32grey, dull
25:33uniform.
25:35There was a
25:36slogan that
25:37beauty is a
25:37duty too,
25:38so you have
25:39these manufacturers,
25:40whether it's a
25:40toothpaste or
25:41breakfast cereal
25:42or shampoo,
25:43and it would
25:44be very much
25:44the woman in
25:45the ATS,
25:46like Eileen,
25:47who would be
25:47applying a
25:48particular face
25:49cream, for
25:50example.
25:51There was this
25:51expectation that
25:52women would pay
25:54attention to
25:55their appearance
25:55because it would
25:56have a knock-on
25:57effect on male
25:58morale.
25:59I bet if I
26:00said to you,
26:00beauty is a
26:01duty too now,
26:02you'd smack me
26:03in the nose.
26:04I'm not going
26:04to answer that
26:05question.
26:05Eileen might
26:09have enjoyed
26:10driving her
26:11tillie very
26:11much, but
26:12she was
26:12obviously
26:13pretty good
26:13at it because
26:14soon she was
26:15made a
26:16driving instructor
26:17and was
26:17promoted to
26:18the rank of
26:19Lance Corporal.
26:20This meant
26:21she now had
26:2225 trainees
26:23under her and
26:24a lot more
26:25responsibility.
26:28Under Eileen,
26:30hundreds of
26:30women learned to
26:31drive and maintain
26:32motorbikes,
26:33ambulances and
26:34trucks, helping
26:35the war effort
26:36to smash the
26:37Nazis.
26:39But she was
26:40about to
26:40experience something
26:41even more
26:42exciting.
26:46One day,
26:47Eileen was
26:47ordered to go to
26:48her commandant's
26:49office and he
26:51told her a
26:51secret.
26:52Apparently, a
26:53new subaltern,
26:54which was the
26:55equivalent of a
26:55second lieutenant,
26:57was going to be
26:57working alongside
26:58her and her
26:59friends, but
27:01this was no
27:01ordinary
27:02subaltern.
27:03Her name was
27:04Princess Elizabeth.
27:09Eileen and
27:09Princess Elizabeth
27:10were soon mending
27:12the tilly trucks
27:12together.
27:14By day,
27:15subaltern Elizabeth
27:16mucked in with
27:17the other girls,
27:18but at night,
27:20she turned back
27:21into a princess
27:21and went to
27:22sleep in her
27:23castle.
27:26Eileen wrote
27:27at the time that
27:28the princess was
27:28quite striking,
27:30pretty, with
27:30lovely eyes and
27:31a charming smile.
27:33But more
27:34celebrities were
27:35about to appear.
27:37One day,
27:38King George VI
27:39and his wife
27:41turn up to
27:42have a look at
27:43exactly what it is
27:44their daughter,
27:45Princess Elizabeth,
27:46is doing.
27:46And it's all pomp
27:47and circumstance
27:48until suddenly,
27:50King George
27:50leans under the
27:52bonnet,
27:52starts fiddling away
27:53with the engine.
27:54Lord knows what
27:55he's doing.
27:55One wonders what
27:56this bit does.
27:58Elizabeth's panicking,
27:59everyone else is
28:00laughing.
28:01Then Elizabeth
28:02gets her hands out
28:04and goes,
28:05look, Dad,
28:06they're all oily.
28:08Everyone seems to
28:09have seen the funny
28:10side.
28:12Eileen later wrote
28:13that the Queen was
28:14very interested to see
28:15who these gals were
28:17consorting with her
28:18elder daughter,
28:19and the King was
28:20absolutely charming.
28:22The visit was filmed
28:23at length and became
28:24a very effective piece
28:25of wartime propaganda.
28:27For most ordinary people
28:30at that time,
28:31the King and Queen
28:32had become powerful
28:33symbols of the kind
28:35of country that they
28:36were fighting for.
28:37So when their daughter,
28:40Princess Elizabeth,
28:41was seen amongst them
28:43mucking in,
28:44getting her hands dirty,
28:46it must have sent
28:46a really powerful message.
28:49When the Nazis
28:50finally threw in the towel,
28:52victory in Europe
28:53was celebrated
28:54with a party
28:55to end all parties.
28:57Eileen and the other
28:59women of the ATS
29:00let rip outside
29:01Buckingham Palace,
29:03and even Princess
29:03Elizabeth snuck out
29:05incognito
29:05to gatecrash the party.
