Pennod 4 Rhyfel Mawr Trwy Lygaid Ifanc

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-The First World War started

-a hundred years ago, in 1914.

-The war changed the lives

-of men, women and children forever.

-Children and young people

-from all over Europe...

-..described their experiences

-in diaries and letters.

-These are the stories of

-the Great War through their eyes.

-One of them was Alison Brook,

-an eleven-year-old girl...

-..from a village near Edinburgh

-in Scotland.

-If the German Emperor knew how

-badly the Scots wanted to fight...

-..he wouldn't even think about

-starting a war.

-Attack! Attack!

-SHOUTS

-We chased away the German soldiers.

-Or to tell the truth, we have been

-on the lookout for them all summer.

-Everyone's a soldier, even Violet!

-My father, Oliver and Harold's

-fathers will all be leaving soon.

-CHEERS

-Major Alison.

-I've conquered the enemy!

-Well done, Sergeant Harold!

-No, I conquered the enemy!

-And me.

-And me.

-

-That's impossible! You're a girl!

-Girls can fight, too.

-Can't they Major Alison?

-Here he is again.

-Everyone wants to die for

-his country, except Luke MacMillan.

-# Cowardly, cowardly custard!

-He eats his mother's mustard! #

-I would become a soldier to fight

-for Scotland if it was allowed.

-Luke MacMillan cycles round

-happily as if nothing is going on.

-Who threw the stick?

-You're frightened of the Germans,

-but not little children! Coward!

-Here you are!

-I gave him a white feather.

-It's a symbol of cowardice

-that all army dodgers dread.

-A white feather!

-She gave him a white feather!

-His face dropped. He looked

-as if he'd break down in tears!

-Britain had not been invaded

-for many centuries.

-Britain, surrounded by sea,

-had warships to defend her.

-A small army

-of professional soldiers...

-..was enough to defend the country.

-As a result, there was no

-compulsory military service.

-But if Britain wanted

-to win the war against Germany...

-..many soldiers would be needed.

-To make war more attractive...

-..the government promised

-that friends could stay together.

-They succeeded. Factory

-workers enlisted the same time.

-Complete football teams, and their

-supporters, enlisted in the army.

-Almost three million men

-joined the pals battalions.

-They enlisted

-in local recruitment drives...

-..with the promise they'd serve

-alongside friends and neighbours.

-BELLS

-Don't worry Mr Ross.

-My father will protect you.

-My father can look after himself!

-He can take on

-the Germans single-handedly!

-Yes! I'll do that.

-I wish I could come to free Belgium

-and catch the Emperor!

-It's not fair

-that we have to stay at home!

-We're missing the adventure!

-Alison! Look over there!

-Luke MacMillan finally enlisted

-because of me!

-I gave him the white feather!

-Suddenly I glowed with pride.

-I couldn't go to the front...

-..to experience the danger...

-..and excitement of a real war.

-But I had made a contribution.

-But the war was coming closer than

-Alison could ever have imagined.

-For many years, Germans had

-developed zeppelin airships.

-The North Sea

-was no longer an obstacle.

-The airships

-were filled with hydrogen.

-They could reach

-3,000 to 4,000 metres.

-They were out of reach

-of British planes and guns.

-The zeppelins flew over,

-then the engines were switched off.

-They hovered silently, unnoticed,

-in the skies above Britain.

-What's happening?

-The Germans are attacking us!

-Don't be silly! That's impossible!

-A fine major I am!

-Panicking for nothing, while I

-should be an example to everyone!

-From 1915 on, London and cities

-on Britain's eastern coast...

-..were bombed by zeppelins.

-Even Edinburgh was bombed. A school

-and several houses were destroyed.

-Men and children were killed.

-The British no longer

-felt safe on their island.

-The Germans thought that if

-the British were living in fear...

-..they'd surrender.

-But that was not to be.

-The British government put

-posters up all over the country...

-..portraying the Germans

-as monsters and child-killers.

-Propaganda strengthened

-the people's will to fight.

-It's no coincidence that children

-are being killed. That is their aim.

-Do you really think so?

-That's why Germans

-are called "baby killers".

-My father will sort them out.

-Mam says they throw

-poisoned sweets on the ground.

-That's why we shouldn't

-eat sweets off the street!

-"164 babies killed in a month".

-I told you!

-They did that in Belgium.

-They chopped children's hands off.

-Oh, no!

-Are you alright, madam?

-I will be fine...

-..thanks to you!

-Madam, do you have anyone

-to look after you?

-Yes, my grandson, Luke...

-..but he left for France last week.

-Yes, my grandson, Luke.

-He left last week.

-Luke didn't want to go to war

-because his grandma was blind.

-The propaganda spread

-so much hatred towards Germany...

-..that Germans living in Britain...

-..suffered brutal attacks.

-Homes and shops

-were burned and looted.

-Many of them

-didn't feel like Germans.

-Their sons joined the British army.

-But despite that,

-many were imprisoned.

-They could come again.

-Who?

-The Germans in their balloons,

-to chop children's hands off.

-Don't worry. Come here.

-Especially girls, says Oliver.

-He's talking nonsense.

-What if the Germans win?

-Major Alison will protect you.

-Searchlights lit up the night.

-German zeppelins

-were still coming.

-When a zeppelin was spotted...

-..police and officers

-used trumpets to warn the public.

-All the lights were switched off

-and entire streets darkened.

-But it didn't work.

-Nothing could stop the zeppelins.

-What could they do?

-Postcards and letters...

-..were the only way for families

-and friends to remain in contact.

-"Dear Dad. I miss you terribly.

-"I hope you'll return safely!

-"I look forward to your next letter.

-All my love, Harold."

-There she is!

