World War One

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Woman's Hour - Women and the War - A signaller's story May 12, 2014

Show notes

In 1918, Annie May Martin was a telegraphist working in France. Her role with the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps was to pass messages in morse code between front line troops and London. In an archive interview, she looks back on her life as a signaller, why they were called the ‘blue and white angels,’ and remembers the hostility she experienced at the hands of French civilians. Her reflections are included in IWM’s Lives of the First World War, launched today to create a digital memorial to mark the lives of more than eight million people in WWI. Project Manager Melanie Donnelly joins Jane Garvey to talk about the scale of the task ahead.

WW1 At Home 6 - Women's Football, Anti-German Riots & the Soldier's Song May 02, 2014

Show notes

The Newcastle women's football champions who were unbeaten during the war, the Hull shop that bore the brunt of anti-German riots and 'Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag', the Welsh hit that boosted morale on the battlefield.

WW1 At Home 5 - Brighton Pavilion: a Hospital for Indian Troops Apr 25, 2014

Show notes

Over a million Indian soldiers fought alongside the British Army during WW1, and thousands were nursed at the Royal Brighton Pavilion. Over 700 beds were provided in the midst of the building's Regency splendour.

WW1 At Home 4 - Nursing Heroines & Lost Treasure Apr 17, 2014

Show notes

Kate Adie joins in a tribute to Elsie Knocker & Mairi Chisholm, famous nursing heroines of the frontline, and the price a Bristol family paid when their horses were commandeered for the war effort.

At Home 3 - The Spy on the Forth; Lizzie the Elephant; a Gardener Goes to War Apr 11, 2014

Show notes

How a German spy raised suspicions in Edinburgh; letters home show how a gardener from Gloucestershire's Cowley Manor found frontline life; Lizzie the Elephant does her bit for the war effort in Sheffield. Discover hundreds more WW1 At Home stories at bbc.co.uk/ww1

WW1 At Home 2 - Zeppelin Raids; Airship Patrols; Scouts on Standby Apr 04, 2014

Show notes

How a Scarborough home was immortalised in WW1 propaganda, defending the Irish coast from U-boats and how the scouts of Hertfordshire rose to the wartime challenge. Discover hundreds more stories from WW1 At Home at bbc.co.uk/ww1

WW1 At Home 1 - Spies, Bravery & Acme Whistles Mar 28, 2014

Show notes

Three WW1 home front stories: how German spies were executed at the Tower of London, England's Bravest St & production of Birmingham's famous Thunderer whistle. Discover more WW1 At Home stories at bbc.co.uk/ww1

The Cultural Front - Ep3: Kandinsky, Khaki & Kisses Mar 22, 2014

Show notes

For Radio 4, Francine Stock explores how artists responded to the outbreak of war on either side of the conflict and hears how the publishing world fed the appetite for women's popular fiction.

The Cultural Front - Ep2 : Popular Culture Mar 15, 2014

Show notes

For Radio 4, Francine Stock explores the music and images of popular culture in Britain, France, Russia and Germany, as fiery patriotism flares and fades in the first weeks and months of war.

The Cultural Front - Ep1 : Words for Battle Mar 10, 2014

Show notes

Francine Stock begins her exploration of the culture of the Great War in 1914 with the mobilization of the word. For more than 40 years the next war to come had been a staple of fiction. England had been invaded, bombed and conquered before a shot had ever been fired in anger and now the war was upon us. What unfolded in the first weeks in the towns of villages of Belgium turned the war into a cultural struggle for survival and intellectuals and authors were soon seen as crucial to the war effort. From Arnold Bennett to Israel Zangwill, the literary giants of Edwardian England went to war. Producer Mark Burman. Part of WW1 on the BBC - bbc.co.uk/ww1

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