0:00:02 > 0:00:04- BIRDSONG - The great British countryside...
0:00:06 > 0:00:10..setting for one of the most pivotal battles of the Second World War.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Churchill called it, "the front line of freedom."
0:00:16 > 0:00:19It was a battle fought by the farmers of Britain.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26When war broke out, two-thirds of all Britain's food was imported.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Now, it fell under threat from a Nazi blockade.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32EXPLOSION
0:00:32 > 0:00:38The government turned to farmers to double home-grown food production.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40The plough had become a weapon of war. It was the farmer's
0:00:40 > 0:00:42principle weapon of war.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46If they failed, Britain could be starved into submission.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Now, archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and historian Ruth Goodman
0:00:57 > 0:01:01are turning the clock back to the 1940s.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Over the next year they are running Manor Farm in Hampshire,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07as it would have been during the Second World War.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Yes!
0:01:12 > 0:01:16This time...the team approach 1940
0:01:16 > 0:01:21when Britain's cities were bombed by the Nazis in the Blitz.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24AIR RAID SIRENS
0:01:24 > 0:01:27They'll experience how the countryside defended
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and protected the cities...
0:01:29 > 0:01:32One at 8,000...Spitfire.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37..revived old crafts to prepare for the biggest evacuation in history...
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Peter, what are you doing? HE GRUNTS
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Chop and cut. Come on, keep up with the clay.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48..and celebrate the first Christmas on ration.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Put it all to the back of your mind and have what fun one can.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- The King. - ALL: The King.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58This is the untold story of the countryside at war.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23By November 1940, Britain had been at war for 14 months.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29Under the watchful eye of War Agricultural Executive Committees,
0:02:29 > 0:02:32farmers had grown over two million extra acres of crops
0:02:32 > 0:02:36in a drive to double home grown food production.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41But Britain faced an unprecedented onslaught.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43AIRCRAFT DRONES
0:02:43 > 0:02:47In the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain saw the German air force
0:02:47 > 0:02:51attempt to destroy the RAF in preparation for a full invasion.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58They failed.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02And Prime Minister Winston Churchill saluted the courage of its pilots
0:03:02 > 0:03:05as a turning point in the war.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11CHURCHILL SPEAKS: "The gratitude of every home in our island,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15"goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20"unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24"are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess
0:03:24 > 0:03:25"and by their devotion.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29"Never in the field of human conflict
0:03:29 > 0:03:33"was so much owed by so many to so few."
0:03:37 > 0:03:39AIR RAID SIRENS
0:03:39 > 0:03:42But the bombing of Britain's cities and ports would continue.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52The Blitz killed some 40,000 civilians.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57That first wave of bombing was aimed not just at London,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00but also at the port towns along the south coast.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Portsmouth and Southampton came in for a hammering.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Night after night after night. And there was no Underground
0:04:07 > 0:04:10to shelter in if you were in Southampton. Huge numbers of
0:04:10 > 0:04:12the population actually slept in the fields.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Arial bombardment was a terrifying concept endangering civilians
0:04:17 > 0:04:21in Britain's cities as never before.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27So over three million women and children
0:04:27 > 0:04:30were moved to the safety of the countryside,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34the largest evacuation of people in Britain's history.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Farms, with their many outbuildings,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43were expected to accommodate as many people as possible.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It's not the best candidate, is it? And that thing there is just too big
0:04:47 > 0:04:49to even consider heating.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Alex and Peter are checking Manor Farm's barns
0:04:52 > 0:04:56for potential places to accommodate evacuees.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- This is another candidate.- Yeah.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02There are a few holes in that roof though.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07It's actually quite significant. There's one, two, three, four holes on this side.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10To make room for evacuees here,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14they must make urgent repairs to the barn roofs.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15HAMMERING
0:05:18 > 0:05:20We just haven't got anywhere near enough beds
0:05:20 > 0:05:22if we've got all these people coming.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25So I'm going to have to knock something up quick.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27It's going to have to be pretty crude.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30With imports restricted
0:05:30 > 0:05:33and factories switching production to weapons,
0:05:33 > 0:05:38in 1940 everything was in short supply, including furniture.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42The word was all these townspeople were on their way.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44They had nowhere else to go.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47They were being bombed out of their own homes.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52And the country suddenly had to absorb huge numbers of extra people.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57So how do you do it? Where do find the facilities?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Where do you find the beds? Where do you find the bedding?
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Where do you find the food? The pots and pans?
0:06:03 > 0:06:07And it all had to be done so fast.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Up and down the countryside,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13villages of all sorts were busily gathering together
0:06:13 > 0:06:19everything they could to accommodate this influx of really
0:06:19 > 0:06:21rather desperate people.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Well, do as an emergency bed, wouldn't it?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Building materials too were in short supply.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48Bombing destroyed thousands of factories and houses,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50all of which needed to be repaired.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Brick and tile factories couldn't keep up with demand,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00so people in the countryside revived old crafts to produce them.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02Good afternoon, gentlemen.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Afternoon, lads.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07- You've come ready for work! - And a picnic!
0:07:07 > 0:07:09A picnic? Just the weather!
0:07:11 > 0:07:16Alex and Peter need roof tiles to repair the barns for evacuees.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19So they're calling on experts in traditional crafts
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Colin Richards and Mick Krupa.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25- What is it? - It's a tile-making machine.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28That is quite something!
0:07:28 > 0:07:33It hasn't seen action for a long time so we're re-commissioning it.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36You can't buy these any more. This is a bit of a beast.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38You put clay in one end,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and in theory you get tiles out of the other. How many do you need?
0:07:42 > 0:07:46- Probably a few hundred. - Into the hundreds.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47We need to get busy then.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53The first job is to soften the clay from which the tiles will be made.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Dance man!
0:07:55 > 0:07:57This needs to be pliable
0:07:57 > 0:08:01otherwise there's no hope of it going through the machine.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06- Let's get it all in. - Get it all in?- Yeah.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Squeezing the clay through this slot requires a great deal of power.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Colin is hoping the petrol engine is up to the task.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- Are you ready? - I'm ready when you are, boys.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- OK.- OK.- Yeah.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Currently it's bringing the ram up to the clay in the box.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33A bit of pressure, boys!
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Peter's been handed the vital job of cutting the moulded clay
0:08:36 > 0:08:38into individual tiles.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Peter! What are you doing! PETER GRUNTS
0:08:43 > 0:08:49You're on piecework, Peter, chop and cut! Keep up with the clay!
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Peter needs to raise his game at the moment.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56- Cut and cut.- And cut.
0:08:56 > 0:08:57Clutch, Mick.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01So how many did we get out of that run, Peter?
0:09:01 > 0:09:05One, two...I reckon three, actually.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11297 tiles to make. Lid down and let's get on with it. Enough natter.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Here we go.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Look at that!
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Keep cutting, Peter!
0:09:22 > 0:09:27After a bomb attack, bricks often remained intact so could be reused.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Tiles, on the other hand, easily shattered,
0:09:29 > 0:09:31so new ones were in great demand.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38The war distorted everything. With the damage in the big cities,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41the brickworks and the tile works were working overtime
0:09:41 > 0:09:43and there wasn't any spare capacity.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45And it was the case of make do
0:09:45 > 0:09:49and mend, going back to basics and if you had the knowledge and the skills
0:09:49 > 0:09:51to make tiles, this is what you do.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Few had produced tiles this way since before the First World War.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15During the war, imports of cotton and linen were severely restricted,
0:10:15 > 0:10:21so bedding was in short supply. Ruth's following government advice
0:10:21 > 0:10:25and re-cycling old fabric to make patchwork quilts for the evacuees.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28I've been making these little pockets every now and again
0:10:28 > 0:10:33when I've got a bit of time. I just run them up on the machine,
0:10:33 > 0:10:35and then stuff them full of feathers.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40The bags are made from scraps of material known as ticking.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Ticking is just a really tightly woven cotton.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47It has to be tightly woven
0:10:47 > 0:10:51otherwise the feathers work their way out. The end of a feather
0:10:51 > 0:10:53is really quite pointy
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and on ordinary fabric, if it was like, say, apron fabric
0:10:56 > 0:11:01you can push it straight through and that would be really uncomfortable
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and the feathers would work their way out.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09So old mattress covers, old pillows,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11they are all covered in ticking.
0:11:11 > 0:11:16Great for making quilts. So I've got my thimble and my needle
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and just sew each bag up. And this is part
0:11:19 > 0:11:25of the British patchwork tradition. The idea of making stuffed pockets,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29great, huge, fat, crude pockets, which I'm going to sew together
0:11:29 > 0:11:34into something that would look to a modern eye like a duvet
0:11:34 > 0:11:37than anything else. But this is about warmth.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41It's amazing how quick it grows.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49Five and a half bricks, then everything square to start off with.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54To harden the tiles, they must be fired in a kiln.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00But with no access to industrial kilns, during the war
0:12:00 > 0:12:04temporary ones were built, often using what materials were to hand.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06We got many more to go?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08No this is the last layer.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11What sort of temperature are we looking for here?
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- We'll need to get up to about 900. - 900 degrees?- Yeah.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17That's going to be difficult though, isn't it?
0:12:17 > 0:12:21It is in these conditions. There's quite a challenge ahead of us really.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26In these freezing November conditions,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29maintaining a constant temperature of 900 degrees
0:12:29 > 0:12:31requires some clever engineering.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34We've got to create four little chimneys.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Because we need to get the heat all the way round
0:12:38 > 0:12:43the perimeter of the kiln and as we move from one corner to another,
0:12:43 > 0:12:45we can suck the heat across the stack.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48So the heat is drawn to these four corners.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Tea's up, guys!
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Very kind. Thank you.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57You've got to the stage now, your kiln's basically complete.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01But everything is very damp and we need to dry that out slowly
0:13:01 > 0:13:04over a couple of hours. If we heat it up too quickly
0:13:04 > 0:13:06it's going to burst the tiles.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11The kiln must burn for two days and two nights.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16This will require over a tonne of fire wood, gathered from the forest.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20To help them cut it up, Alex and Peter have dusted off
0:13:20 > 0:13:23the farm's 1940s power saw.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27It looks extremely dangerous, Peter!
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Yes, the Avon power saw.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Have you ever heard of Avon power tools?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35It's not that company that went into prosthetic limbs, is it?
0:13:37 > 0:13:39I hate starting these things.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Nearly, nearly, nearly.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49POWER SAW SPLUTTERS
0:13:49 > 0:13:52It wants to go. It wants to kick into life.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Yes! Yes!
0:13:59 > 0:14:01One, two, three...
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- Ready?- Into gear.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Don't think it's moving too much, is it?
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Ruth's make do and mend quilts for the evacuees are taking shape.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45So this four, I've done them together there,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47will fit into that gap.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53To be honest I'm having to resist making it overly pretty.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56There is a sort of temptation to slow down
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and start doing beautiful things and make it look gorgeous.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03I mean, even a couple of stitches made in a little pattern here
0:15:03 > 0:15:06and you'd start to not only hold the feathers in place but it would
0:15:06 > 0:15:08improve the look enormously.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Is it nice and warm under there, Henry?
0:15:24 > 0:15:27OK, chaps, looks like grub's up!
0:15:28 > 0:15:30It wasn't just women and children
0:15:30 > 0:15:33who were relocated to the countryside during the war.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37So was 20-year-old Don Sutherland.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41But Don wasn't an evacuee.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44He was conscripted into farm labour by the government,
0:15:44 > 0:15:48because, like 61,000 men and women,
0:15:48 > 0:15:49he refused to fight.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55I decided to register as a conscientious objector
0:15:55 > 0:15:57when the call-up came.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01I objected on religious grounds.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05It was a very difficult decision to make. I've always believed
0:16:05 > 0:16:07that you love your enemies.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10And you don't kill them.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12You don't try and hurt them.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15That must have been a very difficult time of your life.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19It was difficult. You can only speak the truth and say that you didn't...
