1 00:00:36,375 --> 00:00:41,250 England is the last island standing in Europe. 2 00:00:42,625 --> 00:00:47,208 Come what may, England will break down! 3 00:01:01,416 --> 00:01:03,333 It was a total shock 4 00:01:03,416 --> 00:01:07,625 to suddenly feel that the enemy is so close. 5 00:01:08,250 --> 00:01:11,375 To know that someone was trying to destroy us. 6 00:01:17,083 --> 00:01:19,000 We all got under the stairs. 7 00:01:19,791 --> 00:01:22,125 I thought, "I'm gonna get burnt alive!" 8 00:01:28,791 --> 00:01:30,791 It was vital and living 9 00:01:31,791 --> 00:01:34,708 'cause you don't know how long it's going to be possible. 10 00:01:35,208 --> 00:01:37,708 Every moment you're together's precious, you see. 11 00:01:42,791 --> 00:01:46,041 It may well be that the final extinction 12 00:01:46,125 --> 00:01:48,333 of a baleful domination 13 00:01:48,416 --> 00:01:53,291 will pave the way to a broader solidarity 14 00:01:53,375 --> 00:01:55,791 than we could ever have planned 15 00:01:56,958 --> 00:02:01,500 if we had not marched together through the fire. 16 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:28,541 If you are just turning on your radios, 17 00:02:28,625 --> 00:02:31,166 Great Britain is now at war with Germany. 18 00:02:32,708 --> 00:02:35,416 The Germans occupied Paris without fighting this morning 19 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:39,583 {\an8}and say that the pursuit of the enemy to final destruction has now begun. 20 00:02:45,625 --> 00:02:48,791 History's most critical days are just beginning. 21 00:02:50,833 --> 00:02:53,333 Should Great Britain be conquered, 22 00:02:53,416 --> 00:02:57,083 Hitler knows anything on the continent is his for the taking. 23 00:02:57,166 --> 00:02:58,958 One, two, three, down. 24 00:02:59,041 --> 00:03:00,833 One, two, three, eyes right. 25 00:03:04,583 --> 00:03:07,500 We didn't know what girls were going to be allowed to do, 26 00:03:07,583 --> 00:03:09,166 but it was exciting. 27 00:03:11,333 --> 00:03:13,208 We've still got two minutes. 28 00:03:27,208 --> 00:03:30,666 You see, we were all, what? Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. 29 00:03:32,958 --> 00:03:34,541 I can't exactly explain it. 30 00:03:34,625 --> 00:03:36,625 It was something quite different 31 00:03:36,708 --> 00:03:39,333 from anything any of us ever done before. 32 00:03:44,541 --> 00:03:48,375 It was very anxious to be on the plotting side of it 33 00:03:48,458 --> 00:03:50,875 because you knew exactly what was going on. 34 00:03:54,375 --> 00:03:56,625 Today, the eyes of the whole world 35 00:03:56,708 --> 00:03:58,583 are upon England and its people. 36 00:03:58,666 --> 00:04:01,250 Hostile approaching from southeast. 37 00:04:01,333 --> 00:04:04,291 In Sugar one five at zero feet. 38 00:04:04,375 --> 00:04:06,458 Upon the men of the Royal Air Force, 39 00:04:06,541 --> 00:04:10,458 on whom has been placed the responsibility of defending a little island kingdom 40 00:04:10,541 --> 00:04:12,041 from Nazi Germany. 41 00:04:25,875 --> 00:04:28,166 It's coming close. I can feel it. 42 00:04:31,458 --> 00:04:33,083 Keep your eyes peeled. 43 00:04:42,750 --> 00:04:45,208 You got yourself involved in it, you see, 44 00:04:45,291 --> 00:04:47,541 and you're sort of saying, "Come on, get it!" 45 00:04:47,625 --> 00:04:49,000 Come on. 46 00:04:52,250 --> 00:04:54,458 It was a living battle to you. 47 00:04:55,250 --> 00:04:57,416 Shoot him down. Yeah, he's got him, boys. 48 00:04:57,500 --> 00:04:59,625 Right in the middle. Bloody good show. 49 00:05:03,916 --> 00:05:08,125 This is what made the intimacy between the girls and the boys. 50 00:05:11,708 --> 00:05:13,500 They were such a handsome lot. 51 00:05:14,750 --> 00:05:17,958 I mean, there were budding romances all over the place. 52 00:05:19,833 --> 00:05:23,833 But, uh, I don't think I really expected to meet Mr. Gorgeous. 53 00:05:30,541 --> 00:05:32,666 If this island fortress can hold out, 54 00:05:32,750 --> 00:05:36,041 it might effectively help check Hitler's plan of conquest. 55 00:05:41,291 --> 00:05:45,333 Hitler is in a hurry. Invasion is expected. 56 00:05:52,958 --> 00:05:55,333 If the British Air Force 57 00:05:56,333 --> 00:05:59,833 drops two, three, or four thousand kilos of bombs, 58 00:06:01,458 --> 00:06:06,291 then we will drop 150,000, 180,000, 230,000, 59 00:06:06,375 --> 00:06:08,666 300,000 kilos of bombs, or more, in one night. 60 00:06:13,458 --> 00:06:17,125 We will erase their cities! 61 00:06:36,666 --> 00:06:38,291 London is at war, 62 00:06:38,375 --> 00:06:40,958 and London has had its first air-raid signal. 63 00:06:42,541 --> 00:06:44,333 Hitler. Read all about it. 64 00:06:46,625 --> 00:06:49,083 Britain is concerned today that Germany is making 65 00:06:49,166 --> 00:06:51,458 gigantic preparations to invade England. 66 00:07:11,291 --> 00:07:14,333 In this country, it's just been announced 67 00:07:14,416 --> 00:07:18,291 that blackout regulations come into effect from sunset tonight. 68 00:07:42,833 --> 00:07:46,125 400,000 children have already been taken out of London, 69 00:07:46,208 --> 00:07:48,625 and more will follow tomorrow. 70 00:07:50,125 --> 00:07:52,208 These are days of solemn hardship, 71 00:07:52,291 --> 00:07:54,958 not the least being the separation of parents and children. 72 00:07:55,041 --> 00:07:58,041 But the consideration of safety is of supreme importance. 73 00:08:07,625 --> 00:08:10,041 I was a boy, and, uh… 74 00:08:10,666 --> 00:08:13,583 in those days, big boys don't cry. 75 00:08:16,875 --> 00:08:20,333 We were told that we must not run to our parents to say goodbye 76 00:08:20,416 --> 00:08:22,458 and have the last hug and kiss. 77 00:08:35,291 --> 00:08:38,208 I used to look up to my big sister Kitty. 78 00:08:40,916 --> 00:08:42,708 I felt more secure 79 00:08:42,791 --> 00:08:45,333 because Kitty had promised to look after me. 80 00:08:52,333 --> 00:08:54,500 My mother had a premonition. 81 00:08:57,833 --> 00:09:01,875 She was sure that if Kitty and I stayed in London, 82 00:09:01,958 --> 00:09:04,500 something terrible would happen to us. 83 00:09:11,791 --> 00:09:15,583 It was supposed to be a holiday. That's how it was painted to us. 84 00:09:22,625 --> 00:09:26,000 That marked the end of one chapter of my life, as it were. 85 00:09:26,625 --> 00:09:28,625 A normal childhood. 86 00:09:33,375 --> 00:09:36,208 We didn't realize what the reality would be. 87 00:09:47,708 --> 00:09:50,458 All we were told was that battle was coming. 88 00:09:54,166 --> 00:09:56,666 But we didn't really know what we were up against. 89 00:10:02,375 --> 00:10:03,666 I was on duty. 90 00:10:10,833 --> 00:10:14,208 There was a tally-ho, a lot of noise, really. 91 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,666 And we saw between 400 and 1,000 Germans coming. 92 00:10:22,166 --> 00:10:24,916 Hostile approaching from southeast. 93 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,666 In Sugar one five at zero feet. 94 00:10:33,208 --> 00:10:35,250 And you could see that, and you were thinking, 95 00:10:35,333 --> 00:10:37,791 "Oh my God, they're going for London." 