0:00:03 > 0:00:07Hello and welcome to the Imperial War Museum in Cambridgeshire,
0:00:07 > 0:00:09a former RAF base and now a magnet for visitors.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Today, as we approach Remembrance Sunday,
0:00:12 > 0:00:15we are celebrating the heroes who fought for our freedom
0:00:15 > 0:00:17and paying tribute to the men and women
0:00:17 > 0:00:19who made the ultimate sacrifice.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21This is how the people remember.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32All week, I've been exploring some of the treasures here with former
0:00:32 > 0:00:34army officer Andy Torbet.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And celebrities from the worlds of entertainment and broadcasting
0:00:41 > 0:00:46have been telling us the role their families played during the war.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52On today's programme, we remember the fallen.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56We hear from a family whose son was killed in Afghanistan.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58I was always there.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03And that was the hardest thing, not saying goodbye.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08Broadcaster Angela Rippon shares her father's wartime stories with us.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16And a piece of music written in the trenches 100 years ago
0:01:16 > 0:01:17is brought to life.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Very, very emotional. Thank you so much.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Good morning and welcome to Duxford.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41This weekend, thousands of people will pay their respects
0:01:41 > 0:01:45to the fallen at war memorials up and down the country.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Our special guest today is someone who is acutely aware
0:01:49 > 0:01:53of the sacrifices families make for the security of the nation.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55Angela Rippon, welcome to Duxford. Thank you very much.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Now, your dad missed the first few years of your life
0:01:59 > 0:02:01because of the war, didn't he? Oh, very much so, yes.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05My father was a Royal Marine and he had a very busy war,
0:02:05 > 0:02:09as his rack of medals show! I was spotting that on the sofa.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12He was a bit busy during the war because he was in Italy
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and Africa twice. The Pacific, the North Atlantic.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17He was on the Malta convoys.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20So he was all over the place and he didn't actually get back...
0:02:20 > 0:02:23I was born in 1944 and he didn't come back to England
0:02:23 > 0:02:28until the beginning of 1948 when I was three-and-a-half.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30And when I met him for the first time,
0:02:30 > 0:02:34I have a wonderful photograph of me meeting him on board the ship
0:02:34 > 0:02:36when he came back to his home port in Plymouth
0:02:36 > 0:02:38and I have a face on me like a plate of sour milk
0:02:38 > 0:02:41because of course I had been bought up by my mother, my granny
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and my aunt and I had never seen this man before.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46But he was very much the hero of my life,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49as I am sure an awful lot of young children at that time felt
0:02:49 > 0:02:51when I got to know him better.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53And I always say that my dad spent the rest of his life
0:02:53 > 0:02:56making up for the fact that he hadn't been around
0:02:56 > 0:02:59until I was three years old and he had missed all those baby years.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Did it really affect your relationship with him?
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Oh, very much so. I became very, very close to my dad
0:03:04 > 0:03:06and I always feel...
0:03:06 > 0:03:08My mother couldn't have any more children after me, unfortunately,
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and I think my father being a very macho Royal Marine
0:03:10 > 0:03:13would have loved to have had a son. Instead he got me.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17He wanted me to be a young lady, but at the same time I always feel
0:03:17 > 0:03:20he helped to instil in me all of those qualities of self-reliance
0:03:20 > 0:03:22and courage and determination -
0:03:22 > 0:03:25all of the things that he would have wanted, as a man,
0:03:25 > 0:03:26to pass on to his son.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29And, um...I think they have stood me quite well,
0:03:29 > 0:03:33as you will appreciate, in the job that we do.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Well, as you say, he had a very busy war
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and you're going to tell us plenty more about that in a moment.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41But first, in 2014 our troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45It was the end of a costly chapter in a campaign which
0:03:45 > 0:03:50lasted 13 years with hundreds of British soldiers losing their lives.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52This is the story of one young man
0:03:52 > 0:03:55who served with the Mercian Regiment.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04'A guided tour around an army patrol base in Helmand province.'