0:16:19 > 0:16:21..you couldn't do it yourself.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I couldn't do it. I couldn't go out and kill people,
0:16:26 > 0:16:27and that's what war's about.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Were there problems trying to convince the authorities
0:16:31 > 0:16:36as to why you felt you needed to object?
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Well, the usual question is, what would you do if a German
0:16:39 > 0:16:44did such and such to your daughter or your sister or your mother?
0:16:44 > 0:16:45- That sort of thing.- Right.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50But I don't think those questions are sensible questions to ask really.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54One does not know what one would do in an emergency.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I only know that there are better ways of doing it than that.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05Some 5,000 conscientious objectors were imprisoned.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07But Don was one of the lucky ones,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10spending the rest of the war as a farm labourer.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Wow. So you're threshing out. That's the middle of winter.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20- That must have been cold there. - Yes, it was. That's one of myself.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- That's the sugar beat. - Cart load of sugar beet.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28I was an office worker. I'd worked in an office for seven years
0:17:28 > 0:17:31so it was completely new to me, to work with my hands.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36But I think it's good for any young man to do that, really.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Absolutely. The work you did in the fields
0:17:40 > 0:17:44of bringing in these harvests, did you feel, even inadvertently,
0:17:44 > 0:17:49that this was part of the war effort and you were doing your bit towards
0:17:49 > 0:17:51supporting Britain at that time?
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Indirectly, I suppose you are, really.
0:17:54 > 0:18:01I don't deny the men going out there were making a much bigger sacrifice
0:18:01 > 0:18:04than I was. I must admit that.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10But it's what they were having to do that I disagreed with.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14It was always accepted that you fight.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17And that's it. Without realising what war is like.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26OWL HOOTS
0:18:28 > 0:18:32DOGS BARK AND COCKEREL CROWS
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Here you are. Let me take that.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41This is Daisy, is it? Hello, Daisy.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46By December 1940, the bombing of Southampton and Portsmouth
0:18:46 > 0:18:49had reached a new intensity.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Thousands more evacuees flooded from the cities to the countryside.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00I'm a bit nervous. I've put my best coat on, make a good impression.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01Don't know who we're getting.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Children under five were accompanied by their mothers.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Hello! Welcome to Manor Farm! Who've we got here then?
0:19:09 > 0:19:13We've got Ernest and Maureen.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Welcome to my home. - Thank you very much.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21Someone who remembers evacuees arriving here over 70 years ago
0:19:21 > 0:19:23is Betty Rudd.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29I found these mothers and these children and they were weeping
0:19:29 > 0:19:31and in a terrible state.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35The children were crying and feeling miserable.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37"Why can't we go home, Mummy?
0:19:38 > 0:19:41"Why do we have to stay here, Mummy?"
0:19:41 > 0:19:44And it was really very tough.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48And that was my first experience of evacuees.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52The government assigned billeting officers in every village
0:19:52 > 0:19:55to find accommodation for the evacuees.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59Betty's father was the officer for the area around Manor Farm.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03My father's here in his long overcoat.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08There were an extraordinary amount of people there with big houses,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12old time gentry, they didn't want to know at all.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15The people with the butlers. We had a fight.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17They thought they were above it.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Yes, my father just marched in, that was it.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24And the people who were being billeted in the countryside
0:20:24 > 0:20:28were not countryside people, they were townies with different ways.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32That was the problem. They wouldn't eat their greens,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37they wanted fish and chips. And we encouraged them to grow vegetables,
0:20:37 > 0:20:39a lot of these children and they did.
0:20:39 > 0:20:41They were quite interested in that.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44It is one of the things about the war, isn't it? All sorts of
0:20:44 > 0:20:47different groups of people had to learn about each other.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50- Yes, they did.- Town people had to learn about the countryside
0:20:50 > 0:20:53and country people had to learn about town people.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Yes. Their life would never be the same again, it certainly wouldn't.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03There we go. Get mud on your boots!
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Many evacuated children were put to work, helping farmers to meet
0:21:09 > 0:21:12the government's demands of doubling food production.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Don't get mud like this in Portsmouth, do you?
0:21:16 > 0:21:17For children from the cities,
0:21:17 > 0:21:21the countryside was full of new encounters.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Many had never seen a chicken, cow or pig before.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- She's a big pig, isn't she? - Yeah, she's fat.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34- Not as cute as the others, though. - She's not, is she? Big and scary.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42To make room for more evacuees,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45the boys are making roof tiles to repair outbuildings.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50They've been firing for 24 hours
0:21:50 > 0:21:54but the windy conditions are causing unexpected problems.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00We had gale-force winds, we tried to slow it down
0:22:00 > 0:22:03but what's happened is we've almost got a blast furnace.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08All that heat has expanded the kiln and so we've needed to restrain it.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Otherwise it would have collapsed and we'd have lost all that effort,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14we'd have broken our tiles and it would have been disaster.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17I suppose, at the moment, the flames aren't coming up any more
0:22:17 > 0:22:18so we need to get more wood on the fire.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21It's died down a bit and we need to keep that heat going through.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23We can't afford to let the temperature drop when we get
0:22:23 > 0:22:27- to these critical stages.- Get this right to the back of the furnace.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30It's almost like a sleeping dragon
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and as soon as you stoke it up the fire leaps out of the kiln.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Tending kilns in all conditions, night and day, is tough work.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46But Colin's heard stories of how tile makers made the job
0:22:46 > 0:22:48a little bit more bearable.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53I thought we might try and rig ourselves up a still.
0:22:53 > 0:23:00We've got apples, and distil some local hooch. What do you think?