96 00:11:14,708 --> 00:11:17,708 {\an8}It was a very warm September. 97 00:11:23,291 --> 00:11:24,666 I looked at the sky. 98 00:11:29,166 --> 00:11:31,500 I saw some fluffy clouds, 99 00:11:32,083 --> 00:11:33,916 tiny little balls in the sky. 100 00:11:36,166 --> 00:11:37,791 I thought, "Gosh, what's that?" 101 00:11:41,875 --> 00:11:43,833 We weren't very frightened at that stage 102 00:11:43,916 --> 00:11:46,333 because we didn't really know what was going on. 103 00:11:52,625 --> 00:11:56,125 I saw all the bombs dropping from the sky. 104 00:12:00,375 --> 00:12:01,541 It was amazing. 105 00:12:13,083 --> 00:12:15,500 We went into corridors at the bottom of the flats 106 00:12:15,583 --> 00:12:19,333 because suddenly, of course, I realized the enormity of it. 107 00:12:57,125 --> 00:12:59,541 Order report to control points. 108 00:12:59,625 --> 00:13:03,708 One hundred pumps from the E to 60 station to stand by. 109 00:13:12,666 --> 00:13:14,541 Good evening. This is London. 110 00:13:14,625 --> 00:13:16,833 As I am speaking, great fires are still burning 111 00:13:16,916 --> 00:13:20,541 across the river in the dockyard and industrial areas of the east side. 112 00:13:25,041 --> 00:13:27,833 All evening, fire engines from the west end of town 113 00:13:27,916 --> 00:13:29,291 have been screaming eastward. 114 00:13:36,666 --> 00:13:40,208 I had my first sight of what a fire was really like. 115 00:13:47,291 --> 00:13:50,958 The older fireman, he sort of helped me 116 00:13:51,041 --> 00:13:54,125 by saying, "It's all right, lad. Don't worry. You just stand by me." 117 00:13:54,208 --> 00:13:56,166 We want three lengths. 118 00:14:01,416 --> 00:14:05,541 "Just hold on to the hose, and whatever you do, don't let it go 119 00:14:05,625 --> 00:14:08,666 because if it hits you, it could kill you." 120 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,666 Stand clear below! 121 00:14:15,750 --> 00:14:19,000 The older fireman said, "You all right, son? You all right, boy?" 122 00:14:20,625 --> 00:14:23,083 You feel scared. You are scared. 123 00:14:35,041 --> 00:14:38,083 I'm standing on top of a very tall building 124 00:14:38,166 --> 00:14:43,000 from where I can see practically the whole of London spread round me, 125 00:14:43,541 --> 00:14:45,041 and if this weren't so appalling, 126 00:14:45,125 --> 00:14:48,041 I think it'd be one of the most wonderful sights I've ever seen. 127 00:14:48,541 --> 00:14:51,375 The whole of the skyline to the south 128 00:14:51,875 --> 00:14:53,833 is lit up with a ruddy glow. 129 00:14:54,791 --> 00:14:57,833 It's almost like the Day of Judgment 130 00:14:58,666 --> 00:15:01,750 as pictured in some of the old books. 131 00:15:03,958 --> 00:15:06,083 The Day of Judgment. 132 00:15:15,875 --> 00:15:19,291 {\an8}The tempo's speeding up. Tonight the blitz started. 133 00:15:23,083 --> 00:15:26,750 The sky over by the docks was red as if it was an enormous sunset. 134 00:15:33,041 --> 00:15:34,333 What a life! 135 00:15:34,416 --> 00:15:38,500 Never knowing if you're going to be bombed or seduced from one moment to the next. 136 00:15:40,208 --> 00:15:43,041 I met this really good-looking man called Rupert. 137 00:15:44,333 --> 00:15:47,250 And he kept trying to persuade me to lose my virginity. 138 00:15:53,750 --> 00:15:56,625 The fact is, I prefer men to be slightly caddish. 139 00:15:56,708 --> 00:15:58,791 I like men who think they are God. 140 00:16:00,375 --> 00:16:02,625 Rupert is completely at ease with the universe 141 00:16:02,708 --> 00:16:04,375 and thinks himself a lord of it. 142 00:16:09,041 --> 00:16:11,666 I can't help feeling that each moment may be my last. 143 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,000 And as the opposite of death is life, 144 00:16:17,916 --> 00:16:20,375 I think I shall get seduced by Rupert tomorrow. 145 00:16:39,583 --> 00:16:42,500 {\an8}When we came out, we could hear the fires raging. 146 00:16:46,583 --> 00:16:49,541 {\an8}We could hear them in the distance from the docks. 147 00:16:55,916 --> 00:16:58,625 Dad said to me, before he went into the Air Force, 148 00:16:58,708 --> 00:17:00,291 "Make sure Mum's okay." 149 00:17:05,083 --> 00:17:07,708 And I said, "Well, there's an official shelter, Mum." 150 00:17:07,791 --> 00:17:10,250 "The ARP shelter. Let's go there." 151 00:17:14,291 --> 00:17:17,083 I felt this was a safe haven. 152 00:17:17,166 --> 00:17:19,333 We wouldn't have any trouble down there. 153 00:17:32,083 --> 00:17:33,250 It got hot. 154 00:17:33,750 --> 00:17:35,166 Hotter and hotter. 155 00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:05,583 I was calling out for my mother. 156 00:18:05,666 --> 00:18:07,750 I thought, "Are you around? Where are you?" 157 00:18:10,125 --> 00:18:11,458 And nobody answered. 158 00:18:14,666 --> 00:18:17,250 And I realized that something horrible had happened. 159 00:18:17,833 --> 00:18:19,041 There'd been a bomb. 160 00:18:27,875 --> 00:18:30,458 The worst dislocation and suffering have been caused 161 00:18:30,541 --> 00:18:32,791 in the working-class districts of the East End, 162 00:18:32,875 --> 00:18:36,500 where whole streets of little houses have been bombed to smithereens. 163 00:18:41,041 --> 00:18:44,583 Tentative reports put the casualties in Saturday night's raid 164 00:18:44,666 --> 00:18:47,125 at 400 killed and 1,400 wounded. 165 00:19:33,250 --> 00:19:37,125 {\an8}I was in my sister's house overlooking Brick Lane, 166 00:19:37,875 --> 00:19:41,041 {\an8}and, uh, Churchill came into that street. 167 00:19:44,375 --> 00:19:47,250 Hearing, suddenly, shouts and hoorays and boos, 168 00:19:47,333 --> 00:19:50,916 and, uh… there he was, this… this figure. 169 00:19:51,875 --> 00:19:53,416 He did exist. 170 00:19:58,416 --> 00:20:01,375 Churchill's name was anathema in my house 171 00:20:01,458 --> 00:20:02,791 until the war came. 172 00:20:04,250 --> 00:20:06,875 And then his name was angelic. 173 00:20:14,666 --> 00:20:19,416 These cruel, wanton, indiscriminate bombings of London 174 00:20:20,291 --> 00:20:24,375 are, of course, a part of Hitler's invasion plan. 175 00:20:25,708 --> 00:20:29,000 Little does he know the spirit of the British nation 176 00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:32,666 or the tough fiber of the Londoner, 177 00:20:33,708 --> 00:20:37,541 bred to value freedom far above their lives. 178 00:20:43,708 --> 00:20:48,125 This is a time for everyone to stand together and hold firm. 179 00:20:49,416 --> 00:20:53,458 The citizens of London are facing a great ordeal, 180 00:20:54,166 --> 00:20:57,125 the end of which or the severity of which 181 00:20:57,208 --> 00:20:59,125 cannot yet be foreseen. 182 00:21:05,250 --> 00:21:06,750 I was taken out to the hospital. 183 00:21:10,541 --> 00:21:12,083 My father found me. 184 00:21:16,708 --> 00:21:19,750 {\an8}I asked him, I said, "Where's Mum, Dad? How is Mum?" 185 00:21:21,750 --> 00:21:22,750 And he just said, 186 00:21:23,583 --> 00:21:24,666 "She's dead." 187 00:21:28,125 --> 00:21:32,708 It stabbed me. It was a real feeling of pain, of anguish. 188 00:21:35,208 --> 00:21:37,500 I'd taken Mum down to that wretched shelter, 189 00:21:37,583 --> 00:21:39,333 and she'd been killed. 190 00:21:42,083 --> 00:21:46,666 I… I… I haven't ever got over it. I never have. Never got over it. 191 00:21:53,041 --> 00:21:55,833 Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth. 192 00:21:57,458 --> 00:22:00,125 Thousands of you in this country 193 00:22:00,208 --> 00:22:02,458 have had to leave your homes 194 00:22:02,541 --> 00:22:06,041 and be separated from your fathers and mothers. 195 00:22:09,708 --> 00:22:12,916 {\an8}To you living in new surroundings, 196 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,750 {\an8}we send a message of true sympathy. 197 00:22:16,250 --> 00:22:18,083 And at the same time, 198 00:22:18,166 --> 00:22:21,041 we would like to thank the kind people 199 00:22:21,125 --> 00:22:24,166 who have welcomed you to their homes in the country. 200 00:22:25,250 --> 00:22:28,000 Can you please make your way down the platform? 201 00:22:28,083 --> 00:22:30,000 Quick as you can, please. 202 00:22:30,083 --> 00:22:32,500 {\an8}Someone said we were in Wales. 203 00:22:33,833 --> 00:22:36,041 {\an8}People talked funny. 204 00:22:42,625 --> 00:22:45,625 And my class went off in one direction. 205 00:22:45,708 --> 00:22:48,083 My sister went off in another direction. 206 00:22:54,166 --> 00:22:56,708 The council ladies had arranged 207 00:22:56,791 --> 00:23:01,416 that the foster parents would choose which children they wanted. 208 00:23:06,625 --> 00:23:09,208 Finally, I was the only one left, 209 00:23:09,708 --> 00:23:11,833 and there were no foster parents. 210 00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:15,083 Then I got worried. 211 00:23:19,833 --> 00:23:22,458 Suddenly there came a clattering of feet. 212 00:23:22,958 --> 00:23:26,958 This lady burst into the room and said, "Are there any vaccies left?" 213 00:23:30,791 --> 00:23:33,208 She said, "I don't much like the look of him, 214 00:23:33,291 --> 00:23:35,166 and I wanted a girl anyway." 215 00:23:37,666 --> 00:23:39,666 I tried to smile winningly. 216 00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:45,416 And, uh, she said, "Oh, all right, I'll take him." 217 00:23:47,625 --> 00:23:49,833 And I went off with this strange woman. 218 00:23:50,833 --> 00:23:52,333 No sign of Kitty. 219 00:23:58,416 --> 00:24:02,666 There was a great deal of resentment against the London evacuees 220 00:24:02,750 --> 00:24:05,666 by many of the people in this mining town 221 00:24:05,750 --> 00:24:08,375 because there had been the miners' strike. 222 00:24:12,083 --> 00:24:15,416 They deeply resented the London government. 223 00:24:15,500 --> 00:24:18,875 They also deeply resented Winston Churchill. 224 00:24:21,666 --> 00:24:23,791 And there were three kids I remember, 225 00:24:25,208 --> 00:24:29,250 and they picked on us, and, uh, we got into fights with them. 226 00:24:33,458 --> 00:24:35,791 And, uh, my foster mother said, 227 00:24:35,875 --> 00:24:40,833 "You London vaccies come down here to get away from one war, 228 00:24:40,916 --> 00:24:42,958 and you start another down here." 229 00:24:58,208 --> 00:25:02,666 We wanted to force London into an air-raid shelter. 230 00:25:09,041 --> 00:25:15,083 {\an8}And so we flew nothing but London, London, London. 231 00:25:19,875 --> 00:25:22,500 Every 20 minutes, in waves. 232 00:25:25,375 --> 00:25:31,875 We believed that this would bring England to its knees. 233 00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:41,166 This is Trafalgar Square. 234 00:25:42,666 --> 00:25:47,208 The noise that you hear at the moment is the sound of the air-raid siren. 235 00:26:12,583 --> 00:26:14,375 Here at Buckingham Palace, 236 00:26:14,458 --> 00:26:17,791 the King and Queen see the twisted evidence of their narrow escape. 237 00:26:19,666 --> 00:26:21,583 Having had their own home bombed, 238 00:26:21,666 --> 00:26:24,250 Their Majesties speak with understanding and sympathy 239 00:26:24,333 --> 00:26:28,416 to those of their subjects who have also fallen victim to Nazi savagery. 240 00:26:31,541 --> 00:26:33,958 When the King and Queen came down, 241 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:37,083 {\an8}people were cheering, but others were saying, 242 00:26:37,166 --> 00:26:39,416 {\an8}"Go back to Buckingham Palace." 243 00:26:39,916 --> 00:26:42,583 {\an8}"You call yourselves bombed? You had one bomb?" 244 00:26:43,291 --> 00:26:44,791 "We've had thousands." 245 00:26:49,958 --> 00:26:53,875 There simply was not enough safe shelters in the East End. 246 00:26:56,916 --> 00:26:59,291 The Underground seemed to be the perfect place. 247 00:27:03,083 --> 00:27:06,458 But the government had decided they weren't gonna open up the Tubes. 248 00:27:15,125 --> 00:27:16,916 We decided to go all out 249 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,708 on the campaign to open the Tubes for shelters. 250 00:27:21,583 --> 00:27:25,000 The Savoy hotel, that's our target. 251 00:27:31,708 --> 00:27:34,166 Now we're going to aggravate the situation, 252 00:27:34,250 --> 00:27:37,458 to occupy the shelter of the Savoy hotel. 253 00:27:44,416 --> 00:27:47,541 All in all, 78 people turned up. 254 00:27:51,458 --> 00:27:54,916 We were now occupying a place where we had no right to be. 255 00:27:55,458 --> 00:27:57,125 And then the police came in. 256 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,375 A police inspector says, "What do you intend to do here?" 257 00:28:08,958 --> 00:28:12,541 I said, "We don't really want this place. We want the Tubes opened." 258 00:28:22,583 --> 00:28:24,125 The government announced 259 00:28:24,208 --> 00:28:27,000 that people would not be allowed to use the Tubes for shelters. 260 00:28:28,208 --> 00:28:30,875 But the most remarkable development of this strange war 261 00:28:30,958 --> 00:28:33,125 is the way in which Londoners have taken charge 262 00:28:33,208 --> 00:28:35,208 and solved the deep-shelter problem. 263 00:28:39,500 --> 00:28:41,375 {\an8}There were rumors going around. 264 00:28:41,458 --> 00:28:43,958 {\an8}"Get down the underground. It's gonna be all right." 265 00:28:46,458 --> 00:28:49,791 {\an8}We find all the gates closed and soldiers there. 266 00:28:53,916 --> 00:28:56,166 More and more people crowding behind us. 267 00:28:59,625 --> 00:29:01,375 Shaking the gates. 268 00:29:01,458 --> 00:29:02,708 "Let us in! Let us in!" 269 00:29:08,125 --> 00:29:10,375 Suddenly, a great roar goes up. 270 00:29:12,250 --> 00:29:14,708 Somebody in government had changed their mind. 271 00:29:16,625 --> 00:29:20,375 My father said, "This is a great victory for the working class!" 272 00:29:25,083 --> 00:29:28,208 And that was the beginning of this subterranean life. 273 00:29:42,375 --> 00:29:44,791 A new, dramatic phase in the Battle of Britain. 274 00:29:44,875 --> 00:29:46,916 After weeks of suspense, the German High Command 275 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,625 has launched large-scale air attacks on shipping and docks. 