Voices of the First World War

Latest Episodes:

Gallipoli - Landings Jun 25, 2015

Show notes

Drawing on sound archive from the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, Dan Snow looks at the experiences of veterans of the First World War who took part in the landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles in April 1915. As the first assaults were made, soldiers landed in chaotic conditions, under heavy fire, and those who survived then faced extraordinarily difficult terrain to cross, and there were reports of the sea turning red.

Reinforcements Jun 24, 2015

Show notes

By 1915 the intensity of the war was increasing. After the first gas attacks at Ypres, a new unit of Territorials was thrown in to the battle without full training or reconnaissance, within days of their arrival in France, with horrific results. Dan Snow presents the stories of survivors Jack Dorgan and George Harbottle, drawing on the sound archives of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC.

Gas Jun 23, 2015

Show notes

Drawing on the vivid recollections of veterans of the First World War in the sound archives of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, Dan Snow looks at the first German chlorine gas attacks of the war. During the 2nd Battle of Ypres in April and May 1915, poison gas was released on unsuspecting troops, and had a more powerful effect than even the German were expecting. From those who had to run away and those who managed to stay put in the trenches and keep firing, we hear what it was like to be there, and experience this new weapon.

Neuve Chapelle Jun 22, 2015

Show notes

There are now no living veterans of WW1, but it is still possible to go back to the First World War through the memories of those who actually took part. The Imperial War Museums' holdings include a major oral history resource of remarkable recordings made in the 1980s and early 1990s with the remaining survivors of the conflict. The interviews were done not for immediate use or broadcast, but because it was felt that this diminishing resource that could never be replenished, would be of unique value in the future. Among the BBC's extensive collection of archive featuring first hand recollections of the conflict a century ago, are the interviews recorded for the 1964 TV series 'The Great War', which vividly bring to life the human experience of those fighting and living through the war. Speakers recall in great detail as though it were yesterday the conditions of the trenches, the brutality of the battlefield, the experience of seeing their first casualty and hearing their first shell, their daily and nightly routines, and their psychological state in the face of so much trauma. In a unique partnership between the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, the two sound archive collections featuring survivors of the war are brought together for the first time in this Radio 4 series. 'Voices of the First World War', a fifty-part series which began in Autumn 2014, broadcasts many of these recordings for the first time, and will run in short seasons throughout the commemorative period.

Presented by Dan Snow, the first five programmes to be broadcast this year look at the events of 1915, including veterans' memories of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the first use of Chlorine Gas at Ypres, the experiences of a new draft of Territorials at the 2nd Battle of Ypres, and the expansion of the war to the Eastern Front: those who were involved in the Gallipoli campaign recall the landings from April 1915 onwards and then the terrible conditions for soldiers on the peninsular until their evacuation in January 1916.

The first programme looks at the differing experiences of soldiers on the Western Front in 1915, from those who were in such a quiet sector they could almost forget they were at war, to those who were already becoming hardened to the brutality of war, including the recollections of veterans who took part in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.

Omnibus 2 May 15, 2015

Show notes

There are now no living veterans of WW1, but it is still possible to go back to the First World War through the memories of those who actually took part. In a unique partnership between the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, two sound archive collections featuring survivors of the war are brought together for the first time. The Imperial War Museums' holdings include a major oral history resource of remarkable recordings made in the 1980s and early 1990s with the remaining survivors of the conflict. The interviews were done not for immediate use or broadcast, but because it was felt that this diminishing resource that could never be replenished, would be of unique value in the future. Speakers recall in great detail as though it were yesterday the conditions of the trenches, the brutality of the battlefield, the experience of seeing their first casualty and hearing their first shell, their daily and nightly routines as soldiers, pilots or navy members of all ranks, and their psychological state in the face of so much trauma. This series will broadcast many of these recordings for the first time. Among the BBC's extensive collection of archive featuring first hand recollections of the conflict a century ago, are the interviews recorded for the 1964 TV series 'The Great War', which vividly bring to life the human experience of those fighting and living through the war.

Dan Snow narrates this new oral history, which will be broadcast in short seasons throughout the commemorative period.

This is an omnibus edition of five programmes that were first broadcast October 2014, in which soldiers recall the state of their morale in 1914, the First Battle of Ypres, the trenches, their experiences as Prisoners of War, and the much-mythologised Christmas Truce.

Omnibus 1 May 08, 2015

Show notes

Dan Snow narrates this new oral history, which will be broadcast in short seasons throughout the commemorative period.

This is an omnibus edition of five programmes that were first broadcast October 2014, in which soldiers recall their journeys to the front line, their first impressions of the war, the Battle of Mons and the Great Retreat, the battles at sea of the British and German navies, and soldier's experiences at night on the battlefields of the Western Front.

The Christmas Truce Dec 25, 2014

Show notes

There are now no living veterans of WW1, but it is still possible to go back to the First World War through the memories of those who actually took part. In a unique partnership between the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, two sound archive collections featuring survivors of the war are brought together for the first time. The Imperial War Museums' holdings include a major oral history resource of remarkable recordings made in the 1980s and early 1990s with the remaining survivors of the conflict. The interviews were done not for immediate use or broadcast, but because it was felt that this diminishing resource that could never be replenished, would be of unique value in the future. Among the BBC's extensive collection of archive featuring first hand recollections of the conflict a century ago, are the interviews recorded for the 1964 TV series 'The Great War', which vividly bring to life the human experience of those fighting and living through the war. Dan Snow narrates this new oral history, which will be broadcast in short seasons throughout the commemorative period.

Programme 10 - The Christmas Truce In the last of the series for 1914, veterans of the First World War recall the few hours of impromptu ceasefire on 25th December 1914, when German and British troops mingled and played football in No Man's Land on the Western Front. Drawing on the recollections of soldiers in the oral history collection of the Imperial War Museum and the BBC archive. Narrated by Dan Snow.

Prisoners of War Nov 06, 2014

Show notes

Programme 9 - Prisoners of War Using the voices of soldiers who were among the first to be taken prisoner, Dan Snow explores the conditions they endured in German camps during the early stages of the war.

The Trenches 1914 Nov 05, 2014

Show notes

Programme 8 - The Trenches 1914 Dan examines the experiences of men in the trenches during the first few months of the war, when the trenches weren't as elaborate as in later years. In archive drawn from the oral history collection of the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, speakers describe the dangers of looking out over the top, the problems of lice, and bring home the reality of living in clay below the water table for days at a time.

Ypres Nov 04, 2014

Show notes

Programme 7 - Ypres A picture of the intense fighting around the medieval town of Ypres in October and November 1914 built from the recollections of soldiers in archive drawn from the Imperial War Museum and the BBC.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Voices of the First World War

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected