V45 - throughout 2005 on BBC Television, BBC Radio and online In 2005, it's 60 years since the end of the Second World War, and the nation is preparing for some of the biggest commemorations and celebrations seen since 1945. To mark the occasion, the BBC will broadcast a range of events and programmes across television, radio and online, transmitting throughout the year, under the umbrella name of V45. This year, national commemorations are not just focused on VE Day (8 May) and VJ Day (15 August), but also include End of the War ceremonial events to be held on 10 July, the official commemoration date marking the end of the war, and this is reflected in the BBC's programming. BBC Television April D-Day To Berlin, BBC ONE D-Day To Berlin recounts the Allies' struggle from the beaches of Normandy to their ultimate victory in Germany nearly one year later. This three-part series began on Wednesday 20 April with The Struggle To Break Out. The optimism born of the successful D-Day landings quickly begins to fade as the Allies confront a skilful enemy who is determined to throw them back into the sea. British troops become trapped in a terrible battle of attrition, and 60,000 men are killed or wounded in the first three weeks of the campaign. The second programme, Allies At War, looks at the personality differences and radical disagreements in strategy which threaten to create a rift between Eisenhower and Montgomery and burst the alliance open. And the final episode The Dream That Died examines the final few months of the Second World War when crucial decisions will decide the shape of Europe for decades. (NR) In The Footsteps Of Churchill, BBC FOUR In the Footsteps of Churchill is both a study in character and the story of an extraordinary career. As a soldier at Omdurman Churchill took part in an old-style cavalry charge and was twice recommended for the Victoria Cross. He went on to become a towering figure in British politics, changing parties twice - from the Conservatives to the Liberals and back again - and holding all the great offices of state except Foreign Secretary. He was a journalist and historian, wrote some 80 books and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The series takes viewers on an exhilarating journey through Harrow, the North-West Frontier, the Sudan, South Africa, 10 Downing Street and his beloved Chartwell; a journey that begins in the aristocratic splendour of Blenheim Palace and ends in the quiet of a country churchyard – the compass of an extraordinary life in a few Oxfordshire acres. (JW) Wales At War, BBC ONE Wales 1939 to 1945 were six pivotal years that changed the lives of many in Wales for ever. John Humphrys discovers many personal stories in this new four-part BBC Wales series, a collection of the emotional experiences and dilemmas of Second World War. With a comprehensive new archive of material – gathered from people's own personal memories, pictures and artefacts – the series helps to piece together a full picture of those unforgettable years. (JW) May A Party To Remember: Live From Trafalgar Square, BBC ONE, 8 May Sir Cliff Richard, Will Young, Daniel Bedingfield, Katie Melua, Katherine Jenkins, Hayley Westenra and Heather Small are some of the top international artists taking part in this live concert from Trafalgar Square, which marks the 60th Anniversary of VE Day. The musical extravaganza is presented by Eamonn Holmes and Natasha Kaplinsky with special guest appearances from Dame Vera Lynn, Christopher Eccleston, Richard E Grant and Heather Mills McCartney. 200 representatives from Veteran groups are also in attendance. Popular songs of wartime feature alongside contemporary tracks in a celebration of both the past and the future; songs are interspersed with readings, original footage and short films about fashion, entertainment and lifestyle in the Forties, transporting the audience back in time. A Party to Remember: Live From Trafalgar Square – VE Day 60th, is being organised by the BBC, The Royal British Legion and the Mayor of London with the support of the London Development Agency. The concert is also broadcast live on BBC London 94.9 FM and other BBC Local Radio Stations. BBC Radio 2 will broadcast live features from Trafalgar Square during the event with concert highlights broadcasting later on in the evening. (LW) We'll Meet Again, BBC ONE, 8 May As part of the 60th anniversary of Germany's surrender, Des Lynam presents We'll Meet Again, a one-hour special to celebrate the end of the war. We'll Meet Again reunites old friends, comrades and heroes who have carried the memories of each other in their hearts since the war, and tells uplifting wartime stories recounted by those who lived through it. Separated by distance and circumstance for more than half a lifetime, these stories will be brought up-to-date with emotional and surprising reunions. With live studio performances and special guests, We'll Meet Again also gives viewers a taste of what the entertainment of the wartime years would have been like. (JM) July End of the War, BBC ONE In the week leading up to the official End of the War Ceremony, Huw Edwards will present a daily special programme for BBC ONE. The programmes will look at life in Britain during the last year of the Second World War. Huw will be live from central London each day, with live links from BBC reporters around the UK plus archive footage of one of the most important events in British history. (SS) End Of The War Ceremony, BBC ONE, 10 July On 10 July 2005, BBC ONE will be covering a day of ceremonial events in London to commemorate the end of the Second World War which will be attended by veterans and their families. The day will include a service at Westminster Abbey, an event at Horse Guards, a fly past of Second World War aircraft over London, and the traditional appearance of the Royal Family on the Buckingham Palace balcony. A BBC Production. (KB/NR) Hiroshima, BBC ONE At 8.15am on 6 August 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing nearly 100,000 people instantly. Those who managed to survive – in spite of the lethal