0:23:00 > 0:23:02I think that sounds like a good idea.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05- You're talking about using this to distil alcohol.- Yeah.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10The reason I know about this is my uncle did this during the war.
0:23:10 > 0:23:16He worked at a brick and tile works and the heat was used for cooking
0:23:16 > 0:23:20any game they caught and for making liquor, really.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23The question is, Colin, is it legal?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26If we treat it as medicinal.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31We might be able to get away with it as long as we don't sell it.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35A little drop of medicine to soothe the aches and pains.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45So when this fermented apple juice is heated, the alcohol in it
0:23:45 > 0:23:48evaporates first, and can be collected.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50Put it on the heat now.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Colin's improvised a distillation plant from a bike inner tube...
0:23:57 > 0:23:59..a water bottle and a saucepan.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04So we've fixed that to that. That's worked well.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Because we're joining metal to metal the inner tube acts like a gasket.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14What we're going to do now is use the heat from the kiln
0:24:14 > 0:24:17to slowly boil the mash that's in there.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20And with the water bottle,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22that's going to act as our first condensing chamber.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25And then the alcohol should come down the pipe
0:24:25 > 0:24:27and because it's so cold,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31this should condense out so that what we get in here, the drips,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34is going to be our distilled alcohol.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37I know Peter's got his tongue hanging out at the moment.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Well, there's already condensation in that bottle.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47PIG GRUNTS
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Oh, don't blame her. Look at her, sat indoors, nice and neat.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- She looks lovely.- Come on, my lovely. Come on, Snowflake.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59The government's drive to double food production meant farmers
0:24:59 > 0:25:03had to reduce their livestock in favour of growing crops.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Crops produce considerably more calories per acre than livestock.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10With meat becoming scarce,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14the government encouraged people to set up Pig Clubs.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Raised communally, on kitchen scraps,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18half the meat went to the government,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21with the rest divided up between the members.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Good girl. Come on, Snowflake.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Their piglet, Shorty, is coming on well.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31But Ruth, and fellow pig club member, Debbie Underwood,
0:25:31 > 0:25:36want to breed a replacement for when the time comes to slaughter him.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Come on, I've another treat waiting for you.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40So, she's taking his mother, Snowflake,
0:25:40 > 0:25:44to spend some time with local boar, Douglas.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47- Come on, Snowflake. - There's a good girl.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Does she go straight in with Douglas or does she have a few days
0:25:49 > 0:25:52separate from the piglet before she's introduced to the boar?
0:25:52 > 0:25:56She comes into season three days after weaning from her piglets.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00And so that's what we'll do. We'll put her in now and all his hormones
0:26:00 > 0:26:03will encourage her, that in three days' time, she'll come into season.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- Come on, Snowflake. Come on. - Good girl.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11But things are not going to plan.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Somehow, Shorty's escaped to follow his mother.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17How on earth did you get out, Shorty?
0:26:17 > 0:26:19We'll have to find where they're escaping from...
0:26:19 > 0:26:21- That's not good, is it? - Otherwise they'll just follow her
0:26:21 > 0:26:24- to the boar.- The gate's still closed.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28- Look, there's a hole in the wire! - Oh, flipping heck!
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Before we take her to the boar, we're going to have to fix that,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33otherwise Shorty's going to be straight out of there.
0:26:35 > 0:26:36Always the way.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38SHE LAUGHS
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Actually we might be lucky. Yes, well done.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46- Look at that.- Well done, that woman.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Speedy, speedy, speedy.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Right, that's Douglas.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Him with the hairy chops.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Here he is. Hello, gorgeous boy.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00Yeah, this is Douglas. He loves a back scratch.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04He's only served about three sows so far,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07so hopefully many happy years ahead of him.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11There we go.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Look like they're having fun together, don't they?
0:27:25 > 0:27:28It's the final night tending the tile kiln,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31and the home-made still has produced a tonic to help the team
0:27:31 > 0:27:33cope with the cold.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39We're on our sixth bottle at the moment. It's really taken off.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44And I think to toast the kiln we ought to have a little snifter.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46Right, OK.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50- Looks clear enough.- Certainly does.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53- Thank you very much.- Very pleasant.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56- I find this medicinal actually. - Absolutely.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00It's not long before Colin's tonic is making the hard graft
0:28:00 > 0:28:03altogether more appealing.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07Thanks, you guys, for a fantastic experience, fantastic kiln!
0:28:08 > 0:28:11They must endure just one more freezing night
0:28:11 > 0:28:13tending the tiles at the kiln.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17ALL: To the kiln. Whoo!
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Although the government encouraged farmers to cull livestock in favour of growing crops,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36they made one exception...
0:28:36 > 0:28:38Come on, girls.
0:28:38 > 0:28:39..dairy cattle.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41Time we got you indoors, you know.
0:28:41 > 0:28:45Milk was seen as essential to the health of the nation,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48particularly for children. With cold weather on the way,
0:28:48 > 0:28:52the farm's precious dairy cattle must be taken indoors.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55The government set strict targets for milk production
0:28:55 > 0:28:58that dairy farmers had to meet,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01so keeping the cattle in top condition was paramount.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04It's not just about keeping the cows fit and healthy,
0:29:04 > 0:29:08although that's really important, it's also about the quality
0:29:08 > 0:29:11of the milk and we've got to keep the quality and the quota
0:29:11 > 0:29:14up right through the winter.
0:29:14 > 0:29:15Yes, that's really important.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Come on, you know the way.
0:29:18 > 0:29:23Over winter, the cattle will be fed silage, fermented vegetation
0:29:23 > 0:29:25made by Alex and Peter.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29Come on, on you go, good girls! Sarah, move!
0:29:32 > 0:29:36I'm always amazed how much you can taste what a cow's been eating
0:29:36 > 0:29:39- in the milk.- Yes. There's a definite difference, isn't there?