276 00:29:49,708 --> 00:29:51,791 Day after day, Nazi bombers and fighters 277 00:29:51,875 --> 00:29:54,333 have roared in hundreds above the English Channel. 278 00:30:01,708 --> 00:30:05,708 This fortress isle is the last citadel in Western Europe 279 00:30:05,791 --> 00:30:07,750 blocking Hitler's ambition. 280 00:30:12,666 --> 00:30:15,125 The RAF is the best air force in the world, 281 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,625 but Germany still maintains numerical air supremacy. 282 00:30:27,916 --> 00:30:29,583 {\an8}We had to win the war, 283 00:30:29,666 --> 00:30:32,291 {\an8}and we were determined to do it, whatever happened. 284 00:30:33,708 --> 00:30:37,250 We knew we were fighting for our very existence, 285 00:30:37,333 --> 00:30:39,250 and we… we weren't going to give in. 286 00:30:42,750 --> 00:30:45,416 There must have been about a hundred of us, I should think, 287 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,625 and, uh, the men treated us with respect. 288 00:30:50,333 --> 00:30:51,666 We were accepted. 289 00:30:53,375 --> 00:30:55,583 We had a feeling of elation 290 00:30:55,666 --> 00:30:58,750 that we were by ourselves and we could do our own thing. 291 00:31:10,458 --> 00:31:14,625 The first time I met Denis, I was driving a tractor… 292 00:31:18,750 --> 00:31:22,000 and he threw some sand in my engine and stopped it. 293 00:31:23,583 --> 00:31:27,333 And I made him start it. I said, "You stopped it. You start it." 294 00:31:34,250 --> 00:31:35,500 So he did. 295 00:31:40,708 --> 00:31:43,833 Denis was fairly well-built, very upright. 296 00:31:43,916 --> 00:31:46,083 He was reasonably good-looking. 297 00:31:50,541 --> 00:31:52,541 He never really smiled properly 298 00:31:52,625 --> 00:31:55,875 'cause he had two teeth that he was ashamed of, 299 00:31:55,958 --> 00:31:57,750 but he had his own way of smiling. 300 00:31:58,958 --> 00:32:03,000 And apparently, he decided that he quite liked me. 301 00:32:07,333 --> 00:32:11,166 And he said, uh, "Are you coming to the squadron dance?" 302 00:32:11,666 --> 00:32:12,750 So I said, "Yes." 303 00:32:17,208 --> 00:32:21,416 When we came off duty, we all flood in, and he's waiting for me. 304 00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:23,625 Heaven 305 00:32:23,708 --> 00:32:29,625 And my heart beats So that I can hardly speak 306 00:32:29,708 --> 00:32:31,250 And I seem to find… 307 00:32:31,333 --> 00:32:33,666 We were very fortunate to meet. 308 00:32:33,750 --> 00:32:36,541 We wouldn't perhaps have met if there hadn't been a war. 309 00:32:36,625 --> 00:32:41,083 Out together dancing cheek to cheek… 310 00:32:41,166 --> 00:32:42,416 He was funny. 311 00:32:43,041 --> 00:32:45,291 He was terribly romantic. 312 00:32:45,375 --> 00:32:46,750 We used to laugh a lot. 313 00:32:50,291 --> 00:32:55,458 I think it made it more intense, better, stronger. 314 00:32:58,583 --> 00:33:01,000 And every moment you're together's precious, you see, 315 00:33:01,083 --> 00:33:04,958 'cause you don't know how long it's going to… be possible. 316 00:33:08,541 --> 00:33:11,083 So that I can hardly speak… 317 00:33:13,791 --> 00:33:17,125 The Battle of London is now nearly at the end of its first month, 318 00:33:17,208 --> 00:33:19,083 and London still stands. 319 00:33:26,416 --> 00:33:29,583 She has been sorely tried, but her spirit is as good as ever. 320 00:33:33,833 --> 00:33:35,000 We can take it. 321 00:33:35,541 --> 00:33:38,625 If he thinks he can win the war by bombing women and children, 322 00:33:38,708 --> 00:33:40,166 he's found a big mistake. 323 00:33:41,916 --> 00:33:44,500 This is London. We're all alive and kicking. 324 00:33:46,166 --> 00:33:47,625 Cheerio. All the best. 325 00:33:55,958 --> 00:33:59,958 I'd worked my way up into such a state of passion over the absent Rupert. 326 00:34:00,041 --> 00:34:01,708 I hadn't seen him for a week. 327 00:34:03,416 --> 00:34:04,916 All morning I was thinking of him 328 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,916 and wondering how much longer I could bear life without him. 329 00:34:11,458 --> 00:34:13,750 On the way home, I saw 17 German planes 330 00:34:13,833 --> 00:34:16,125 with hundreds of shells bursting around them. 331 00:34:16,625 --> 00:34:18,500 Fire! 332 00:34:18,583 --> 00:34:19,916 I heard a yell. 333 00:34:24,708 --> 00:34:27,166 And there was old R lurching down the street, 334 00:34:27,250 --> 00:34:29,125 completely ignoring the guns. 335 00:34:32,541 --> 00:34:35,791 Wah-wah, wah-wah, wah-wah-wah-wah 336 00:34:36,291 --> 00:34:38,416 Wah-wah, wah-wah, wah… 337 00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:41,083 We found a very classy café called Mountview, 338 00:34:41,166 --> 00:34:42,791 with a band in red coats. 339 00:34:45,125 --> 00:34:47,875 Huge mosaic pillars glittered under the lights, 340 00:34:47,958 --> 00:34:50,291 and I was so happy, I felt almost drunk. 341 00:34:51,541 --> 00:34:54,166 Everything is heightened and speeded up. 342 00:34:58,250 --> 00:35:00,791 We were played out and wandered our way back 343 00:35:00,875 --> 00:35:03,000 through the wreckage of Shaftesbury Avenue. 344 00:35:06,125 --> 00:35:08,083 We made love very seriously, 345 00:35:09,916 --> 00:35:12,291 and I was filled with peace and delight. 346 00:35:13,125 --> 00:35:15,875 One of the few transcendent and satisfying things left 347 00:35:15,958 --> 00:35:17,500 in this bloody awful life. 348 00:35:26,833 --> 00:35:30,333 If the Germans had been figuring on breaking morale, 349 00:35:30,916 --> 00:35:32,666 they have failed miserably. 350 00:35:39,791 --> 00:35:42,541 The Germans appear to have changed their policy 351 00:35:42,625 --> 00:35:44,666 in their attacks on Great Britain 352 00:35:45,791 --> 00:35:47,916 in the hope of doing greater damage. 353 00:35:56,333 --> 00:35:59,541 The German leader hinted that the war may last a long time. 354 00:36:03,666 --> 00:36:07,416 We were all aware this was going to be a difficult mission. 355 00:36:10,541 --> 00:36:13,791 {\an8}Every day, some of the crews didn't return. 356 00:36:17,125 --> 00:36:18,583 The mood was serious. 357 00:36:23,791 --> 00:36:27,666 Before we took off, I was thinking, "Will we get back safely?" 358 00:36:29,791 --> 00:36:31,208 "Will I be all right?" 359 00:36:33,208 --> 00:36:35,541 "Will I see my home again?" 360 00:36:49,291 --> 00:36:52,541 Coventry drew on its historic past for the Godiva pageant. 361 00:36:57,125 --> 00:36:59,250 Coventry today stands a great industrial landmark, 362 00:36:59,333 --> 00:37:01,000 thanks to the Countess Godiva, 363 00:37:01,083 --> 00:37:04,833 who stripped herself of her wealth to win for the city its freedom. 364 00:37:10,125 --> 00:37:11,916 An ancient city, which produced 365 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,833 from its hundreds of factories 366 00:37:13,916 --> 00:37:16,541 the newest machines and engines in the world. 367 00:37:19,958 --> 00:37:22,791 More women are needed in the munition factories, 368 00:37:22,875 --> 00:37:24,583 in the auxiliary services, 369 00:37:24,666 --> 00:37:29,166 especially women who will leave home and go wherever they are sent. 370 00:37:36,791 --> 00:37:38,958 It was the thrill of going somewhere different, 371 00:37:39,041 --> 00:37:40,875 doing something different. 