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'Lance Corporal Jamie Webb recorded this video to
0:04:10 > 0:04:14'show his family back home what life was like in Afghanistan.'
0:04:21 > 0:04:25'Jamie's cheerfulness in adversity shone through in the letters
0:04:25 > 0:04:26'he sent home.'
0:04:31 > 0:04:36"Dear Mum and Dad and Luke, smiley face. Hope you are well and OK.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39"I received some air mail today with some letters.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44"It is quite a hot area, that means where helicopters can't land
0:04:44 > 0:04:47"because they have been targeted by Taliban.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50"Just counting the days till I am home again.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53"Mum, Dad and Luke, I love you all so much.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58"Love from Custard Cream Jamie."
0:05:01 > 0:05:04To tell the story of Jamie - he was brave.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07He was more than my brother, he was my best friend.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10And he was more than my best friend, he was my hero.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14A very loving little boy.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19He was into football, he used to do a lot of running at school,
0:05:19 > 0:05:20a very fit lad.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Always very jolly person.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27A lovely young man.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32He was. He was lovely.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34He was a loving son to me and Sue.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38And to Luke, a loving brother.
0:05:43 > 0:05:44I'm very proud of Jamie.
0:05:47 > 0:05:52Jamie joined the Army when he was 18. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57I worried about him all the time.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59And when I spoke to him on the phone,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02I'd ask him how he was or what he was doing and then sometimes
0:06:02 > 0:06:06he couldn't tell you and he would say the base has been attacked.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12And then he'd say, "Not long until I'm home now, Luke."
0:06:13 > 0:06:16On his second tour in three years,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20the British withdrawal from Afghanistan was gaining pace.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Jamie rang his family to tell them he would soon be heading home.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32He was on a high. Really happy to think it's over, the tour, like.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35But later that day, there was a knock at the door.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40Sue came upstairs and said, "There's a man at the door in a suit,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43"he wants to see you." And he came in.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47He explained that Jamie had been in a major incident.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49I said to him, "You'd better check his number
0:06:49 > 0:06:52"because I just spoke to him this morning."
0:06:52 > 0:06:56I said, "There's no way it could be my son. No way."
0:06:59 > 0:07:02He said that there was an insurgent attack on the base.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07And that a truck had been driven through the wall
0:07:07 > 0:07:10with explosives and chemicals.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14And it had gone through the wall and it blew it up.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17I couldn't stand the thought of not being with him.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23I wanted to know someone was with him when he died.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26That's what it was. He's never been without me.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Anything, when he was poorly, when he was little.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32I was always there.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36And that was the hardest thing, not saying goodbye.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39We miss him terribly.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42A British soldier has been killed by insurgents in Afghanistan.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Jamie's body was flown home to Cheshire.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49The people of Handforth lined the streets in his honour.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Thousands, there was loads.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56It was covered all that side, all the other side of the streets.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59And all the children were in a line throwing roses on the coffin.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03It was just full. That was so much respect for my son.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Jamie's name was recorded on the Bastion wall -
0:08:08 > 0:08:13a memorial standing in the Army's main base in Afghanistan.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It has since been dismantled and recreated in Staffordshire.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18His family are going to see it.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22I think it'll be weird going to look at the memorial wall
0:08:22 > 0:08:24that was in Camp Bastion.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28To think that Jamie was looking at that, when his name's on there.
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Weird.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35It means a lot to have a memorial there for the fallen of Afghanistan.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37They gave everything.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39I will be proud of Jamie,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42he should be remembered but I would rather have him here.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45For me to go...
0:08:45 > 0:08:48It's hard but good.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I'm proud. Such a lovely man.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59Heartbreaking.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And later in the programme, we will be with the Webb family
0:09:03 > 0:09:05when the Bastion Memorial is unveiled
0:09:05 > 0:09:07in memory of those who died.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11Well, Angela, let's talk more about your father
0:09:11 > 0:09:12and what he did during the war.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Did he talk much about his time with the Royal Marines? Um...