0:29:39 > 0:29:42Of course another reason we need to look after them,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45is they're all in calf. So they are all due next spring
0:29:45 > 0:29:49so we want to take good care of them. She looks like she's got twins.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51She's huge, isn't she?
0:29:53 > 0:29:58After two days of firing, the kiln is left to cool
0:29:58 > 0:30:02and the tiles to repair the barns for evacuees should be ready.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06An awful lot of work has gone into making this kiln
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and firing these tiles, and making the tiles,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12and we've no idea what the results are.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14One false move with a brick,
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Colin slips and it lands on the tiles - we could smash a load of them.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23Colin's concerned that the harsh winter conditions may have
0:30:23 > 0:30:26affected the firing of the tiles.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29So what we are looking for is a ring like a bell.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37TILES CHIME
0:30:37 > 0:30:41- Sounds like magic.- That sounds good. - That is superb.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Will this match on the farm?
0:30:43 > 0:30:45It's going to now!
0:30:45 > 0:30:47I'm not fussy. I don't know.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49I don't think people would have been.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57That's a good bunch of tiles is that, and all home-made!
0:31:03 > 0:31:07Alex and Peter head back to the farm to repair the buildings
0:31:07 > 0:31:09so they'll be ready for more evacuees.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16You are a braver man than me, Alex.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24These new tiles certainly look the part.
0:31:25 > 0:31:31I think we'll probably use about 20 or 30 on this side of the building,
0:31:31 > 0:31:35which leaves us a couple of hundred for some of the major farm buildings.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42There we are.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50With the roof repaired, Alex and Peter furnish the building
0:31:50 > 0:31:52with Ruth's beds and quilts.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01It's not the most salubrious of accommodation on the farm
0:32:01 > 0:32:05but it's warm and dry.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Better than being in the city centre of Southampton.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10That's it. Come this way. Mummy's coming in, as well.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Most had no idea when they would ever return home.
0:32:16 > 0:32:18How's that then?
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Is that nice and comfy?
0:32:27 > 0:32:31Although rural areas like this were seen as safe havens,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35they weren't necessarily quite as safe as they first appeared.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37AIRCRAFT PASSES OVERHEAD
0:32:39 > 0:32:42There was a top-secret operation to lure enemy bombers away
0:32:42 > 0:32:47from cities and into the countryside codenamed Operation Starfish.
0:32:47 > 0:32:52I think this is the remnants of the command post of Starfish.
0:32:52 > 0:32:54Or, at least, of Starfish in this area.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Only the first wave of German bombers were fitted with
0:32:59 > 0:33:01navigation systems.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03They dropped firebombs on the target,
0:33:03 > 0:33:05lighting the way for the heavy bombers.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11But by lighting decoy fires in the countryside
0:33:11 > 0:33:13the bombers could be led off target.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Very, very thick concrete. Reinforced.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22From this armoured bunker on Manor Farm,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24the decoy operation was put into action.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32So that's the Itchen there, with all the industrial zones of Southampton,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35the place that the German bombers want to target.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Yeah, now if you go a little bit further east...
0:33:39 > 0:33:42..you've got a similar bend in the river.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45So the landscape looks almost identical,
0:33:45 > 0:33:47and the other bombers will be drawn to this site.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51And instead of raining their bombs down on a city centre, on people,
0:33:51 > 0:33:52and on industrial heartlands,
0:33:52 > 0:33:55they are actually raining their bombs down on fields.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58And what have you got there? Manor Farm.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04Here, decoy fires would have been ignited
0:34:04 > 0:34:07once the incendiary fires in Southampton were under control.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15But this wasn't the only way the countryside helped protect cities from German bombers.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19So this is the Royal Observer Corps?
0:34:19 > 0:34:22That's right. We are part of the Royal Air Force.
0:34:22 > 0:34:25And we provide the overland observation service for them
0:34:25 > 0:34:28because their radar only looks out to sea.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Neville Cullingford served in the Royal Observers.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36The table you see here - the map -
0:34:36 > 0:34:41this is a small segment of the main map on the control table at Winchester.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45- So that's our little piece of... - What's within...- Visual range of us.
0:34:45 > 0:34:48So when you see the young women with their long sticks and boards
0:34:48 > 0:34:50and they're pushing things around on a board,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53- we're providing the information for those girls.- That's right.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58She'll be putting your plots on the table that we've observed from here.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02A huge network of civilian volunteers
0:35:02 > 0:35:06operated like a human radar, 24 hours a day,
0:35:06 > 0:35:08tracking enemy aircraft.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14In the countryside, this job often fell to farmers.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17You actually had to have somebody out here on duty, out in the open.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Even if it was pouring with rain.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22It's basically standing in a field all night.
0:35:22 > 0:35:28Yes. And we had quite a sad number of the older men who died of pneumonia
0:35:28 > 0:35:30because they got so cold.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- You'd feel you were doing your bit, stood out here.- That's right.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Seeing the planes go over, doing something about it.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39And the ones the RAF weren't able to shoot down,
0:35:39 > 0:35:42were hopefully decoyed by the local Starfish sites,
0:35:42 > 0:35:47so that they actually dropped their bombs on a poor farmer's fields,
0:35:47 > 0:35:50- his farm...- Rather than on a whole load of people.- A city.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57Decoy fires were often just simple wooden baskets filled
0:35:57 > 0:35:59with flammable material.
0:36:01 > 0:36:07We're just knocking up some baskets a la Mode 1 -
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Operation Starfish.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16Overseeing the operation is military expert Gerry Sutcliffe.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19- Hello. Good to see you again. - Good to see you.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21Have you worked out how to set them off?
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Well, I was going to try and do it remotely,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27by remotely sending Peter over here with a match.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29LAUGHTER
0:36:29 > 0:36:32But it might take the best part of the night trying to get them all lit.
