0:00:13 > 0:00:18It's magic. Just pure magic.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22The giants ` they're absolutely real
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and I think they are real.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Really nice to commemorate the 100 years since the First World War.
0:00:31 > 0:00:37EXPLOSIONS
0:00:37 > 0:00:41When war broke out, we had this God, King and Country,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45and we meant it.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49I do thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for coming forward
0:00:49 > 0:00:54and showing what is THE spirit of Liverpool.
0:00:54 > 0:01:02CHEERING
0:01:02 > 0:01:05It's a story of war, ideals, friends,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07pals, in the true sense of the world.
0:01:07 > 0:01:13Pals who worked, played and died together.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Once upon a time, there was a grandmother,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45a little girl and her dog.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48The old lady was very tired because she'd travelled a long, long way.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52So she lay down and went to sleep.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55The people of the city were very curious.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57For days, they came to see her,
0:01:57 > 0:02:00but she didn't stir.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03She slept on and on,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07dreaming of the story she would wake up to tell.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09A true story ` a story that should never be forgotten.
0:02:09 > 0:02:14The story of the Liverpool Pals
0:02:14 > 0:02:19These are the men and they are the story.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24100 years ago, they were Liverpool's Giants.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Timber clerk Arthur Seanor
0:02:27 > 0:02:29was engaged to Florrie Ledson when he signed up.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Nearly 100 years later,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35his love letters would have their own story to tell.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38"My own darling Florrie.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41"Before entering into the greatest battle the world has ever known,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44"I thought I would leave a letter for you,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46"requesting that it should be forwarded
0:02:46 > 0:02:47"if I should be killed in action."
0:02:47 > 0:02:51EXPLOSIONS
0:02:51 > 0:02:54In 1914, Liverpool was thriving
0:02:54 > 0:02:58Trade had brought prosperity and a new generation of bushnessmen
0:02:58 > 0:03:02educated, optimistic and patriotic.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Their fathers owned shipping lines.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08They were bankers, buyers and brokers.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10And they were about to make a decision
0:03:10 > 0:03:13that would change their livds.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17More men were needed for the war.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21And in Liverpool, the 17th Darl of Derby had his own recruitment drive.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24He called for a battalion of Pals.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Friends from the same work place who would fight shoulder to shoulder
0:03:27 > 0:03:30for the honour of Britain and the credit of Liverpool.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34The response from Merseysidd was overwhelming.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Within a few days, over 3,000 men enlisted herd.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55I think it's absolutely fantastic.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58It's just mind blowing.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04To commemorate the First World War, I think it's a brilliant idda.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21The four battalions lived in makeshift camps across Mdrseyside
0:04:21 > 0:04:24Hooton Racecourse, the abandoned Prescott Watch factory
0:04:24 > 0:04:29Sefton Park and Knowsley were all transformed.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32But it was here, at Lord Derby's home in Knowsley,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36where the biggest transformation was taking place.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41A whole military community was springing up
0:04:41 > 0:04:44and the tranquil grounds were filled with the noise
0:04:44 > 0:04:47of military men in the making and the shifting of mud.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52SINGING
0:04:55 > 0:05:01Learning to dig trenches was a major bugbear.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09We did that shocking digging at Knowsley.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14We did hate that job. My goodness!
0:05:32 > 0:05:35There was quite a lot of controversy, wasn't there, `t the
0:05:35 > 0:05:35time
0:05:35 > 0:05:38about the men digging up the grounds for nothing. Well, that...
0:05:38 > 0:05:41You never want to let the truth get in the way of a good story.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44But, yes, it was inevitable that, when these men went out to France,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47that they would be digging trenches, it would be important.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49And outside of Knowsley hall here, the gardens used to be
0:05:49 > 0:05:51a gradually sweeping terrace gently sloping down
0:05:51 > 0:05:54and so what they did was they turned the garden
0:05:54 > 0:05:56into a series of terraces and walls and terraces and walls.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59And so, what my great grandfather, being an extremely honourable man,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02did was he wrote to three dhfferent civil contractors and got them
0:06:02 > 0:06:06all to quote for the work then he sent a cheque to the War Office,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09not for the lowest, but the highest quote,
0:06:09 > 0:06:11so he definitely didn't profit out of it.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15I'm not sure he really wantdd his garden to end up like that.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18But it's the way it happened. SHE LAUGHS
0:06:18 > 0:06:21And furthermore, the men, while they were doing it,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24they came up with a song about digging Derby's clay
0:06:24 > 0:06:27and, er, in the end,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30the men grumbled a bit about how much digging they had had to do
0:06:30 > 0:06:33and so he made a further donation to benefit the men.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36So it talks about a bob a day in the song.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40SINGING
0:06:45 > 0:06:50# ..for a bob a day! #
0:06:56 > 0:06:59After months of training, and as a boost to moral,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Lord Kitchener himself inspected the Pals
0:07:02 > 0:07:06from the steps at St George's Hall.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11100,000 people crowded onto the plateau to show their stpport.
0:07:11 > 0:07:17In seven months, their loved ones would be in France.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26Left, right! Left, right!
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Arthur Seanor was one of eight children.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10The family owned Seanor Matchmakers and were rivals to Bryant and May.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15A talented athlete, he was planning to marry his sweetheart Florrie
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Peter, here we are in Christ Church, Bootle.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21What's the significance of you bringing me here?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Well, this is the church where both my Uncle Reggie
0:08:24 > 0:08:28and Uncle Arthur both sang as choirboys.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32I see. So they would probably sit along here.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34He captained the Liverpool Pals football team, actually.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Oh, did he? Yeah.
0:08:36 > 0:08:41He was a very good slow bowler at the local cricket club.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Many years ago, I was speaking to one of the older members
0:08:44 > 0:08:48who'd actually played in the same team as him in about 1912`1813.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51And he said he remember him
0:08:51 > 0:08:54as the slowest of slow bowlers he'd ever played with.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57He said he threw the ball hhgher than anybody he'd ever seen.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01So he must've been pretty accurate.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06I wonder whether those skills were instrumental in him
0:09:06 > 0:09:09being recruited as a bombardier who would be used, I suppose,
0:09:09 > 0:09:11to lob hand grenades. Yes.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14But it's his letters to fiancee Florrie Ledson
0:09:14 > 0:09:17that give an insight into the war.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"23rd June, 1916.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23"My own darling Florrie
0:09:23 > 0:09:26"I am afraid you will be thinking I am very pessimistic about things,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30"but I am getting so many setbacks to my optimism lately."
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Days later, Arthur would go over the top
0:09:33 > 0:09:37in one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40"I loved you with all my heart, dearie
0:09:40 > 0:09:42"and I am certain that you loved me."
0:09:42 > 0:09:47MUSIC BEGINS
0:10:19 > 0:10:23MUSIC BEGINS
0:10:29 > 0:10:34# When the fields are white with daisies... #
0:10:34 > 0:10:39Private Bill Wood had already seen his two brothers go to war.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41I've got here the most wonderful picture
0:10:41 > 0:10:45of the Pals at Knowsley... Yes. ..digging in.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48And this cheeky chappie has jumped into the photo and, um,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51jumped into the photograph... That's William.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54..and made them laugh. That's William. And that's William.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Is that the sort of charactdr he was? He was very much a joker.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Very much pulling everybody's leg and that's the way he was.
0:11:03 > 0:11:11He didn't really need to go, really.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13He was exempt, as he was a farm manager,
0:11:13 > 0:11:15but he felt his duty was to go.
0:11:15 > 0:11:24# Down the lane that leads to happiness and love... #
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Bill leaving for the front was agony for his mother Ruth.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33When she cried, he said, "Don't turn to see me go, Mum."
0:11:33 > 0:11:37And as he walked away from this house, he sang her this song.
0:11:37 > 0:11:44# But I made this sacred promise with the parting kiss I gave
0:11:44 > 0:11:52# When the fields are white with daisies
0:11:52 > 0:12:02# I'll return. #
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Bill Wood never returned.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07He died on the first day of the Somme.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10He was 27.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Ruth Wood had already lost two sons to the Great War.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Now she'd lost a third and last.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22It was all too much to bear.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31My grandfather lost his life in the First World War
0:12:32 > 0:12:33and I think it's marvellous
0:12:33 > 0:12:36and we should never forget people that fought for their country.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Heroic people.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42If wasn't for people like them, we wouldn't be here, would we?
0:13:27 > 0:13:32FANFARE PLAYS, SINGING
0:13:32 > 0:13:34"We were back after 10 days of training
0:13:34 > 0:13:37"and I don't know when we will be going into the lhne.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42"I expect any time now."
0:13:50 > 0:13:54"Account of battle. 1st of July 1916, for Montauban Village.
0:13:54 > 0:14:01"Every fighting officer was hit by enemy bullets or shells."
0:14:01 > 0:14:04It's hard to believe, Tony, that this is where it all h`ppened.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08It all started. Yeah, that's right, Sue.
0:14:08 > 0:14:13I mean, it looks benign tod`y, almost tranquil. Yeah.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15It's very peaceful and it belies its history.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18This is the killing fields of the 1st July, 1916, the Liverpool Pals.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Where we are now was the starting off position.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25So here, where we're standing, this would've been a trench?
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Yes, that's right, this would've been a trench,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31because those flags show us the actual start off point.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34So this would've been probably 8 to 10 feet.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37They'd have had the ladders, the whistles would have gond.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39And, as soon as the whistle went, they went over
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and then, they were out in the open? In the open, yeah.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44And they could just be pickdd off.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50The other side of the field, over there were the wood is,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53The other side of the field, over there where the wood is,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56that's were close to 200 men of the 18th Battalion, they fell.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Just one machine gun position that hadn't been taken out caused mayhem.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Poor souls. And all that loss was horrendous.
0:15:01 > 0:15:06Oh, it's just awful.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Despite the enormous loss of life,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13the Liverpool and Manchester Pals were only two
0:15:13 > 0:15:20of a handful of battalions who reached their objective that day
0:15:20 > 0:15:28The capture of Montauban shone like a beacon.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30In charge of the 18th Battalion that day ` Edward Henry Trotter.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33An exceptional leader of men.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36I make no apologies for saying this.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39He was one of the most marvellous men, not only a soldier,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41but one of the most marvellous men
0:15:41 > 0:15:44I ever had the good fortune to work with or work under.
0:15:44 > 0:15:49This was the main family house and...
0:15:49 > 0:15:53they lived, as you can see, in some reasonable style.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57I think there were 14 indoor servants in this house
0:15:57 > 0:16:02and five gardeners looking after the grounds around
0:16:02 > 0:16:07and even on the fringes of his military life was pretty smart.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10The contrast between that and crawling around in the mud
0:16:10 > 0:16:14on the Somme must have been considerable. Yes.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17When many of his men died hdre, on the 1st July,
0:16:17 > 0:16:22Colonel Trotter walked amongst their bodies openly weeping.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Seven days later, when a shell hit his trench,
0:16:25 > 0:16:31his men, the ones who remained, wept openly for him.
0:16:36 > 0:16:43MUSIC: "March 4, Pomp and Circumstance" by Elgar
0:17:01 > 0:17:04Back home, people were beginning to feel uneasy
0:17:04 > 0:17:07about the upbeat reporting of the war.
0:17:07 > 0:17:14This film, from the battlefield, was shown in local picture houses.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17It was a combination of fact and propaganda.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20And the first chance for the relatives
0:17:20 > 0:17:29to witness the cruelty of the war.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33For hundreds of families, the worst was around the corner
0:17:33 > 0:17:37The Battle of Guillemont would be the Pals' biggest loss of lhfe
0:17:37 > 0:17:42and bad weather would play hts part.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45The Germans used the fog by stepping out of their own trenches.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47They took cover in the shell holes in front,
0:17:47 > 0:17:52took the machine guns with them .. Oh, God.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55..and when the Pals left their trench at 4:45 that morning
0:17:55 > 0:17:58suddenly, the fog lifted,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01and they were out in the opdn without any cover.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03463 men lost their lives th`t day.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08MACHINE GUN FIRE, MEN SCREAM
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I think the patriotic fervour of St Georges Hall
0:18:11 > 0:18:16was a million miles away from the reality of this here. Yeah.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19For the injured, there was no medical help.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24And there was nobody to identify or bury the dead.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28They just lay in No Man's Land decaying in the August sun
0:18:28 > 0:18:37or they were blown to bits by further bombardments.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42It was Liverpool's blackest day
0:18:51 > 0:18:56A HYMN IS SUNG
0:18:56 > 0:19:01"23rd of July, 1916.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03"23rd of June, 1916.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06"My own darling Florrie.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09"We have had a very hard time of it recently
0:19:09 > 0:19:11"and have not had a minute to ourselves.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13"We celebrated the longest day of the year
0:19:13 > 0:19:16"by starting out at 4.30am and marching until 8.30 at night."
0:19:16 > 0:19:21HYMN CONTINUES
0:19:38 > 0:19:43I'm extremely proud of the Pals I always have been.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47The thing is their story seemed to have been forgotten in Lhverpool.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49But the Giants bringing the spectacle to the streets,
0:19:49 > 0:19:51the people coming out, they're getting the message.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53The message is getting over.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56The story and the heroics of the Liverpool Pals
0:19:56 > 0:20:03is actually being told at long last.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13Those who survived the war returned home to mixed forttnes
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Elizabeth's father Tommy Milner was 19
0:20:16 > 0:20:20when he was blinded by a shell burst at the Somme.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25Treated at St Dunstan's Hospital, he was taught Braille and how to type.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Very few people knew he couldn't see
0:20:29 > 0:20:31When you were growing up, as a little girl,
0:20:31 > 0:20:35did you know your dad was blind
0:20:35 > 0:20:38He just behaved, you know, like anybody else's dad.