29:14Four years before
29:15those joyful celebrations,
29:17it had only been
29:18that bit of muddy water
29:19we call the English Channel
29:20that held the Nazi
29:22foe at bay.
29:24But some rather unlucky
29:25Brits didn't even have
29:27that.
29:28It's easy to forget
29:30that over 60,000
29:32British people
29:33lived under Nazi control
29:35here in the Channel
29:37Islands.
29:40From June 1940
29:42all the way through
29:43to 1945.
29:46The German invaders
29:47were excited to have
29:49claimed a little piece
29:50of Britain.
29:51I suppose that for them,
29:53compared to fighting,
29:54say, on the Russian front,
29:55say, on the Russian front,
29:57it was almost a holiday.
30:04But not so for the locals.
30:07Just keep walking.
30:09There may not have been
30:10any fighting,
30:11but the very feeling
30:12of being British
30:13and any connection
30:15with Britain
30:15was under attack.
30:17Can you imagine
30:18what life would have
30:19been like here
30:19during the German
30:20occupation?
30:21Would have been
30:22a lot of happy,
30:23smiling faces,
30:24I can tell you that.
30:27One ordinary Briton,
30:28Hubert Lanyon,
30:29was the only baker
30:31on the small island
30:32of Sark,
30:33just off Guernsey.
30:34He lived there
30:35with his wife
30:35and four kids,
30:37including five-year-old
30:38Maisie.
30:40Well, I just remembered
30:40being told,
30:42oh, the Germans
30:42are coming,
30:43the Germans are coming,
30:44and then when they arrived,
30:45they marched,
30:47and they used to sing
30:48beautiful songs,
30:50and it just echoed
30:51all around the island.
30:52It was really lovely
30:54to hear them singing,
30:55and of course,
30:56we were a bit apprehensive,
30:58but once we got to know them,
30:59then the ordinary soldier
31:00was quite friendly.
31:02But for Hubert,
31:03the new regime
31:04changed everything overnight.
31:06He even had to share
31:09his baker's oven
31:10with the Germans.
31:11They had half the week
31:13and he had half the week,
31:15and as war went on,
31:16the provisions
31:17came from France.
31:19The flour was
31:19of terrible quality.
31:21It was full of bits of wood,
31:23stones,
31:25and rat droppings.
31:27To make things worse,
31:28the departing British army
31:30had taken a lot
31:31of the Channel Islands
31:32food supplies with it,
31:33and there wasn't much left.
31:36We could manage
31:37to grow vegetables,
31:38which was, you know,
31:40a saving grace.
31:41We didn't have meat.
31:41We didn't have much meat,
31:42just rabbits.
31:44But whatever animal was killed
31:46had to be shared
31:47with the Germans.
31:47The Germans had their proportion
31:48and there was so much
31:50left for the islanders.
31:51Yeah.
31:54So the local people
31:56started to think
31:57outside the box
31:58and go in search
31:59of new culinary experiences.
32:02Yummy!
32:03The beach
32:05was awash
32:05with seaweed,
32:07which they harvested
32:08and boiled up
32:09to make jelly.
32:11It wasn't too bad
32:12if it was flavoured
32:13with blackberries
32:14or, frankly,
32:15anything they could
32:16lay their hands on.
32:19As time went by,
32:20the food shortages
32:21got worse and worse.
32:23The fishermen
32:23were only allowed
32:24to go about
32:25a mile out to sea
32:26because the Germans
32:28were frightened
32:28that they would run away.
32:29basic commodities
32:31like soap
32:32began to disappear
32:33off the shelves.
32:34What little there was
32:35was reserved
32:36for newborn babies.
32:38Moss replaced
32:40cotton wool
32:40in the hospitals.
32:41Some people said
32:42they couldn't recognise
32:44their friends and colleagues
32:45in the street
32:45because they'd grown
32:46so thin.
32:48Even the Germans
32:49were hungry.
32:51When it came
32:52towards the end
32:52of the war,
32:54they shot cats.
32:55They ate cats.
32:56The Germans?
32:57Yes, we saw them
32:58go up the lane
33:00with our cat
33:00strung on their belt.
33:02You're kidding.
33:02Our cat was on his belt.