0:09:16 > 0:09:19I think that my father was similar to just about all of the men who
0:09:19 > 0:09:22came back from the Second World War, probably the First World War too,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26in that my dad talked about the fun times, and there were fun times,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29as you will know, in the Army and the Marines and the Navy.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32But he didn't talk very much about the terrible things that happened,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35not until he was well into his 80s when I sat him down
0:09:35 > 0:09:39with a tape recorder and said, "Come on, Daddy, I've got to know.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42"I'm a journalist, for crying out loud. I've got to know what you did."
0:09:42 > 0:09:45What was it like when he was recounting it?
0:09:45 > 0:09:48He hated talking about the fact that
0:09:48 > 0:09:52so many of his comrades were killed and lost,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55and I think that's perhaps the lasting impression
0:09:55 > 0:09:56that an awful lot of servicemen have -
0:09:56 > 0:09:58that they were the lucky ones to survive.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02When he was on the Malta convoys, his ship was ploughing through
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and others were being shot out of the water by the German
0:10:05 > 0:10:08air force, they were being attacked by submarines.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11He knew that people on ships who were comrades of his
0:10:11 > 0:10:14were going down and dying. He didn't want to talk about that.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Angela, what was your dad's job on board the ship?
0:10:16 > 0:10:19He was on the guns, the big 16 inch guns.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22For instance, when he was in the Atlantic,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25he was part of the mission that sank the Bismarck
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and I think they had quite a hairy time of it
0:10:28 > 0:10:32because he was on the Rodney, which was a small battleship, and because
0:10:32 > 0:10:36the German big guns off the big German battleship were really
0:10:36 > 0:10:41reined in on the Admiral of the Fleet, my father...
0:10:41 > 0:10:44He loved to tell the story of how the captain of the Rodney was
0:10:44 > 0:10:47such a good sailor, he was able to sail underneath
0:10:47 > 0:10:48the range of the guns
0:10:48 > 0:10:52and the ship went along the bottom of the Bismarck and strafed along
0:10:52 > 0:10:56its water line and helped to sink it and then came out the other side.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00But it was a noisy job, an awful lot of his comrades went deaf
0:11:00 > 0:11:03which is how I learned to do sign language, because that was how
0:11:03 > 0:11:06my father, who didn't go deaf, used to be able to speak to his comrades
0:11:06 > 0:11:09because they all went deaf so he taught me the language.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11How extraordinary. And explain some of this,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14because you have this wonderful certificate here
0:11:14 > 0:11:16from the Japanese surrender.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18It was awarded to your father. Um...
0:11:18 > 0:11:20The reason I didn't see him until I was nearly three was
0:11:20 > 0:11:24because at the end of the war in Europe, his ship was assigned
0:11:24 > 0:11:27to the American forces in Japan where they were still fighting.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29It went on after the end of the war in Europe.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33And my father, being a British Royal Marine, was seconded to
0:11:33 > 0:11:38a group of American marines and when the Japanese surrendered,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42to mark the end of the Second World War, my father was there
0:11:42 > 0:11:44and he got this certificate saying it was
0:11:44 > 0:11:47presented at the "surrender of the Japanese Empire to
0:11:47 > 0:11:52"United Nations at Tokyo Bay on 2nd September 1945.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56"Issued to Marine John Rippon who was serving on HMS Newfoundland
0:11:56 > 0:12:00"on this great day of final victory."