372 00:37:40,958 --> 00:37:45,083 Coventry. Coventry. This is Coventry. 373 00:37:46,125 --> 00:37:48,833 Even though my dad tried to talk me out of it. 374 00:37:50,958 --> 00:37:54,083 My dad was one of these people that always want to keep you all together, 375 00:37:54,166 --> 00:37:56,916 and the only chance to grow up was to get away. 376 00:38:00,375 --> 00:38:02,041 But no, I was determined. 377 00:38:02,541 --> 00:38:04,625 "I'm going away to do war work." 378 00:38:08,958 --> 00:38:11,375 They took us to the factory the next day. 379 00:38:12,625 --> 00:38:14,375 Everybody was on bikes. 380 00:38:14,458 --> 00:38:17,541 Hundreds, thousands of folks cycling to work. 381 00:38:22,541 --> 00:38:24,375 The first sirens went. 382 00:38:28,791 --> 00:38:32,375 They said, "Oh, you've brought bad luck! We're not wanting you here." 383 00:38:52,416 --> 00:38:55,083 They were machine-gunning the cyclists. 384 00:38:57,958 --> 00:39:00,625 And I said, "What's happening to these people?" 385 00:39:04,208 --> 00:39:06,625 I saw people were falling off. 386 00:39:33,833 --> 00:39:36,375 {\an8} 387 00:39:36,458 --> 00:39:40,291 {\an8}and no one was looking to do anything against ordinary people. 388 00:39:53,791 --> 00:39:58,583 This whole Coventry strategy, the way it was to bring fear to Britain, 389 00:39:58,666 --> 00:40:00,791 was completely idiotic. 390 00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:22,458 When the raid started, we knew it was gonna be bad. 391 00:40:22,541 --> 00:40:24,500 {\an8}We all got under the stairs. 392 00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:30,208 {\an8}Everybody said that was the best place to be, the safest place. 393 00:40:33,666 --> 00:40:36,416 Suddenly, everything's black, and… 394 00:40:38,125 --> 00:40:39,333 there's fires. 395 00:40:41,708 --> 00:40:45,041 And I had this long hair, and it had started to singe, 396 00:40:45,125 --> 00:40:47,083 and that was frightening. 397 00:40:51,708 --> 00:40:54,041 I thought, "I'm gonna get burnt alive!" 398 00:41:12,500 --> 00:41:15,583 I want to remind you about how very important it is 399 00:41:15,666 --> 00:41:20,083 that all water should be boiled before being used in Coventry. 400 00:41:20,666 --> 00:41:22,500 No matter where you get that water from, 401 00:41:22,583 --> 00:41:25,833 will you please see that it is boiled before it is used? 402 00:41:34,708 --> 00:41:38,375 We came back to Edinburgh looking like refugees. 403 00:41:46,666 --> 00:41:48,500 I was a nervous wreck. 404 00:41:54,333 --> 00:41:58,333 And the first sirens that went when I came back, 405 00:42:00,166 --> 00:42:02,458 I used to nearly go hysterical. 406 00:42:15,208 --> 00:42:17,291 {\an8}German aircraft carried out attacks 407 00:42:17,375 --> 00:42:19,041 {\an8}on Great Britain last night. 408 00:42:21,208 --> 00:42:23,416 {\an8}The raids, which lasted for several hours, 409 00:42:23,500 --> 00:42:25,791 {\an8}were scattered over many parts of the country. 410 00:42:27,791 --> 00:42:30,291 Firebombs were dropped in many places. 411 00:42:31,416 --> 00:42:32,916 Towns on the south coast… 412 00:42:51,041 --> 00:42:52,416 the west of England… 413 00:42:59,291 --> 00:43:00,416 the Midlands… 414 00:43:06,541 --> 00:43:07,666 the northwest. 415 00:43:23,125 --> 00:43:25,541 All the fires have now been brought under control. 416 00:43:28,625 --> 00:43:31,833 Yesterday's German air attacks, according to their High Command, 417 00:43:31,916 --> 00:43:36,125 were concentrated on Liverpool to put Liverpool harbor out of commission. 418 00:43:37,666 --> 00:43:40,833 Hundreds of German bombers concentrating on Liverpool 419 00:43:40,916 --> 00:43:44,916 and inflicted damage even more impressive than at Coventry. 420 00:43:48,250 --> 00:43:52,291 Churchill was telling us, you know, how brave we all were. 421 00:43:55,916 --> 00:43:57,833 We would never surrender. 422 00:44:00,833 --> 00:44:04,000 {\an8}The people in Liverpool, after that blitz, 423 00:44:04,083 --> 00:44:06,250 would have surrendered overnight. 424 00:44:14,041 --> 00:44:17,708 It's all right for people in authority, isn't it? 425 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:25,333 You know, who are sitting down in their steel-lined dugouts. 426 00:44:29,125 --> 00:44:33,166 I was so full of hatred that the Germans could do this to us, 427 00:44:33,250 --> 00:44:36,208 and we couldn't do anything about it. 428 00:44:38,916 --> 00:44:42,041 We were just people there waiting to be killed. 429 00:44:48,208 --> 00:44:50,791 What do you think about this question of reprisals? 430 00:44:51,375 --> 00:44:53,708 Well, if I was a man, I'd go over there, 431 00:44:53,791 --> 00:44:56,166 and I'd give them the same as what they've gave us here. 432 00:44:56,250 --> 00:44:59,375 After all this, what do you think about us going over to Berlin 433 00:44:59,458 --> 00:45:01,000 and doing the same to them? 434 00:45:02,458 --> 00:45:03,916 I should think so too. 435 00:45:04,000 --> 00:45:07,250 Bit worse than this, I hope, with a wicked bugger like he is. 436 00:45:07,333 --> 00:45:09,875 And now, sir, do you think we ought to bomb Berlin 437 00:45:09,958 --> 00:45:11,875 the same as they're doing to us in London? 438 00:45:11,958 --> 00:45:14,750 I definitely do, sir. Bomb 'em tenfold. 439 00:45:14,833 --> 00:45:16,625 I'm sorry for the women and children of Berlin, 440 00:45:16,708 --> 00:45:19,125 but what about the women and children of this country? 441 00:45:28,416 --> 00:45:31,458 I am confident we shall succeed in defeating 442 00:45:32,250 --> 00:45:34,416 this most tremendous onslaught. 443 00:45:37,291 --> 00:45:41,041 Whatever happens, we will all go down fighting to the end. 444 00:45:45,583 --> 00:45:48,000 The twin towns of Mannheim-Ludwigshafen, 445 00:45:48,083 --> 00:45:51,750 the second-largest inland port in Europe, is about to receive its attack. 446 00:45:52,916 --> 00:45:55,333 With its maze of docks, industrial installations, 447 00:45:55,416 --> 00:45:56,833 and chemical plants. 448 00:46:22,875 --> 00:46:25,375 When you're living amongst death like that… 449 00:46:25,875 --> 00:46:28,083 Go stand by. Hostile… 450 00:46:28,166 --> 00:46:32,333 {\an8}…I don't think you ever think it's going to happen to you. 451 00:46:37,541 --> 00:46:40,916 But you begin to know, and they begin to know, 452 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,000 when the bullet's going to strike. 453 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:56,833 And they seem to get a sort of aura. 454 00:46:57,916 --> 00:47:01,458 And you think, "Ah, you're not going to come home from this." 455 00:47:01,958 --> 00:47:03,541 And they know it as well. 456 00:47:17,875 --> 00:47:20,666 Denis said, "When I next have some leave, 457 00:47:20,750 --> 00:47:22,666 could we spend it together?" 458 00:47:22,750 --> 00:47:25,125 And I said, "Well, yes, if you like." 459 00:47:27,833 --> 00:47:30,666 We arranged it, and we went to Cambridge. 460 00:47:33,916 --> 00:47:35,666 It was high romance. 461 00:47:38,916 --> 00:47:39,916 It was… 462 00:47:41,666 --> 00:47:44,208 quite out of this world, quite literally. 463 00:47:54,625 --> 00:47:57,916 We had dinner and chatted like mad, you know, like you do. 464 00:48:03,625 --> 00:48:07,208 And then he said, "I've got something I want to say to you." 465 00:48:10,333 --> 00:48:11,666 And we went to my bedroom. 466 00:48:11,750 --> 00:48:15,208 Now, you never went into a bedroom with a man. 467 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,375 That certain night 468 00:48:23,000 --> 00:48:25,666 The night we met… 469 00:48:25,750 --> 00:48:28,166 So he went and got a bottle of champagne, 470 00:48:29,083 --> 00:48:30,250 and he said, uh… 471 00:48:31,333 --> 00:48:32,625 "Will you marry me?" 472 00:48:33,375 --> 00:48:35,166 So I said, "Of course." 473 00:48:38,916 --> 00:48:42,000 And off we went to our respective beds. 474 00:48:42,500 --> 00:48:44,125 It showed a great respect. 475 00:48:46,333 --> 00:48:47,541 He thought so much of me 476 00:48:47,625 --> 00:48:50,708 that he wasn't going to compromise me in any way. 477 00:48:51,291 --> 00:48:55,083 I may be right, I may be wrong… 478 00:48:55,166 --> 00:48:59,125 On the other hand, I could probably have been persuaded 479 00:48:59,208 --> 00:49:03,708 because if you know that somebody might not come back, 480 00:49:03,791 --> 00:49:06,041 are you going to miss the opportunity? 481 00:49:06,125 --> 00:49:07,625 'Cause you never get it again. 482 00:49:07,708 --> 00:49:11,250 A nightingale sang 483 00:49:11,333 --> 00:49:18,083 In Berkley Square 484 00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:34,500 It is Christmas Day in the year of the Blitz. 485 00:49:36,625 --> 00:49:38,625 Holly and barbed wire. 486 00:49:39,833 --> 00:49:41,916 Guns and tinsel. 487 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:49,208 The German embassy in Washington 488 00:49:49,291 --> 00:49:51,125 says the British government has been notified 489 00:49:51,208 --> 00:49:53,666 that the Germans will not bomb England tomorrow, 490 00:49:53,750 --> 00:49:57,666 provided the British will refrain from bombing any German territory. 491 00:50:04,083 --> 00:50:06,166 Between now and next Christmas, 492 00:50:06,250 --> 00:50:09,875 there stretches 12 months of increasing toil and sacrifice. 493 00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:13,333 A few blocks away, in the underground shelters, 494 00:50:13,416 --> 00:50:15,916 entire families were celebrating Christmas Eve. 495 00:50:16,000 --> 00:50:22,500 Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel 496 00:50:22,583 --> 00:50:26,583 Born is the King of… 497 00:50:26,666 --> 00:50:29,250 I saw there was a big envelope in the letterbox. 498 00:50:31,458 --> 00:50:33,875 I tore it open, and the nightmare sprang. 499 00:50:37,083 --> 00:50:39,958 Report for military service. Royal Navy. 500 00:50:44,625 --> 00:50:47,708 "Oh God," I thought, "Christmas alone." 501 00:50:49,916 --> 00:50:52,666 I wish I was dead. I want Rupert so much. 502 00:50:56,166 --> 00:50:59,791 Pubs are all full of happy, drunken people singing "Tipperary." 503 00:50:59,875 --> 00:51:01,875 To Tipperary 504 00:51:01,958 --> 00:51:05,208 It's a long way to go… 505 00:51:05,291 --> 00:51:07,916 I spent a dreary night in an unheated room, 506 00:51:08,416 --> 00:51:10,625 sleeping in my clothes on a hard bed. 507 00:51:10,708 --> 00:51:13,166 Sweetest girl I know… 508 00:51:13,250 --> 00:51:15,500 Talk about Christmas night in the workhouse. 509 00:51:18,125 --> 00:51:21,000 The undeclared air truce appears to be continuing, 510 00:51:21,083 --> 00:51:24,541 which in many European countries is celebrated as a second Christmas. 511 00:51:24,625 --> 00:51:27,625 Both sides seem to have kept their bombers on the ground. 512 00:51:36,875 --> 00:51:38,958 Standing guard over the City of London, 513 00:51:39,041 --> 00:51:42,416 St Paul's Cathedral occupies a unique place in all hearts. 514 00:51:45,000 --> 00:51:49,250 Three times in history, St Paul's has been destroyed by fire. 515 00:51:52,166 --> 00:51:54,291 {\an8}St Paul's was a place of worship. 516 00:51:56,291 --> 00:51:58,750 {\an8}It was a place of trust. 517 00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:00,583 God was there. 518 00:52:03,875 --> 00:52:06,333 If Hitler got St Paul's, 519 00:52:06,833 --> 00:52:10,125 he would break the spirit of the London people 520 00:52:10,208 --> 00:52:11,875 and the rest of the country. 521 00:52:19,291 --> 00:52:23,791 {\an8}England is the last island standing in Europe. 522 00:52:28,375 --> 00:52:30,333 The hour will come 523 00:52:30,833 --> 00:52:33,833 that one of us will crack… 524 00:52:36,166 --> 00:52:40,416 …and it will not be Nazi Germany! 525 00:52:52,416 --> 00:52:56,291 A heavy incendiary bombing raid has occurred 526 00:52:56,375 --> 00:52:57,666 in the City area. 527 00:53:03,125 --> 00:53:07,416 Control has been established in St Paul's churchyard. 528 00:53:12,750 --> 00:53:16,208 - Hold it. Hold it! - Stand clear below! 529 00:53:16,708 --> 00:53:18,416 We got called out. 530 00:53:20,083 --> 00:53:25,291 Churchill had made it clear to the fire chiefs. Save St Paul's. 531 00:53:29,583 --> 00:53:32,875 He felt that if that could be saved, 532 00:53:32,958 --> 00:53:35,541 we've got something to hold on to. 533 00:53:51,375 --> 00:53:54,125 It wasn't a fire. It was a firestorm. 534 00:54:00,750 --> 00:54:03,916 There was incendiary bombs coming through the air. 535 00:54:07,125 --> 00:54:11,083 There was thousands being let down into London. 536 00:54:18,833 --> 00:54:20,333 The heat was so terrific… 537 00:54:23,083 --> 00:54:25,000 it would've got to St Paul's, 538 00:54:25,083 --> 00:54:28,291 and the dome itself would've just collapsed. 539 00:54:38,708 --> 00:54:41,750 The full blast of Nazi fury hit the capital. 540 00:54:42,750 --> 00:54:46,083 They set the City on fire, including six churches. 541 00:54:49,166 --> 00:54:50,875 The airplanes never stopped, 542 00:54:50,958 --> 00:54:53,750 and the sound of the engines dive-bombing was deafening. 543 00:54:56,458 --> 00:54:58,708 Flares lit up the street like daylight, 544 00:54:59,208 --> 00:55:00,791 and the stars were all put out. 545 00:55:05,541 --> 00:55:07,750 Pictures that look like hell on earth. 546 00:55:09,125 --> 00:55:12,916 The world will see pictures of a raid that was not aimed at military objectives, 547 00:55:13,000 --> 00:55:16,041 only at the things that men and women have loved for centuries. 548 00:55:17,041 --> 00:55:20,083 The famous buildings of the civic company, the Guildhall. 549 00:55:30,041 --> 00:55:32,750 {\an8}I started to feel that I was a man. 550 00:55:33,625 --> 00:55:37,416 {\an8}We was there doing a job that was your life 551 00:55:37,500 --> 00:55:39,166 {\an8}or the life of your mate. 552 00:55:42,041 --> 00:55:46,416 I felt as though, "God, when I get home, wait till I tell my mum." 553 00:55:52,833 --> 00:55:55,833 If we could keep the fire under control, 554 00:55:57,791 --> 00:56:01,416 it wasn't creeping towards St Paul's. 555 00:56:18,916 --> 00:56:20,500 This is London. 556 00:56:23,875 --> 00:56:25,375 Very quiet here. 557 00:56:25,458 --> 00:56:27,583 It's now almost one o'clock in the morning. 558 00:56:33,416 --> 00:56:35,875 The wall of flames which enclosed a large triangle 559 00:56:35,958 --> 00:56:39,375 in the main business section of London has now been quenched. 560 00:56:42,958 --> 00:56:44,916 I watched the fires from a rooftop. 561 00:56:45,583 --> 00:56:49,500 It was not hard to imagine how London must have looked 300 years ago 562 00:56:49,583 --> 00:56:52,250 when that historic Great Fire raged across it. 563 00:56:57,791 --> 00:56:58,833 From where I was, 564 00:56:58,916 --> 00:57:01,625 one man seemed to throw a sputtering firebomb off the roof 565 00:57:01,708 --> 00:57:03,041 with his gloved hand. 566 00:57:12,125 --> 00:57:15,625 It's a miracle that those bombs didn't hit St Paul's. 567 00:57:17,500 --> 00:57:21,166 I thought, "God, there's gotta be somebody there saying, 568 00:57:21,250 --> 00:57:22,666 'You don't touch that.'" 569 00:58:05,291 --> 00:58:06,833 It has now been proved 570 00:58:07,333 --> 00:58:12,625 that this form of blackmail by murder and terrorism… 571 00:58:16,291 --> 00:58:20,375 so far from weakening the spirit of the British nation, 572 00:58:20,458 --> 00:58:26,208 has only roused it to a more intense and universal flame 573 00:58:26,833 --> 00:58:29,041 than was ever seen before. 574 00:58:42,250 --> 00:58:45,000 How can we find words to praise the RAF? 575 00:58:45,083 --> 00:58:47,416 Each day they fly into battle against heavy odds. 576 00:58:47,500 --> 00:58:49,583 Each day they come home victorious. 577 00:58:51,625 --> 00:58:54,833 Britain prepares to repel the long-threatened invasion. 578 00:58:59,583 --> 00:59:01,583 Eighty Nazi planes came over. 579 00:59:01,666 --> 00:59:03,583 Twenty-five of these didn't get back. 580 00:59:09,208 --> 00:59:11,833 This may be the turning point of the whole war. 581 00:59:11,916 --> 00:59:14,125 It is quality beating quantity. 582 00:59:17,125 --> 00:59:19,125 {\an8}Check one. One aircraft. 583 00:59:21,666 --> 00:59:24,791 We didn't believe that we would lose, 584 00:59:24,875 --> 00:59:26,916 and everybody felt like that. 585 00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:28,833 Well, on the station anyway. 586 00:59:31,458 --> 00:59:34,208 I mean, it was pretty naive. 587 00:59:40,791 --> 00:59:43,708 Denis and I, we were sort of arranging the marriage 588 00:59:43,791 --> 00:59:46,125 'cause we wanted it to be soon. 589 00:59:49,416 --> 00:59:51,458 {\an8}He wanted it to be soon. 590 00:59:56,125 --> 00:59:58,125 The officers, they did say 591 00:59:58,625 --> 01:00:01,541 that they didn't like their pilots to get engaged 592 01:00:01,625 --> 01:00:03,250 because they started being careful. 593 01:00:06,625 --> 01:00:09,708 And you can't be careful when you're a fighter pilot. 594 01:00:10,833 --> 01:00:12,583 You have to go in full throttle 595 01:00:12,666 --> 01:00:16,000 and not be worrying about some woman left at base. 596 01:00:25,583 --> 01:00:29,375 There was a big attack in the morning. I was actually on duty. 597 01:00:30,916 --> 01:00:35,458 I can't remember how many Germans there were, but it was quite a lot. 598 01:00:41,291 --> 01:00:42,541 Keep open line. 599 01:00:42,625 --> 01:00:47,416 Hostile approaching from southeast. In Sugar one five at zero feet. 600 01:00:47,500 --> 01:00:51,791 Area 243. Hastings, Ashford, Dover. 601 01:00:51,875 --> 01:00:52,875 Yeah. 602 01:00:53,791 --> 01:00:55,291 They're firing at us now. 603 01:00:55,958 --> 01:00:57,416 That was a bit close. 604 01:00:57,500 --> 01:01:00,375 - I think we've been hit, personally. - Yeah. 605 01:01:02,625 --> 01:01:04,958 Have a check on the speed of fighter 182. 606 01:01:05,041 --> 01:01:07,000 Check the speed on 182 carefully. 607 01:01:07,500 --> 01:01:10,125 There's SOS on 207. 608 01:01:14,250 --> 01:01:17,750 Somebody said, "There's a plane going down, 609 01:01:18,500 --> 01:01:20,333 and there's no parachute." 610 01:01:27,000 --> 01:01:28,458 Stand by. 611 01:01:28,541 --> 01:01:31,583 Hostile 8170 removed. 612 01:01:32,083 --> 01:01:37,041 Change hostile 8171. Do stand by. Hostile… 613 01:01:37,125 --> 01:01:38,708 I knew who it was. 614 01:01:40,625 --> 01:01:41,708 I knew it. 615 01:01:43,250 --> 01:01:45,625 Don't ask me how I knew it, but I did. 616 01:01:48,208 --> 01:01:51,208 Our flight sergeant said, "Edith…" 617 01:01:53,416 --> 01:01:54,791 S… Sorry. 618 01:01:56,333 --> 01:01:57,583 Anyway, she said, 619 01:01:58,458 --> 01:01:59,833 "Denis is missing." 620 01:02:00,333 --> 01:02:01,833 I said, "Yes, I know." 621 01:02:05,041 --> 01:02:06,916 And how…Oh, shut up! 622 01:02:17,291 --> 01:02:18,916 He went down in the sea. 623 01:02:21,166 --> 01:02:22,666 Nothing was ever found, 624 01:02:24,500 --> 01:02:25,625 which is what he wanted. 625 01:02:25,708 --> 01:02:29,625 He always said, if he was shot down and killed, 626 01:02:29,708 --> 01:02:32,375 he didn't want to have to have a military funeral. 627 01:02:35,708 --> 01:02:38,333 I do wish we'd been married. That, I do wish. 628 01:02:40,666 --> 01:02:45,750 I wouldn't have cared if it was 24 hours or two days or five months. 629 01:02:48,333 --> 01:02:49,666 I do regret that. 630 01:03:03,541 --> 01:03:06,833 A few members of the crowd of more than 60,000 spectators 631 01:03:06,916 --> 01:03:09,625 waiting for the final between Preston North End and Arsenal. 632 01:03:11,291 --> 01:03:14,250 The teams came out together, Preston wearing dark shorts. 633 01:03:17,958 --> 01:03:21,208 A good deal has been said against holding this cup final in wartime. 634 01:03:21,291 --> 01:03:24,500 At least it gave the opportunity for the services and other war workers 635 01:03:24,583 --> 01:03:27,041 to refresh their minds with complete change. 636 01:03:32,125 --> 01:03:35,000 Preston attacking again. 637 01:03:35,083 --> 01:03:36,250 They score. 638 01:03:37,916 --> 01:03:40,208 But the game was destined to finish in a draw. 639 01:03:41,416 --> 01:03:44,875 It's hard to decide if we can afford this kind of festival today. 640 01:03:51,416 --> 01:03:54,458 There's a ripe, yellow moon riding over Britain tonight. 641 01:03:56,416 --> 01:03:57,750 The sirens have sounded. 642 01:03:57,833 --> 01:04:00,458 That monstrous roar of engines is in the air. 643 01:04:01,166 --> 01:04:04,416 It looks as though this will be a major raid on London. 644 01:04:09,833 --> 01:04:11,750 We turn now to the British capital 645 01:04:11,833 --> 01:04:13,916 for the report of Edward R. Murrow. 646 01:04:15,333 --> 01:04:18,166 Occasionally there is the sound of riotous singing 647 01:04:18,250 --> 01:04:21,041 or a plaintive voice shouting for a taxi. 648 01:04:22,166 --> 01:04:26,208 I visited a few air-raid shelters. They were only about half full. 649 01:04:28,125 --> 01:04:31,958 On the surface, there are many signs of cheerfulness and courage in London. 650 01:04:36,083 --> 01:04:40,000 I decided it was time to join up. I've got through as a plotter. 