0:36:32 > 0:36:38We could arrange something with some batteries and pieces of wire.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42The current should run down, heat up the fuse, go bang, and hopefully
0:36:42 > 0:36:44the rest will go with it.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47- So we can be sat quite a way away then.- That's the idea.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53Patterns of fire baskets were arranged to look like burning buildings
0:36:53 > 0:36:58and flammable liquids like turpentine, creosote and paraffin
0:36:58 > 0:37:01gave the impression from the air of factories and fuel dumps
0:37:01 > 0:37:03going up in flames.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05That should catch quick.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Stick some of the inflammable liquids on that
0:37:09 > 0:37:11and I can get it wired up.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16All the fires were triggered remotely,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20using electrically-operated detonators from the safety of a bunker.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25- Trail that wire out.- OK. - To somewhere safe.
0:37:28 > 0:37:33So, Gerry, we've got our fires ready to light.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Now, we would in effect be waiting for a call
0:37:36 > 0:37:40from somewhere like Southampton, an industrial area.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44They will have dampened out all of the incendiary bombs there.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48- They then put in a call to us, and we act.- When we get the signal.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51- So we're waiting for that call. - That's correct.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00Neville's teaching Ruth
0:38:00 > 0:38:03how the Royal Observers tracked and identified aircraft.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06We have a height bar here
0:38:06 > 0:38:10- on which the number one observer sets the height.- Yep.
0:38:10 > 0:38:16And when you report it, if it's 6,000 or 5,000, you report it as 5 or 6.
0:38:16 > 0:38:20I don't bother saying thousands because everyone knows it's thousands.
0:38:20 > 0:38:24All Number One does is to sight the aircraft and follow it round.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30And when he says "On" that means that wherever the square is,
0:38:30 > 0:38:34- that's the report you give. - Which in this case is 8-1-6-8.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Direction? The direction in which he's going?
0:38:37 > 0:38:41So he's heading... north.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43- One... - One at whatever I tell you.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45And she acknowledges by saying thank you.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48It's time to put it all into practice.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50AIRCRAFT PASSES OVERHEAD
0:38:50 > 0:38:53- On.- Able 4.- Able 4
0:38:53 > 0:38:568-3-6-5.
0:38:56 > 0:38:57Heading north.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00One at 8,000.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02- Spitfire. - Thank you.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08At the bunker, Operation Starfish is about to spring into action.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10- Are we going together here? - Yep.
0:39:11 > 0:39:12Go.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31If all went to plan, bombs would have soon been raining down here
0:39:31 > 0:39:35on the fields of Manor Farm rather than on Southampton.
0:39:37 > 0:39:43It's difficult to measure the success of Operation Starfish.
0:39:43 > 0:39:48In many ways, Southampton is a shadow of the city it was
0:39:48 > 0:39:51before the Luftwaffe razed it to ground.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Really they flattened the entire city,
0:39:53 > 0:39:55so it can't have been that effective.
0:39:55 > 0:39:59But, at the same time, if Operation Starfish saved just one life,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01then it was worthwhile.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11By December, 1940,
0:40:11 > 0:40:16despite the valiant efforts of the Royal Observer Corps and Operation Starfish,
0:40:16 > 0:40:21across Britain, 24,000 civilians had been killed in the Blitz.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27Hundreds of thousands had been made homeless
0:40:27 > 0:40:29and millions were displaced,
0:40:29 > 0:40:33yet the nation was determined to celebrate Christmas.
0:40:41 > 0:40:48It really was the only unifying celebration you got during the war.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54Bonfire night obviously had to be cancelled. Blackout. Makes sense.
0:40:54 > 0:40:58Easter? Well, with no chocolate that was a bit of a damp squib.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03Christmas was the one big community-wide celebration of the year.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06And that means that shortages or no shortages
0:41:06 > 0:41:09I've somehow got to pull it all together,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12and create something that people recognise
0:41:12 > 0:41:14as the sort of Christmases they were used to.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22So Ruth's planning a Christmas meal and dance.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28She's keeping the evacuees occupied by making decorations for the cottage.
0:41:29 > 0:41:30Good, you are nice and careful.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32I thought you'd be the lad for the job.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Many town children who were trying to get used to country living
0:41:38 > 0:41:40for the first time in their lives.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45But also, many of the hosts in the countryside were trying to get used to children.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Not just town children, but ANY children.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51There was no rhyme nor reason really, to the billeting,
0:41:51 > 0:41:53and people who were lifelong bachelors
0:41:53 > 0:41:56suddenly found themselves with a house full of kids.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Good job I know something about how to keep you lot occupied.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04That's looking nice! I like this.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Alex is also preparing for Christmas.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12With factories working overtime on the war effort,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15toys were in very short supply.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19The government came to the rescue with advice on how to make your own.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24I've got a pamphlet here called,
0:42:24 > 0:42:29Improvised Toys For Nurseries And Refugee Camps.
0:42:29 > 0:42:34These are the sorts of toys that would put a smile on my face today.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38Here we've got a little horse you can ride on and a rocking horse.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40And it gives you all the patterns.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42And here, these are from cotton reels.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46This little man here is made entirely out of cotton reels.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48I like that one! It's a dragon.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51Taking inspiration from the pamphlet,
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Alex is making a Spitfire out of old tin cans.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59I've already made the prop. This is the propeller.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Got an old roofing nail, which I'm going to somehow fix in there,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05so that that spins.
0:43:06 > 0:43:12But I'm just hoping that these toys bring a bit of light relief
0:43:12 > 0:43:15during our wartime Christmas celebrations.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18And there's actually a lovely line in here, which says...
0:43:21 > 0:43:24"Some children may have passed through such horrors
0:43:24 > 0:43:28"or be so weakened by illness or malnutrition
0:43:28 > 0:43:31"that they have temporarily lost the creative art of play.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34"A toy, which they may carry with them always,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37"may do far more than we might imagine
0:43:37 > 0:43:41"to restore the health and confidence and peace of mind to a child."
0:43:48 > 0:43:53So what we are trying to make is fake sparkly snow.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58It's like a cheap form of glitter.