0:12:00 > 0:12:04And this, along with this, is something I treasure very much.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07That is quite an unusual medal. This is a very unusual medal.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It was a medal that he got when, with the Americans,
0:12:10 > 0:12:13they went on to an island in Yokohama harbour,
0:12:13 > 0:12:18which is where the two-men submarines, kamikazes, were trained.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And when they attacked the island, it was abandoned,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25but one of my father's trophies of war was finding this medal which
0:12:25 > 0:12:29apparently is the medal the Japanese nation sent to the families of
0:12:29 > 0:12:34the kamikaze pilots who were not air pilots, but two-men submarine pilots.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37And I don't think there can be too many of those around
0:12:37 > 0:12:41so that is a unique memorial of my father's time in Japan,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44because it has the Japanese chrysanthemum in the middle,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46the anchor,
0:12:46 > 0:12:50and down on the bottom here, the two mini submarines.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Amazing. Wow. Fantastic to see that.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55I'm not sure he should have taken it, really.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58But it has been in the family ever since! Angela, thank you.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Well, now to the extraordinary story of a piece of music which was
0:13:02 > 0:13:06composed on a scrap of paper in the trenches of World War I.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Historian Richard Van Emden has been investigating.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Soldiers in the trenches had to cope with death,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21disease and destruction almost every single day.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26But there were moments of respite amid the carnage
0:13:26 > 0:13:29and men sought out any comfort to distract them from the battlefield.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31At the front line,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34many soldiers craved a reminder from home.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Such a simple thing as music gave men the escape they needed
0:13:38 > 0:13:40from the horrors of war.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45I've come to the museum at the Royal Academy Of Music to discover
0:13:45 > 0:13:50more about the importance of music for soldiers in World War I.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Joanna Tapp is the exhibition curator.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57So, what role did music play at the front line?
0:13:57 > 0:14:00It served all sorts of purposes from instilling pride
0:14:00 > 0:14:04and patriotism - military bands and religious music,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07to the more nostalgic reminders of home
0:14:07 > 0:14:09and the sort of music that soldiers would want to listen to
0:14:09 > 0:14:12when they got some downtime and were sitting around with
0:14:12 > 0:14:16their friends making music, listening to records.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20So, we have here a gramophone. Did they have these in the trenches?
0:14:20 > 0:14:22They did indeed, and it's called a trench gramophone
0:14:22 > 0:14:25because for the first time during the First World War,
0:14:25 > 0:14:29gramophones were made to be entirely portable and you could pick it up
0:14:29 > 0:14:31and carry it from camp to camp or dugout to dugout.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35It is a fantastic contraption and really gives that feeling of,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38if you had that playing in the dugout, of a little bit of home.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40That's right. That's one of the things that music can do.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43It can transport you to somewhere else.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47But one man in the trenches wasn't just listening to music,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49he was scoring it.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Composer Harry Farrar served in the Royal Field Artillery
0:14:52 > 0:14:54in northern France.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58He survived the war and died aged 70.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01After his death, Harry's family discovered a diary
0:15:01 > 0:15:03he'd written on the front line.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08I'm meeting Harry's son John and grandson Nick to hear Harry's story.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11So John, did your father see much action?
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Well, he must have done, because on 24th April he was at Villers-Bretonneux.
0:15:15 > 0:15:21And he has written, "Jerry came over, fiercely exciting day.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24"Saw Jerry advancing and fired point-blank.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27"Machine gun bullets flying all around us."
0:15:27 > 0:15:30I think it was probably quite a pivotal point in the war
0:15:30 > 0:15:33because they pushed the Germans back. You are spot on.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Your father was part of a very, very significant battle.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41The Germans were trying to push to take the strategic town of Amiens.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45And they were held up there. That was the critical point of this battle.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50So, during the fighting, did he lose any of his comrades?
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Yes, there's an entry in here where he says
0:15:52 > 0:15:55he loses three from one shell.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58"Corporal Watts, Sanderson, Lancaster killed with one shell.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01"Everyone felt pretty rotten." "Everyone felt pretty rotten."