651 01:04:42,541 --> 01:04:44,916 Before we go, we get a long weekend's leave. 652 01:04:45,541 --> 01:04:47,583 Rupert writes he could come to London, 653 01:04:47,666 --> 01:04:49,916 although he could be recalled at any time. 654 01:04:55,333 --> 01:04:58,750 I suppose I could meet someone new, a pilot or something. 655 01:05:00,541 --> 01:05:03,625 I'm sure I shall never like him half as much as Rupert. 656 01:05:07,333 --> 01:05:09,833 The party was being held in a vast studio. 657 01:05:11,041 --> 01:05:14,791 We could hear loud thumps in the distance, but no one took any notice. 658 01:05:17,583 --> 01:05:20,541 Suddenly, there was the most tremendous whining noise. 659 01:05:21,166 --> 01:05:23,666 Outside, all hell seemed to be let loose. 660 01:05:23,750 --> 01:05:25,708 We were all too drunk to care. 661 01:05:37,166 --> 01:05:40,750 It was a strange night. People were not scared. 662 01:05:45,625 --> 01:05:48,666 A news vendor had his stand outside… 663 01:05:48,750 --> 01:05:50,750 Read all about it! Read all about it! 664 01:05:50,833 --> 01:05:52,583 …and this bombing was going on. 665 01:05:55,083 --> 01:05:57,333 "Cup final result! Cup final result!" 666 01:05:57,416 --> 01:06:02,125 Arsenal-Preston! Cup final result! Cup final result! 667 01:06:05,083 --> 01:06:08,625 There was a prostitute coming up from Piccadilly. 668 01:06:09,916 --> 01:06:13,125 Uh, she was singing, and she had an umbrella up. 669 01:06:14,541 --> 01:06:19,166 I'm singing in the rain I'm singing in the rain 670 01:06:20,166 --> 01:06:22,625 I'm singin' in the rain 671 01:06:22,708 --> 01:06:25,250 Just singin' in the rain 672 01:06:25,333 --> 01:06:27,416 What a glorious feeling 673 01:06:27,500 --> 01:06:29,791 I'm happy again 674 01:06:41,458 --> 01:06:44,375 There has been no estimate of the number of persons killed, 675 01:06:44,458 --> 01:06:46,291 but the government has issued a communiqué 676 01:06:46,375 --> 01:06:49,208 which says that the number of casualties is high. 677 01:06:54,375 --> 01:06:56,333 News has suddenly burst from Europe 678 01:06:56,416 --> 01:06:59,708 that Germany has declared war on Russia. 679 01:07:02,708 --> 01:07:04,875 It means that Adolf Hitler has given up all hope 680 01:07:04,958 --> 01:07:06,916 of any quick conquest of Britain. 681 01:07:17,000 --> 01:07:20,041 There was no German air activity last night. 682 01:07:20,125 --> 01:07:21,500 None today. 683 01:07:21,583 --> 01:07:24,291 It seems a long time since we've heard the sirens. 684 01:07:27,083 --> 01:07:29,708 Cinemas of Leicester Square are open, 685 01:07:29,791 --> 01:07:33,041 but precautions for the safety of London are maintained. 686 01:07:34,750 --> 01:07:36,833 And though scarred, 687 01:07:36,916 --> 01:07:39,958 London still presents a smiling face. 688 01:07:46,791 --> 01:07:48,458 {\an8}The bombing had eased. 689 01:07:50,000 --> 01:07:54,916 {\an8}My mother decided that she wanted us home immediately. 690 01:07:59,500 --> 01:08:01,875 So the family was complete again. 691 01:08:06,958 --> 01:08:10,541 First thing the next morning, I wanted to go and look for shrapnel. 692 01:08:12,208 --> 01:08:14,458 I was delighted to be home. 693 01:08:20,750 --> 01:08:22,958 Kitty and I, we went off to school. 694 01:08:25,375 --> 01:08:27,708 And I went to the junior section… 695 01:08:29,666 --> 01:08:31,500 and she went to the senior. 696 01:08:34,250 --> 01:08:37,291 And to us, it was just a normal school day. 697 01:08:42,291 --> 01:08:45,500 We, um… went down to the dining area, 698 01:08:45,583 --> 01:08:48,333 and we were having our sandwiches there. 699 01:08:51,666 --> 01:08:53,958 The next thing I knew, 700 01:08:54,041 --> 01:08:58,250 bursts of aeroplane engines close overhead. 701 01:09:03,208 --> 01:09:06,166 The teacher screaming to us to get under the table. 702 01:09:09,791 --> 01:09:14,875 I remembered Kitty bursting in and rushing towards me. 703 01:09:16,125 --> 01:09:17,708 And then the bomb hit. 704 01:09:37,708 --> 01:09:40,041 {\an8}My mother's premonition had come true. 705 01:09:40,666 --> 01:09:43,583 {\an8}Something terrible had happened to Kitty and me. 706 01:09:49,666 --> 01:09:53,750 The news concerns the raid by a lone German bombing plane. 707 01:09:56,333 --> 01:09:59,125 This was a case of really sudden death. 708 01:09:59,708 --> 01:10:02,458 Nobody had a chance even to duck his head. 709 01:10:05,708 --> 01:10:07,791 Thirty-eight kids were killed. 710 01:10:09,875 --> 01:10:11,375 And six teachers were killed. 711 01:10:19,208 --> 01:10:20,750 I was dug out. 712 01:10:30,250 --> 01:10:32,708 I was very severely injured. 713 01:10:37,333 --> 01:10:40,250 My mother would come to the hospital to see me, 714 01:10:41,000 --> 01:10:44,458 and I kept on asking about Kitty. 715 01:10:54,708 --> 01:10:57,125 Kitty had come into the dining area, 716 01:10:57,208 --> 01:10:59,208 and she was dashing towards me. 717 01:11:01,791 --> 01:11:03,625 Kitty had shielded me. 718 01:11:04,750 --> 01:11:06,083 And she were dead. 719 01:11:14,208 --> 01:11:17,500 If it hadn't been for Kitty, uh, I'd be dead. 720 01:11:18,166 --> 01:11:20,125 I've no doubt about that 721 01:11:20,625 --> 01:11:24,958 because whatever killed her would've killed me instead. 722 01:11:26,625 --> 01:11:28,375 So I'll never forget that. 723 01:11:40,375 --> 01:11:42,416 In so many ways, I've been so lucky 724 01:11:42,500 --> 01:11:47,500 because, uh… I've always been able to do so many things. 725 01:11:49,250 --> 01:11:51,000 Met a lovely girl, married her. 726 01:11:51,875 --> 01:11:53,333 Got three great kids. 727 01:12:13,125 --> 01:12:16,041 {\an8}When the war ended, we were in a different world. 728 01:12:18,250 --> 01:12:22,458 Basically, we needed to pull together. We needed to be unified. 729 01:12:33,333 --> 01:12:36,333 The class system broke down. 730 01:12:37,916 --> 01:12:41,000 We thought we deserved something else. 731 01:12:43,291 --> 01:12:44,625 Life did get better. 732 01:12:57,625 --> 01:13:01,541 Sometimes I feel the significance of what is going on in the world, 733 01:13:02,041 --> 01:13:04,500 but even then, I can't put it into words. 734 01:13:06,375 --> 01:13:09,291 One half of the world trying to destroy the other. 735 01:13:10,125 --> 01:13:12,250 Nothing will ever be the same again. 736 01:13:15,208 --> 01:13:18,041 But I don't feel any different to how I did in peacetime, 737 01:13:18,541 --> 01:13:20,208 except that I'm a bit happier. 738 01:13:36,208 --> 01:13:38,875 I don't think there's been determination like that since. 739 01:13:40,791 --> 01:13:45,625 You see, we were protecting our livelihood, our… our country, 740 01:13:45,708 --> 01:13:47,541 all our people, everybody. 741 01:13:48,291 --> 01:13:52,541 And that included the civilians. Going to fight right to the bitter end. 742 01:13:56,041 --> 01:14:00,041 The final extinction of a baleful domination 743 01:14:00,125 --> 01:14:05,166 will pave the way to a broader solidarity 744 01:14:05,250 --> 01:14:07,291 than we could ever have planned 745 01:14:08,750 --> 01:14:12,916 if we had not marched together through the fire.