0:43:58 > 0:44:03Like so many other things, actual glitter was in short supply.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07You can hardly justify a glitter-making factory during wartime, can you?
0:44:07 > 0:44:09To make it I've got a load of Epsom salts here
0:44:09 > 0:44:13and I just need to add as little water as I possibly can,
0:44:13 > 0:44:15to make them all dissolve.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21There we go. Look at that! Scarcely liquid.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24- Do you fancy a bit of sparkly on your lanterns?- Yeah. It'd be nice.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34'It's going to need guns if it's going to shoot the Luftwaffe down.'
0:44:34 > 0:44:36So we'll put a little nail in there.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39HE MAKES AIRPLANE NOISE
0:44:43 > 0:44:44A shame to give this away.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56By December 1940, nearly four million tonnes of merchant shipping,
0:44:56 > 0:45:00including desperately-needed food, had been lost to German U-boats.
0:45:02 > 0:45:05The usual Christmas fare of turkey had become scarce
0:45:05 > 0:45:09as farmers turned away from livestock in favour of crops.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13So the government suggested an alternative.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19I've plumped for something the Ministry Of Food suggested,
0:45:19 > 0:45:22something called a murkey.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25Dreadful-sounding name. Awful! It's a mock turkey.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30And these parsnips will be his legs.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33It's basically sausage meat.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Sort of glorified stuffing.
0:45:36 > 0:45:41Look at that! Mind you, that is between 15.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45Right just straight in. Clunk.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Now comes the crafty bit.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52According to the recipe, the mixture must be moulded
0:45:52 > 0:45:54into the shape of a real turkey.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57If I just shape that into something...
0:45:57 > 0:46:00What shape ARE turkeys on a plate?
0:46:01 > 0:46:02OK, parsnip legs.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06That might have to do.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09One benefit, though, of having so many people in the house,
0:46:09 > 0:46:12is access to their ration books!
0:46:12 > 0:46:14As soon as they're billeted with me,
0:46:14 > 0:46:16they have to hand their ration books over to me.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20And then I'm in charge of shopping, all the food.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Which means you get economies of scale.
0:46:23 > 0:46:26It's all a bit more efficient when you've got a larger number of you.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30This says it all. That there is 1lb 4oz of bacon.
0:46:30 > 0:46:34That is five people's ration for the week.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38One person's ration - two little rashers - you couldn't do much with.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41But when you get a block of five people's rations
0:46:41 > 0:46:44you can do a bit more with it, you have more options,
0:46:44 > 0:46:46it makes a bit more sense.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58There he goes. One mock turkey.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Ready for the oven.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06As well as caring for evacuees, the farm work must go on.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Now the cows are inside for winter, they need mucking out daily.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15It's the sort of job that would've been undertaken by conscientious objectors.
0:47:17 > 0:47:18This way.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23And, as usual, the government had some advice.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27Right, so as it says in the leaflet here, dung must not be wasted, chaps.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31I'll be leaving this by your bedsides tonight for you to read through.
0:47:31 > 0:47:36Obviously, as a farmer, we know of its ability to fertilise the fields,
0:47:36 > 0:47:42but failing to use it, we do our country and ourselves a poor turn.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44- Got your shovels?- Yep.- Great stuff.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49Tom and Lorrin are getting their first taste of life on a farm.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53There we have it in operation - liquid manure.
0:47:53 > 0:47:54Come on - in, in, in.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02So, coming from the city, Lorrin, is this something you're used to?
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Er, no!
0:48:07 > 0:48:11- Once you forget what it is you're standing in...- Yeah?- It's not so bad.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14The great thing about farmyard smells is the longer you spend with them,
0:48:14 > 0:48:16the less you notice them.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25Once, this was the mainstay of all fertilising on the farms.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28But it had been superseded, really, by artificial fertilisers.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31It was just cheaper to buy in.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36Many of the fertilisers - potash, for example - had come from places like Germany.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39So to make up for that shortfall,
0:48:39 > 0:48:44the government was advising farmers to turn back to this, natural manure.
0:48:48 > 0:48:50There's a nice lot of urine in there, as well.
0:48:50 > 0:48:51A nice lot of ammonia,
0:48:51 > 0:48:56which is another really good part of the whole fertilising process.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00All for the war effort. Just remind yourself, with every shovelful.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09- Hold that. - Hold the book while we...!
0:49:09 > 0:49:11- To the ball of foot...- Ooh!
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Hang about - where are you reading?
0:49:15 > 0:49:17Tomorrow they will celebrate Christmas.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20And many in the village will attend the local dance.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24So Ruth and Peter are learning to foxtrot.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28It should be easy. This is supposed to be the easy dance everybody knew.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32Not quite the pogo though, is it?
0:49:32 > 0:49:36Dancer Lisa McLean has come along to teach Ruth and Peter the steps.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40- We really, really, really need your help.- What's the matter?
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Well, we're trying to learn the foxtrot from a book.
0:49:43 > 0:49:46And we haven't got very far, really!
0:49:46 > 0:49:48I'm not surprised, you're really not going to learn from that.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52- So you think I should ditch the book?- I should. Throw it.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57The foxtrot was developed in 1920s New York,
0:49:57 > 0:50:00and during the war, reached the peak of its popularity.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02Let's try it. So, two slow walks forward.
0:50:02 > 0:50:09Slow, slow, quick-quick, slow, slow, quick-quick.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12Slow, slow, quick-quick.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14- Easy, eh?- Ish...!
0:50:14 > 0:50:16LAUGHTER
0:50:16 > 0:50:19- Why don't you try it together? - Is that it?- That's it.- All right.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Ready? Here we go.
0:50:21 > 0:50:26Slow, slow, quick-quick, slow, slow,
0:50:26 > 0:50:28quick-quick... Very good!
0:50:28 > 0:50:33Up until the 1950s, the foxtrot was THE most popular dance,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37and early rock and roll records were categorised as foxtrots.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40..slow, quick-quick...