0:16:01 > 0:16:04It is so understated, isn't it? I know, yes, it is.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08And I think that was the issue then, because you were losing so many friends.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11There was death all around, you couldn't dwell on it.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13No, you couldn't.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17The diary didn't just reveal the horrors Harry went through.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Hidden within it, the Farrars came across a special piece of paper.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24In the diary, we found this little piece of music
0:16:24 > 0:16:26which he has written while he was out in France.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30So, one could imagine him trying to take his mind off what he has seen and done...
0:16:30 > 0:16:33I would imagine so. ..finds a bit of sheet music and starts composing.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36There is one entry here where he says he found a piano,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39a grand, and enjoyed myself "up to the mark," he says.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43So, it could very well have been he played whatever he liked to play
0:16:43 > 0:16:46and may have written this piece of music at the same time.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49He must have had an incredible mind-set to be able to block out
0:16:49 > 0:16:55all those horrors and to concentrate on the better things in life.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Quite extraordinary, really. But he was a very talented musician.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02No doubt about that. And went on to make a good living out of it.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04MUSIC PLAYS
0:17:04 > 0:17:08After the war, Harry had a successful career at De Wolfe Music
0:17:08 > 0:17:12composing over 700 pieces for film and television,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16including this one, but the piece of music Harry wrote
0:17:16 > 0:17:20almost 100 years ago is being given a new lease of life.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24And we have arranged a surprise for the Farrar family.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28The score that your father wrote that we found in the rear
0:17:28 > 0:17:31of his diary has been put to an orchestral arrangement
0:17:31 > 0:17:36by De Wolfe, and you are going to hear it right now for the first time.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37This is going to be amazing.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I'm sure we are going to enjoy it very, very much,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and remember it for a long, long time.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45SOMBRE ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
0:18:27 > 0:18:30That was awesome. Very, very emotional. Thank you so much.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35Thank you very, very much. You can see what effect that has had on me.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36Quite incredible.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40It emphasises the power of music and what it can do to people,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and also how fortunate we were that he survived.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48So many of his colleagues did fall, and their legacies will
0:18:48 > 0:18:51hopefully live on with this piece of music as well.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58And later in the programme you can hear the whole piece performed
0:18:58 > 0:19:00here at the Imperial War Museum.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Now, I am in a hangar here at Duxford
0:19:02 > 0:19:06and this is where they restore these beautiful planes,
0:19:06 > 0:19:10the Spitfires, and one of the engineers here is Mo Overall.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Lovely to see you. How long does it take to restore one of these?
0:19:14 > 0:19:18It takes about 12 guys up to two years to restore one of these.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Two years! So it is painstaking work? Yeah.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Where do you get all the parts from?
0:19:22 > 0:19:25We try and source as many original parts as we can,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28parts that we can't source we make in-house here.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33We have our own machine shop so we can replicate all the parts we need to.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Are they really difficult to refurbish and rebuild?
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Yeah, they are. Parts are becoming ever so rare now
0:19:39 > 0:19:43so a lot of effort is put in to making these parts.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46You put all this effort in but these planes are really worth
0:19:46 > 0:19:50a lot of money. This one just got sold, how much for?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53It sold for ?3.1 million at auction in July.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56?3.1 million! Wow. Because it is so rare.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Yeah, it's a Mark I aeroplane.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59There's not many around,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02especially that have been restored to this level of detail.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06They're wonderful planes, wonderful, beautiful planes to look at
0:20:06 > 0:20:11and they just inspired such affection and awe from both the pilots and the public.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14That's right, wherever you go, whatever air show you go to,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16everybody wants to see a Spitfire.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18The noise and the shape is just fantastic.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21And you yourself have just started flying them
0:20:21 > 0:20:24after many, many years working here. What has that been like?