33:04They'd shot it.
33:05It must have been awful
33:06for a little girl
33:07to see that.
33:08Terrible, terrible.
33:09Maisie's father,
33:10Hubert,
33:11decided to make a stand.
33:13In June 1942,
33:15the Germans had confiscated
33:17the radios on the island.
33:19And now people
33:20couldn't even get the news.
33:22So Hubert joined
33:23a secret organisation
33:24defiantly named
33:26Guns.
33:28The Guernsey
33:29Underground News Service.
33:33Because it was also secret,
33:35no-one knew
33:36very much about it.
33:38But this building
33:40is now
33:41the Priot Library
33:43and it's here
33:44that I reckon
33:45I'm going to
33:45find the evidence
33:47I need
33:48about what Maisie's dad
33:49was doing
33:50in the war.
33:51historian Jilly Carr
33:56has found
33:56some of the news sheets
33:58that the resistance group
33:59published.
34:00Oh look,
34:00that's V for Victory.
34:02Guns and V for Victory.
34:05These are original copies.
34:06Yeah.
34:07And as you can see,
34:08they're typed out
34:09on tomato
34:10packing paper
34:11which is really thin.
34:12And if you were caught
34:13with one of these,
34:14you would have been arrested?
34:16Oh, absolutely.
34:17Absolutely, yes.
34:17So what was it
34:19that Maisie's dad
34:20actually did
34:21on this newspaper?
34:22He was the distributor
34:23of guns in Sarg.
34:25He had a little library
34:26at the back of the bakery
34:27and so he would take
34:29a newsletter
34:29and put it inside a book
34:31in the library
34:31so people would come along
34:33and browse in the library
34:34and you know.
34:35But apparently
34:36there were even
34:37German soldiers
34:38who knew about it
34:39but stayed silent
34:40because they also
34:41wanted to have
34:42the real news.
34:45But not everyone
34:46could be trusted
34:47to keep a secret.
34:49Some islanders
34:50were prepared
34:51to trade information
34:52for food
34:53even at the risk
34:54of having their houses
34:55daubed with the swastika.
34:58One day,
34:58acting on a tip-off,
35:00the Germans came
35:01to the Lanyon's house
35:02searching for Hubert
35:03and his newsletters.
35:09They had fixed bayonets
35:10and they went through
35:11the toy basket
35:12under the bed
35:12with a toy basket
35:14and it went right
35:14through my panda bear's stomach.
35:16That's outrageous!
35:20But it wasn't long
35:21before they found
35:22her dad.
35:23They beat him up
35:24and knocked teeth out
35:25and he was
35:27unconscious for a while
35:28and then they
35:29hauled him off
35:30hands behind his back
35:32and holding his hair
35:33and pulling
35:33and he went past
35:34our door
35:35with all the family
35:36standing on the doorstep
35:37and he just
35:38looked at us
35:39and I thought,
35:40I suppose he thought,
35:41when will I ever
35:42see them again?
35:43Can you remember
35:44what you were thinking?
35:45Well, I just thought
35:46they were being cruel
35:47to my daddy.
35:50Was your mum able
35:51to explain to you
35:52what was going on?
35:53She didn't know
35:53where he was
35:54for a month.
35:55We thought he'd been
35:56taken to concentration
35:57camp
35:58and perhaps shot.
36:00Then the family
36:01discovered Hubert
36:02was alive
36:03and in prison
36:04on the island.
36:06Maisie's mum
36:06pleaded for his release
36:08saying that the islanders
36:09were desperate
36:10for him to bake bread.
36:11After four months
36:14in prison
36:14he was released.
36:17But five others
36:17involved in the free paper
36:19were deported
36:19to Germany
36:20where two of them
36:21died in prison.
36:24I consider my father
36:25was lucky
36:25to come home to us
36:27and I do still feel
36:28very sorry
36:29for the people
36:29whose lives were lost.
36:32Of course there's no doubt
36:33that Hubert
36:34was a very brave man
36:36but it does make me wonder
36:37what I would have done
36:39in a similar situation.
36:41Would I have resisted
36:43knowing that it could put
36:45my family
36:46and my neighbours
36:47in jeopardy
36:47or would I just have
36:49gone about my business
36:50and kept my head down
36:52till the end of the war?
36:54I really don't know.