0:50:40 > 0:50:42So would absolutely everybody be able to do this?
0:50:42 > 0:50:46Everybody would have known it. It was a really, really social thing to do.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50It's quite chatty. You can actually chat while your dancing, can't you?
0:50:50 > 0:50:51You're not leading.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55Slow, slow, quick-quick... Oh, you're turning the wrong way now.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59- Oh, no!- Oh, no! - Disaster has struck!
0:51:00 > 0:51:03COW MOOS
0:51:06 > 0:51:10The team are celebrating Christmas day 1940-style
0:51:10 > 0:51:15by inviting evacuees and neighbours to their austerity Christmas meal.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19Someone's worked his way over here.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20Hello, fella!
0:51:22 > 0:51:23Henry!
0:51:24 > 0:51:28It's a chance to sample the delights of wartime mock delicacies.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32- Smells really good, doesn't it? - Very nice. So, what is it? Goose?
0:51:34 > 0:51:37You should be so lucky! It's known as murkey.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Why is it called murkey?
0:51:39 > 0:51:41- Mock turkey.- Right.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44- I'm quite mungry. - LAUGHTER
0:51:44 > 0:51:49This looks MORE appetising than a dry-as-old-boots turkey.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52CHATTER
0:51:52 > 0:51:54Anybody interested in a parsnip leg?
0:51:54 > 0:51:57- I'll have half a leg.- You'll have a half a leg?
0:51:58 > 0:52:00What do you all think of the murkey? Is it edible?
0:52:00 > 0:52:03Very good, Ruth. You've done a marvellous job.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05Nice and juicy.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08Stuffing is the favourite part of my Christmas dinner,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11so THAT is my favourite Christmas dinner.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Here we go, Henry. Have some murkey.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23- Henry loves the murkey. - He does?- He does.- Good.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31I think that brings us round to present time.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33That's for gobbling down your mince pie.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36Ryan, as well.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43- An aeroplane. - GASPS
0:52:43 > 0:52:45- Is it a Spitfire? - It's meant to be.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47It IS a Spitfire.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53- LAUGHTER - It's a tractor!
0:52:55 > 0:52:58- There's a special present for you, Ruth.- Oh, my goodness.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02Magazines often included instructions for home-made gifts.
0:53:02 > 0:53:05Oh! A hat!
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Oh, fan... Oh, gosh, that's fantastic!
0:53:09 > 0:53:11A little tilt hat for you, Ruth.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14- On the front, like that? - On the side.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19- Made from a man's trilby hat, make do and mend.- Really? Cut down?- Yep.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22I'm really impressed. Thank you very much!
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Consumer goods became scarce, as factories turned to war work,
0:53:26 > 0:53:30so presents tended to be practical items.
0:53:30 > 0:53:34Next up, Ruth. No prizes for guessing what this is.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37Go on, unwrap it. See what it is!
0:53:37 > 0:53:40I can't imagine what this is.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42LAUGHTER
0:53:42 > 0:53:44"To Alex." Thank you all.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Maybe I've got an aeroplane, as well!
0:53:47 > 0:53:49HE SNIFFS
0:53:49 > 0:53:52It's very fragrant.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It's soap. LAUGHTER
0:53:54 > 0:53:57Are you trying to tell me something, guys?
0:53:57 > 0:54:02In 1940, soap was, in fact, the most popular of all Christmas presents.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06Mm, a familiar smell.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09LAUGHTER
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Happy Christmas to everybody.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14- And let's hope we're all here for the next one.- Well, said.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20After lunch, everyone heads to the village dancehall.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28MUSIC: "Tea for Two"
0:54:34 > 0:54:38It was a chance, just for a few hours, to forget the horrors of war.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56MUSIC ENDS DANCERS CLAP
0:55:00 > 0:55:02MUSIC RESTARTS
0:55:10 > 0:55:12'It's wonderful, isn't it?'
0:55:12 > 0:55:13All that pressure -
0:55:13 > 0:55:17the bombers overhead, people being blitzed out of their homes
0:55:17 > 0:55:23the war really coming home, and then suddenly you can just forget it all.
0:55:23 > 0:55:29That's it. There's no way I can imagine the stress
0:55:29 > 0:55:31everyone was under during the war,
0:55:31 > 0:55:35- but I can see how this would've been such a release.- Yes, you can.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38People are losing their loved ones by this point.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41People are being bombed out of their homes.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46The whole hardness of war is starting to bite home.
0:55:47 > 0:55:52- And here we have the community just...- Letting their hair down.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54Forget it all. Put it to the back of your mind.
0:55:54 > 0:55:59And have fun while you can! Make the most of it, while you can.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10- Ladies and Gentlemen, the King. ALL:- The King.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16- And to absent friends. ALL:- To absent friends
0:56:19 > 0:56:24# God save our gracious King
0:56:24 > 0:56:29# Long live our noble King
0:56:29 > 0:56:34# God save the King
0:56:34 > 0:56:39# Send him victorious
0:56:39 > 0:56:44# Happy and glorious
0:56:44 > 0:56:50# Long to reign over us
0:56:50 > 0:56:56# God save the King. #
0:56:57 > 0:56:59- MAN:- Hear hear! - ALL: Hear hear!
0:57:08 > 0:57:10Despite the brief respite for Christmas,
0:57:10 > 0:57:13Britain would have to fight on for another five years.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20The pressure on the wartime farmer would get even greater
0:57:20 > 0:57:25as they battled to defend, shelter and feed the nation.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37Next time, the team face the conditions of 1941
0:57:37 > 0:57:41when the Nazis engulfed Europe and demands on farmers increased.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45The farm gets a government inspection.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Like the iron fist in the velvet glove.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53Production steps up.
0:57:53 > 0:57:56I am an absolute bag of bones!
0:57:56 > 0:57:58And in the darkness of war,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01there's new life on the wartime farm.