0:20:24 > 0:20:28It's a dream come true to actually be in control of a machine
0:20:28 > 0:20:31that you know so much about mechanically is fantastic.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Absolutely fantastic. Better than you imagined? Yes. In what way?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Just everything. It is actually better when you have landed, when it is over with
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and you can sit back and think what you've just done.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44Yeah, it's great. Well, what a wonderful job
0:20:44 > 0:20:47and what a huge responsibility to keep these things going.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Mo, thank you. Thank you.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Next year marks the 100th anniversary of
0:20:59 > 0:21:04the Battle Of The Somme - one of the bloodiest episodes in human history.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08More than one million men were wounded or killed in the battle
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and it also left its mark on the landscape.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15The One Show's Joe Crowley has been to France on a pilgrimage.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Richard Dunning's en route to his property in France.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30Have you ever owned a holiday home or a villa with a pool or a gite?
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Yeah, I've had those and they are not half as interesting as this.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39He bought it 37 years ago, but it's no holiday home.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43It's a massive crater formed in the First World War.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48Do you remember how you first felt when you set eyes on it?
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Yeah, I'd seen a photograph and read a little bit
0:21:51 > 0:21:56but the sheer size of it, I was just absolutely blown away.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I have to say, that is exactly how it is.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03I didn't really expect to feel anything looking at a crater,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06but the depth and the sheer volume of earth that's been displaced
0:22:06 > 0:22:08is phenomenal.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09'100 metres wide,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13'the crater was formed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16'British miners, like these, tunnelled through
0:22:16 > 0:22:21'no-man's-land to pack 27 tonnes of explosives under German lines.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25'It was witnessed by pilot Cecil Lewis.'
0:22:25 > 0:22:31Suddenly the whole earth heaved, and up from the ground came great
0:22:31 > 0:22:37dark, cone-shaped...lifts of earth, up to 3,000-5,000 feet.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40And we watched this and then, a moment later, of course,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42we struck the repercussion wave of the blast
0:22:42 > 0:22:44and it flung us right the way backwards.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48On the day of fighting that followed,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50over 20,000 soldiers would die.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Sometimes the word apocalyptic is used, isn't it? It is a wound.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And you see the power
0:22:59 > 0:23:03and the force that man has brought to bear on his fellow man.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06When you first announced you were buying a crater,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09what did your friends and family think of you?
0:23:09 > 0:23:11I think they all thought I was mad.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16With the German trench obliterated, British troops captured the crater.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Richard has disturbing evidence.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20This I found 30-odd years ago.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25A British rifle, and you can see the force of the explosion
0:23:25 > 0:23:28that has caused this damage. It's incredible, isn't it?
0:23:28 > 0:23:31The barrel has been swept right round! Yeah.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36And what happened to him, we don't know, other than something dreadful.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39In terms of the personal thing of this place,
0:23:39 > 0:23:45one of the veterans that I got to know found this in the crater.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49It's a New Testament and Psalms. Ernest Mitchell.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53It links one straight the way back to young Ernest.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57It says the whole thing is to do with people.
0:23:57 > 0:24:02In buying the crater, Richard saved it from becoming a landfill site.
0:24:02 > 0:24:07Despite 200,000 visitors a year, he refuses to cash in.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11No money will ever be made from this. No personal gain.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Why won't you say how much you bought it for?
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Because it is the one most asked question I get when I'm here.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23And I say, "Where you're standing, an 18-year-old boy bled to death.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26"Where you're standing, where you're standing.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28"Don't ask me what it cost, ask them."
0:24:28 > 0:24:30By the end of the war,
0:24:30 > 0:24:34more than a million men had been killed or wounded on the Somme.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38For Richard, the crater's now a symbol of reconciliation.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41He's giving us rare access to the epicentre.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Do you know, I used to race my son down here when he was about 12.
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Yeah? Don't know what's happened in just 40 years(!)
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Were all the bodies recovered,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54or would they still be in this area, do you think?
