The Great War on the small screen: Representing the First World War in contemporary Britain

In Britain since the 1960s television has been the most influential medium of popular culture. Television is also the site where the Western Front of popular culture clashes with the Western Front of history. This book examines the ways in which those involved in the production of historical documentaries for this most influential media have struggled to communicate the stories of the First World War to British audiences. Documents in the BBC Written Archives Centre at Caversham, Berkshire, the Imperial War Museum, and the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives all inform the analysis. Interviews and correspondence with television producers, scriptwriters and production crew, as well as two First World War veterans who appeared in several recent documentaries provide new insights for the reader. Emma Hanna takes the reader behind the scenes of the making of the most influential documentaries from the landmark epic series The Great War (BBC, 1964) up to more recent controversial productions such as The Trench (BBC, 2002) and Not Forgotten: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight (BBC, 2008). By examining the production, broadcast and reception of a number of British television documentaries this book examines the difficult relationship between the war's history and its popular memory.

Reality-experiential history documentaries: the Trench (BBC, 2002) and Britain's modern memory of the First World War

Culloden (BBC, 1964) The Great War (BBC, 1964) 1914-18 (BBC/KCET, 1996) Haig: the Unknown Soldier (BBC, 1996) Veterans: the Last Survivors of the Great War (BBC, 1998) 1900s House (Channel 4, 1999) The Western Front (BBC, 1999) History of Britain (BBC, 2000) 1940s House (Channel 4, 2001) The Ship (BBC, 2002) Surviving the Iron Age (BBC, 2001) The Trench (BBC, 2002) Frontier House (Channel 4, 2002) Lad's Army (BBC, 2002) Edwardian Country House (Channel 4, 2002) Spitfire Ace (Channel 4, 2003) World War One in Colour (Channel 5, 2003) 1914: the War Revolution (BBC, 2003) The First World War (Channel 4, 2003) Dunkirk (BBC, 2004) Dunkirk: The Soldier's Story (BBC, 2004) D-Day to Berlin (BBC, 2004) Bad Lad's Army (ITV, 2004) Destination D-Day: Raw Recruits (BBC, 2004) Bomber Crew (Channel 4, 2004) Battlefield Britain (BBC, 2004) The Last Battle (ARTE/ZDF, 2005) Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC, 2004, 2006) The Somme (Channel 4, 2005) [From the Publisher]

The Great War on the small screen: televisual narratives of the First World War.

In Britain since the 1960s television has been the site where the Western Front of popular culture has clashed with the Western Front of history. This talk will examine the ways in which those involved in the production of historical documentaries for this most influential media have struggled to communicate the stories of the First World War to British audiences. From the landmark epic series The Great War (BBC, 1964) up to more recent controversial productions such as The Trench (BBC, 2002) and Not Forgotten: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight (BBC, 2008), Emma Hanna will give an overview of the production, broadcast and reception of a number of British television documentaries to examine the difficult relationship between the war's history and its popular memory. [From the Author]

Fostering 'habits of reflection, independent study and free inquiry': an analysis of the short-lived phenomenon of General/Liberal Studies in English vocational education and training

In 1957, 12 years after the end of World War II, the Ministry of Education issued Circular 323 to promote the development of an element of ‘liberal studies’ in courses offered by technical and further education (FE) colleges in England. This was perceived to be in some ways a peculiar or uncharacteristic development. However, it lasted over 20 years, during which time most students on courses in FE colleges participated in what were termed General or Liberal Studies classes that complemented and/or contrasted with the technical content of their vocational programmes. By the end of the 1970s, these classes had changed in character, moving away from the concept of a ‘liberal education’ towards a prescribed diet of ‘communication studies’. The steady decline in apprenticeship numbers from the late 1960s onwards accelerated in the late 1970s, resulting in a new type of student (the state-funded ‘trainee’) into colleges whose curriculum would be prescribed by the Manpower Services Commission. This paper examines the Ministry’s thinking and charts the rise and fall of a curriculum phenomenon that became immortalised in the ‘Wilt’ novels of Tom Sharpe. The paper argues that the Ministry of Education’s concerns half a century ago are still relevant now, particularly as fresh calls are being made to raise the leaving age from compulsory education to 18, and in light of attempts in England to develop new vocational diplomas for full-time students in schools and colleges.

A small screen alternative to stone and bronze: The Great War series and British television

This article examines the first major British television series about the First World War, The Great War (BBC, 1964), in terms of its cultural, historical and aesthetic significance. As a central component of the BBC`s 50th anniversary commemorative programme to mark the outbreak of war, the series was a major media event -a small-screen memorial cast in sounds and images instead of stone and bronze. This article looks at how the British television audience responded to this form of on-screen commemoration. Material for this article was derived from the series' extensive production records housed in the BBC Written Archives Centre at Caversham, Berkshire. This was supplemented by, among other sources, material from interviews and correspondence with several surviving members of the production team. This allows a broader understanding of the motivations of those involved in the production of a groundbreaking historical series, while acknowledging the wide-ranging nature of its audience. [From the Publisher]