36:57Coming up
36:58over-sexed
36:59over-paid
37:00and over-here
37:01Britain is invaded
37:03by swaggering
37:04American soldiers.
37:05Can one young
37:07English woman
37:07find lasting love
37:09in wartime?
37:11In the Second World War
37:20victory against the Nazis
37:22depended on an event
37:24that happened far away
37:25on the other side
37:26of the world
37:27on the peaceful
37:28Pacific Islands
37:29of Hawaii.
37:30In December 1941
37:37the Japanese
37:38attacked Pearl Harbour
37:39and forced the United States
37:41into the war.
37:47The cavalry
37:48had arrived
37:49and very quickly
37:51our little island
37:52was swarming
37:53with Americans.
37:54one and a half million
37:56of them
37:56were either stationed here
37:58or stopped off here
37:59on their way
38:00to Germany.
38:01This development
38:02had a decisive impact
38:04on the course
38:05of the war
38:06and meant a heck
38:07of a lot
38:07to the Brits
38:08who worked with them
38:09fought with them
38:11or as was often
38:12the case
38:13fell in love
38:14with the American GIs.
38:15Joy Beaver
38:21would be one of them
38:23but back in 1941
38:25before the GIs arrived
38:27she was just 16
38:28and a love affair
38:29was the last thing
38:30on her mind.
38:34Joy soon became
38:36her family's
38:37only wage earner
38:38and had to support
38:39her mother
38:39and two younger brothers.
38:41She catched the train
38:43before half seven
38:44each day
38:44when it was cheaper
38:45but instead of leaves
38:47or snow on the line
38:48there was the threat
38:50of blown up bridges
38:51or unexploded shells.
38:54She had a boring job
38:56at the inland revenue
38:57in the city
38:58typing letters
38:59to people
39:00who hadn't paid
39:00their tax.
39:02Joy lived
39:03for her daily break.
39:07Best time of day
39:08was a lunch hour
39:09and I could walk
39:11in the gardens
39:12of the Tower of London.
39:14At the end of each day
39:15she'd catch the train
39:17home before night fell
39:18and the bombing
39:19started once again.
39:22Supper could be
39:23an omelette
39:24made from powdered egg
39:25or if there was
39:26nothing else available
39:27there was the sinister
39:28threat of whale meat.
39:34In the evenings
39:35they'd listen to jazz
39:36or popular songs
39:38on the record player
39:39or tune in
39:42to Winston Churchill
39:43for a bit of courage.
39:46We will meet out
39:47to the Germans
39:47more than the measure.
39:49They have
39:49meted out to us.
39:54At weekends
39:55Joy and her friends
39:56glammed up
39:57and hit the dance hall.
39:59The Embassy
40:00Ballroom in Bexley
40:01newly reopened
40:03after the worst
40:04of the Blitz.
40:05It's really a nice place.
40:06It was a big dance hall
40:08and had a nice band.
40:15It was also
40:16a popular haunt
40:17for American GIs.
40:20Of course
40:20that drew
40:21a lot of girls
40:22that wanted
40:23to come there
40:24and dance
40:24with the soldiers.
40:25But these American boys
40:32were supposed
40:33to be on their best behaviour.
40:35Just look at this.
40:37This is the little book
40:39they all had to read.
40:41Instructions for American
40:42Servicemen in Britain
40:431942
40:44issued by the US
40:47War Department.
40:48The purpose of this guide
40:49is to start getting you
40:50acquainted
40:51with the British,
40:52their country
40:53and their ways.
40:55It goes on to give
40:56lots of handy advice.
40:58The British
40:59are often more reserved
41:00in conduct
41:01than we.
41:02So,
41:03if Britons
41:04sit in trains
41:04or buses
41:05without striking up
41:06conversation with you
41:07it doesn't mean
41:08they're being haughty
41:09and unfriendly.
41:10Probably
41:10they're paying
41:11more attention
41:12to you than you think.
41:13But they don't speak to you
41:15because they don't want
41:16to appear
41:16intrusive
41:17or rude.
41:19And there's
41:20another one here.
41:21I really like this.
41:23Keep out
41:24of arguments.
41:26You can rub
41:26a Britisher
41:27the wrong way
41:28by telling him
41:29we came over
41:30and won
41:31the last one.
41:32I don't think
41:33they'd like that.