-Thanks to compulsory education, many

-people knew how to read and write.

-The soldiers and their relatives

-could keep in touch.

-In Britain, millions of letters

-were mailed every day.

-They reached their destination

-by the following afternoon.

-Wait, please!

-Is there a letter

-from Stephen Brook?

-And from my father, Benjamin Ross?

-Only one. For Glengarry.

-Here! Here! For me!

-Here's another one for my father.

-Hey, wait a minute.

-What about his letters?

-I'm sorry.

-I have only one more letter.

-Look.

-It's for Mrs MacMillan.

-I know her! I'll take it to her.

-Dad promised to write every day.

-Come in, Alison.

-You're always there when I need you.

-Sit, sit!

-I'll make some tea.

-I had a card from Luke last week.

-Can you read it for me?

-Of course, Mrs MacMillan.

-I think he's near Amiens.

-There's a picture of the cathedral.

-He will love

-all those old buildings.

-After the war, he wants to go

-to college to study architecture.

-"Dear Gran, I prayed for you today

-in a lovely cathedral.

-"For a moment,

-I imagined you were next to me.

-"It's hell about 20 miles away,

-but it's so quiet and peaceful here.

-"It really is paradise on earth.

-Your grandson."

-Yes, architecture.

-That's what he wants to do.

-Did this come today?

-What news does he have?

-"We deeply regret to inform you

-that Private Luke MacMillan...

-"..of The Royal Scots Lothian

-Regiment was killed in action."

-Alison?

-He misses you. He misses Scotland.

-"Only now, so far from home...

-"..do I realize

-how beautiful Edinburgh is."

-Dead! Luke is dead.

-Edinburgh?

-He will never come home again.

-And it was all my fault.

-I can still see him

-hunched over bicycle.

-With that pale face...

-..that almost burst out crying

-when I gave him the white feather.

-Oh, no! What have I done?

-After a soldier died...

-..his family received a

-"death penny" to remember him by.

-On occasion,

-they received a medal for bravery.

-It was meant to make them feel

-the soldier's death was not in vain.

-Slowly, it became clear

-how bad the war actually was.

-British papers

-only referred to German losses.

-They never mentioned how harsh

-it was for the British soldiers.

-The British army is only ever

-successful. How is that possible?

-The government feared

-the people would lose hope...

-..and would not want to fight.

-Why will Oliver's father

-never return again?

-The newspaper only has good news.

-Most of the soldiers

-I know are dead.

-I've found it!

-How many Germans has he shot?

-Was he brave? Did he get a medal?

-All it says is, "Benjamin Ross...

-"..dead."

-To ensure

-the public's continued support...

-..publishing bad news was banned.

-Certain soldiers...

-..known as censors...

-..removed any bad news

-from the soldiers' letters.

-They used black ink and scissors

-to delete information...

-..that could help the enemy

-or frighten people back home.

-The British public were not told...

-..of the horrors suffered

-by soldiers on the front.

-"Dear Gran, yesterday we caught

-three Germans in the forest.

-"They surrendered straightaway."

-Thank goodness.

-I wrote the letter, of course.

-I used the adventures

-that I had supposedly experienced...

-..as Major Alison.

-I couldn't tell her the truth,

-because Luke was her only family.

-The grief would be too much for her.

-The grief would be too much for her.

-

-Ssh!

-What's going on outside?

-It felt as if the zeppelins

-would be around forever.

-But the British learnt

-to defend themselves.

-Hundreds of lookout posts

-were built.

-The zeppelins

-could be detected earlier.

-British aeroplanes could fly out

-sooner to attack the airships.

-They had a new weapon,

-incendiary ammunition.

-A battle in the sky above the sea!

-Our aeroplanes are attacking

-the German zeppelin!

-They dive on it like mosquitoes...

-..but the bullets

-are having no effect!

-And the zeppelin?

-And the zeppelin?

-

-It's climbing and trying to escape!

-It's almost... oh, no!

-What's going on?

-There's a red dawn. The zeppelin

-is on fire! The frame is lit up!

-I can see the flames!

-Oh, no! One huge fireball!

-It's spinning like a wounded animal,

-and it's beginning to fall.

-It's going faster and faster.

-And the crew?

-What do you mean?

-There are between

-twenty and thirty people on board!

-Oh, no!

-Everyone was happy

-and I felt so stupid.

-All I could think about...

-..were the Germans high

-in the sky without parachutes.

-They had to jump

-or be burned alive.

-What a horrible choice.

-What would their final thoughts be?

-The German airships

-were not indestructible.

-They were shot down, one by one,

-by the British.

-Fewer bombings were carried out.

-By 1918, zeppelins disappeared

-from British skies altogether.

-We're gathered here

-to say farewell to Major Alison...

-..who was killed defending

-our banner against the Turks.

-Two boxes and a sheet,

-that's what we were crying about.

-I didn't feel like playing

-Major Alison any more.

-I'd had enough.

-I wanted to have this funeral,

-and then it was over.

-Rest in peace, brave major.

-You deserve it.

-Why does she have to die?

-What if she had survived?

-Could she come back to life?

-No, there was no time to escape.

-But I don't want her to die!

-We will all miss her.

-But she is no longer here.

-We not only buried Major Alison...

-..but also Harold's father,

-Oliver's father...

-..and the Germans from the zeppelin.

-The British pals battalions...

-..suffered great losses

-on the front.

-Many of the soldiers died

-next to friends and neighbours.

-Whole neighbourhoods

-were in mourning.

-Every family in Britain

-lost someone.

-The loss of a child

-is the worst thing imaginable.

-You can't compensate for that

-with a medal.

-You can only be honest.

-There have been enough lies.

-S4C Subtitles by Gwead

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