0:20:38 > 0:20:41You'd run up the road to medt him coming home from work.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42He used to take himself into Liverpool
0:20:42 > 0:20:45to work by himself on the trams
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and I can remember waiting on the corner, running to meet him,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53and walk back down with him, you know.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57And bring things home from school. I remember once...
0:20:57 > 0:21:00I remember this so vividly, I don't know why, but bringhng,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02it must've been a picture, something I'd done at school,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and I said, "Look at this, Dad."
0:21:05 > 0:21:07and he said, "Oh, isn't that lovely?"
0:21:07 > 0:21:11and he sort of looked at it.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14I'm looking at these beautiful cups here as well.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16I know they're only a few of what you've got,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20but can you tell us about them, Elizabeth?
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Well, while he was at St Dunstan's, he became a rower,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26he'd never rowed before, but he became very proficient
0:21:26 > 0:21:34and very successful and won lots of regattas and things with his crew.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38You're obviously very proud of your dad. Oh, yes!
0:21:38 > 0:21:42He could do everything, really and truly.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46He was one of the lucky ones. Another 358 men
0:21:46 > 0:21:51who also worked at Liverpool's Cotton Exchange never came home.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57# Good morning!
0:21:57 > 0:22:03# Welcome to the thing called life
0:22:03 > 0:22:06# Good morning!
0:22:06 > 0:22:13# Don't you let it pass you by
0:22:13 > 0:22:17# We laugh, we cry
0:22:17 > 0:22:23# And then we dry our eyes
0:22:23 > 0:22:27# We fall, we rise... #
0:22:27 > 0:22:30I think it's wonderful that it has been portrayed in this way,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33because it's brought attention to the story of the Pals
0:22:33 > 0:22:37to people who hitherto wouldn't have known much about it.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40One upon a time, there was a grandmother,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44a little girl and a dog.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46They came to this city with a story to tell
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and the people came to listen.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Now they must go.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58But their story will remain in Liverpool's hearts for ever.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01On Sunday the 25th of June, 191 ,
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Arthur Seanor wrote his last letter home.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09"I asked God at early communion this morning to forgive me all my sins.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13"I am sure that he will do, Florrie, so I am not afraid to die.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18"In fact, I am proud to die a soldier."
0:23:19 > 0:23:23Advance!
0:23:23 > 0:23:26GUNFIRE
0:23:26 > 0:23:33WHISTLES BLOW
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Arthur Seanor's letters survived the war,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47unlike Arthur and many others who didn't.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51He was shot down by machine gun on the first day of the Somle.
0:23:51 > 0:23:57It was his 28th birthday.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02Arthur's body was never recovered from the battlefield.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06His name is recorded here on the Thiepval Memorial,
0:24:06 > 0:24:14along with 73,000 others who have no known grave.
0:24:16 > 0:24:1813 years after Arthur's death,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Florrie Ledson would marry and have a daughter Beryl.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Well, she'd certainly have married him, if he'd lhved
0:24:25 > 0:24:28There's no doubt about that. You know, he was her first love, really.
0:24:28 > 0:24:33Her true love? I think so. Yes. I would say.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36And then, I wouldn't have been here to tell the story.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40No! Well, that's true. No, you wouldn't.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43Yes, she must have often thought
0:24:43 > 0:24:47what her life would be like if she'd married him.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50But she was so close to his family that that was very...
0:24:50 > 0:24:54That was rewarding in itself, I would think. Yes, yes.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00Florrie Ledson received this letter after Arthur's death.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05In it, a poem he'd written to the sweetheart he loved.
0:25:05 > 0:25:13"I often think of the homeland and the future that's in store
0:25:13 > 0:25:15"Of the bygone days, happy days
0:25:15 > 0:25:19"And the good old days of yore
0:25:19 > 0:25:24"Lord, take me back in safety over that narrow sea
0:25:24 > 0:25:29"To Florrie, my darling Florrie who waits in patience for md
0:25:29 > 0:25:35"This life has been hard and dreary our struggles will never be known
0:25:35 > 0:25:42"But how sweet will sound that music of that old song Home Sweet Home."
0:26:18 > 0:26:25They were a good lot of lads. No doubt about that.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06Oh, what a strike!
0:27:06 > 0:27:08That's an amazing save!
0:27:09 > 0:27:10He's done it!
0:27:10 > 0:27:13What an absolute treasure!
0:27:13 > 0:27:15From the Premier League to the FA Cup,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18Football League and the best women's football...
0:27:18 > 0:27:19Unbelievable goal!
0:27:19 > 0:27:21..there's more football than ever all across the BBC.
0:27:21 > 0:27:22Oh, what a goal!
0:27:29 > 0:27:32DRUMBEATS