41:35And most importantly
41:36don't be
41:37a show-off.
41:39The British
41:39Tommy
41:39is apt to be
41:40specially touchy
41:41about the difference
41:42between his wages
41:43and yours.
41:44Keep this in mind.
41:46Actually
41:46the British Tommy
41:47was most likely
41:49to be worried
41:50about the thought
41:50of the G.I.
41:51running off
41:52with his wife
41:53or the girl
41:53next door.
41:54And to be quite honest
41:55he was probably
41:56right to be.
41:58As one British comedian
41:59famously put it
42:01the Yanks
42:01were over-sexed
42:03over-paid
42:04and over-here.
42:08But the G.I.
42:09that Joy met
42:10in September 1944
42:12wasn't like that
42:13at all.
42:14How did you first
42:16meet Carl?
42:17He was brought
42:18to the embassy
42:19ballroom
42:19by the other
42:20guys in the unit
42:21and they said
42:22you should come
42:23and meet this girl.
42:25His name
42:26was Carl Beebe.
42:28He was not
42:29so laughing
42:30and joking
42:30and all that
42:31kind of thing
42:31like the others
42:32were.
42:33You know
42:33he didn't tell me
42:35that the streets
42:35of New York
42:36were paved
42:37with gold.
42:39Carl was stationed
42:40here at the
42:41stately home
42:42Hall Place
42:43two miles
42:44from Joy's house.
42:46He worked
42:47for U.S.
42:47Army Intelligence
42:48intercepting
42:49encoded messages
42:50from Nazi
42:51high command.
42:53Soon
42:54Carl asked Joy
42:55out
42:56and they
42:56hit it off.
42:58They'd go
42:58for walks
42:59in the park
43:00near where she
43:00lived.
43:02He was always
43:03bringing me
43:03flowers or something.
43:05For Easter
43:06he picked
43:07a whole bunch
43:08of daffodils.
43:09After three
43:13months of
43:13courting
43:14Carl proposed
43:15but arranging
43:17a wedding
43:17in wartime
43:18required
43:19let's say
43:20special skills.
43:28How did you
43:29get a dress
43:29this nice
43:30in the middle
43:30of the war?
43:31You'd have
43:32to ask my
43:32brother.
43:34How he
43:34got it
43:35through some
43:36friends of his
43:37or people he
43:37knows I don't
43:38know.
43:38So you're
43:39saying it
43:39was off
43:40the black
43:40market really
43:40aren't you?
43:41I believe
43:42that it
43:42was the
43:43black market
43:43yes.
43:47Did you
43:48get married
43:48in a church?
43:50Yes I
43:51did.
43:51A very
43:52much damaged
43:53church.
43:54The roof
43:54was out
43:55and the
43:56rain and
43:57the snow
43:57was coming
43:58through
43:58and they
44:00had little
44:00pots on
44:01the floor
44:01to catch
44:01the water
44:02and you
44:02could hear
44:03the water
44:03dinging
44:04into the
44:04pots.
44:09The
44:10Second World
44:11War had
44:11brought Joy
44:12and Carl
44:13together
44:13and they
44:14eventually
44:14made the
44:15journey to
44:16America
44:16together
44:17with their
44:17young son.
44:19The war
44:20created huge
44:21rifts between
44:22countries which
44:23took decades
44:24to heal
44:25so it's nice
44:27to hear some
44:27stories of romance
44:28coming out of all
44:29that chaos.
44:31For Joy at least
44:32and for others
44:32like her
44:33the war did
44:34have a
44:35silver lining.
44:38The Second
44:39World War
44:40was the
44:40People's War
44:41and for many
44:42Britons
44:43its triumphant
44:44end remains
44:45one of our
44:46country's
44:46finest hours.
44:52Revealing
44:53how the
44:53Second
44:53World War
44:54redefined
44:55the
44:55House of
44:56Windsor.
44:56Don't miss
44:57Royals in
44:57Wartime
44:58a brand
44:58new
44:58tomorrow
44:59at 7.
44:59New
45:00next
45:00tonight
45:00Michael
45:01Burke
45:01discovers
45:01how our
45:02love
45:02affair
45:02with a
45:03trip
45:03to the
45:03seaside
45:03began
45:04in
45:04how
45:04the
45:05Victorians
45:05built
45:06Britain.
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