heat-blast, the colossal shockwave and the invisible effects of gamma radiation – told stories of a living nightmare. This drama-documentary is set in the three weeks from the first test explosion in New Mexico to the eventual dropping of the bomb, and shows what it was like to live through a nuclear explosion. It includes a host of visual techniques, including archive footage, CGI, miniature models, prosthetics and pyrotechnics to illustrate all the different stages of the explosion. Everything is based on facts, drawn from survivors' testimony, never-before-seen interviews with the last remaining members of the air crew and witnesses to the political decisions, official documents, diaries and archive film. Hiroshima puts the explosion in its historical and political context, examining the evidence and records to build a detailed account of the reasons for the decision to bomb the city. A BBC Production. (KB) After The War, BBC TWO After The War, a new three-part series, looks at the burning issues around 1945 - what happened when war ended; how peace was restored; and how the Allies set about the reconstruction of Nazi Germany. After The War: Churchill examines the man who led the nation through its darkest hours of thew Second World War and brought victory to Britain. After announcing a snap General Election, Churchill toured the country where he was rapturously received by enormous crowds. But in a shock defeat, Churchill was voted out of office and Clement Attlee and the Labour Party took control of the country. The programme follows Churchill on the ups and downs of the campaign and talks to people who were there including his daughter Mary Soames, his secretary Elizabeth Nel, his translator at Potsdam, Hugh Lunghi, and many others. Labour activists at the time - such as Tony Benn and Denis Healey - also take part as does Janet Shipton, Attlee's daughter. After The War: Germany shows the full destruction of Nazi Germany after seven years of war and how the Allies were faced with having to rebuild the country. After The War: Hirohito examines the Japanese Emperor's reign and the role he played during the Second World War. A BBC Production. (KB) BBC Radio Coming Home, Radio 4, 9 to 13 May Coming Home, a landmark series for Radio 4, celebrates the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War throughout the week beginning Monday 9 May. Charles Wheeler presents five personal interpretations of what the end of the war meant to people in Britain and across the world. Taking that unique moment as its starting point, Coming Home traces the way in which the previous six years of hostilities led to the realisation that the world had irrevocably changed. Coming Home is on BBC Radio 4, daily, Monday 9 to Friday 13 May at 9.00am. (EH) Random Edition, Radio 4, 6 May Random Edition joins in Radio 4's season of programmes to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War with a VE Day special on Friday 6 May. As ever, a single newspaper from history provides the stories. The archive newspaper selected is the News Chronicle for Wednesday 9 May 1945. Its VE Day reports whisk round the country to describe everything from loaves being stolen from a baker's van in Oxford, to a 'cease fire' bugled in Sheffield by Joseph Revitt, who sounded the same command in 1918 outside the very railway carriage where the Armistice was signed. Random Edition VE Day Special is on BBC Radio 4 on Friday 6 May at 11.00am. (EH) bbc.co.uk People's War The People's War website exists to capture memories and experiences of those who lived through the Second World War. The site went live in 2003 and continues to look for more stories. So far, People's War has worked with community centres and libraries around the UK to encourage people who lived through the war to visit and contribute their stories to the website. This year People's War is looking for storygathers – sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters and even neighbours of those who were alive during the Second World War. Their recollections and experiences are invaluable. Visit bbc.co.uk/ww2 for more information. (NR)
Originally posted by salientpoints@Apr 28 2005, 07:25 AM bbc.co.uk People's War The People's War website exists to capture memories and experiences of those who lived through the Second World War. The site went live in 2003 and continues to look for more stories. So far, People's War has worked with community centres and libraries around the UK to encourage people who lived through the war to visit and contribute their stories to the website. This year People's War is looking for storygathers – sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters and even neighbours of those who were alive during the Second World War. Their recollections and experiences are invaluable. Visit bbc.co.uk/ww2 for more information. (NR) [post=33664]Quoted post[/post] BBC Local Radio stations are still actively recruiting volunteer facilitators. The aim is to have 100,000 stories available online, early next year - currently, there are something over 20,000, so there's much to be done and not a lot of time to do it in!! Pals who have looked at the website will know the wide range of stories covered, from members of the armed forces, merchant mariners, then schoolchildren, evacuees, internees, POWs, those who served on the land and in industry, and many other facets of the Second World War. Many stories out there remain to be recorded before they're lost, not only to today's generations but, perhaps more importantly, for the benefit of future generations. If, like me, you'd like to get more involved in the archive's development, the website (<span style='color:blue'>www.bbc.co.uk/WW2) provides excellent guidance on how to do so. However, for those who want only to relate their story(ies), their own or something that's come down through the family, I'd be happy to help Pals put it / them together. As I live in Northumberland, naturally I'm especially interested in stories relating to the North East and North of England but I'm equally happy to help those who live elsewhere. David T.</span>
