A
history resource article by
Mary Harrsch ©
2015
Today I received an email about the upcoming release of "
World War One: The People's Story". The documentary aired in the UK last August and will now be released on DVD on April 14, 2015. It will also be available on
Acorn TV, the British streaming service available on
Roku devices, iPads and iPhones, smart Samsung TVs or through your web browser on your computer.
Through
original diaries, letters, and memoirs, this unforgettable documentary
tells how the lives of regular British men and women were transformed
by the Great War. A reservist leaves for the front determined to write
to his mother every few days. A newlywed says goodbye to his pregnant
wife. A young woman fears that when her fiancé sails for France, her
hopes of marriage will disappear. For parents
and children, soldiers and factory workers alike, life and love go on
but never again as they did before. Few could imagine the horrors ahead:
hundreds of thousands would never return, and those who did would carry
wounds—physical, emotional, psychological—that
would change their lives forever.
Along
with historical footage, an outstanding cast of actors reenact
first-hand accounts uncovered from attics, archives, and libraries
across Britain.
Narrated by Olivia Colman, this four-part series re-creates the
extraordinary stories of ordinary people, told in their own words.
The DVD includes a 12-page viewer’s guide with a map of the western front;
an overview of WWI; and articles on trench warfare, the suffragist movement, and the WWI poets.