0:24:54 > 0:24:58There were 1,000 bodies put in here in the week after the battle.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The problem then is that shells were landing in here
0:25:01 > 0:25:04and people were getting blown apart and buried.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06You know, they're still around.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10If one kid on every coach just thinks, you know,
0:25:10 > 0:25:11live life a little kinder,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15a little more peaceful, a little more understanding,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18and I think all of the men who fell here
0:25:18 > 0:25:20would understand that absolutely.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Have you ever regretted purchasing this crater?
0:25:23 > 0:25:28Never. People say, "How did you get the crater?" It got me.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39One of the real treasures here at Duxford is this.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42An incredibly rare Mark 1 spitfire.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Mo Overall, you were in charge of restoring it.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47It was based here, wasn't it, during World War II?
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Yes, it was based here with 19 Squadron,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52actually before the Battle of Britain began,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54and, unfortunately, it was lost on operations
0:25:54 > 0:25:58when it was covering the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk
0:25:58 > 0:26:00and it force-landed and crashed on the beach
0:26:00 > 0:26:02where it remained for the next 40 years.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05On a beach in France? Yes. And it stayed there for 40 years?
0:26:05 > 0:26:09You've actually got bits of the plane that were salvaged?
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Yes. This is an example of some of the parts that we got
0:26:12 > 0:26:14when the project came to us. Wow.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17You can see how badly corroded it was.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20How much of it were you able to save? How much of this is original?
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Well, a lot of the parts, internal, were stainless steel, so we were
0:26:23 > 0:26:25able to recover a lot of those and we acquired many original
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Spitfire parts to incorporate into this build.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Well, let's put that down now and come round here to the cockpit
0:26:33 > 0:26:36because this plane has actually only just very recently
0:26:36 > 0:26:38been donated to the museum,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42here. It was donated to the museum by its American owner,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45handed over in July this year, and you can see here
0:26:45 > 0:26:49a rather well known name. Prince William, 9th of July 2015.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52And the cockpit is just beautiful, isn't it?
0:26:52 > 0:26:56It's fantastic, have a jump in and have a look. Can I? Yeah, certainly.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Wow.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05That is amazing. It is beautiful. The smell of it,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07it's fuel, isn't it, it's oil and leather.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10You get a real good mix of all the old castor oils
0:27:10 > 0:27:14and different fluids that we used in there.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Wow. And you feel very cocooned once you're in here.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19When you get the door shut
0:27:19 > 0:27:22and the canopy closed, you really become part of the machine.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25It's beautifully restored, what an amazing job you've done.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Thank you.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Still to come on today's programme.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Prince Harry unveils a memorial to the fallen in Afghanistan.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40The memorial was a place where anyone could go,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42to reflect and remember their comrades.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47We'll hear that piece of music written in the trenches
0:27:47 > 0:27:49performed in full.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54And courage in Helmand.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55We're joined by a soldier
0:27:55 > 0:27:58given one of the highest awards for bravery.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11Every year, nearly half a million visitors pour through the doors
0:28:11 > 0:28:15of the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, for many different reasons.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19We've been finding out what's brought some of today's visitors here.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25There is literally something for everybody here,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29of all ages. It just can't fail to please people.
0:28:29 > 0:28:35Obviously, the sadness of the world wars, but it's just something that
0:28:35 > 0:28:37everybody should come to.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43It's nice and spacious, plenty of walking around,
0:28:43 > 0:28:47but some of the exhibits are just unbelievable. I didn't expect
0:28:47 > 0:28:53to be that many aeroplanes in there and in such good condition as well.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Where they were renovating the planes, that was very interesting
0:28:59 > 0:29:02as well. You can actually see people working on them
0:29:02 > 0:29:04and the complexity of the aircraft
0:29:04 > 0:29:07with the bits taken off them, that was quite something.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14I started out as an apprentice aircraft technician
0:29:14 > 0:29:17and I wanted to come here, look round, see if there was an aircraft
0:29:17 > 0:29:19of the type I was engaged in,
0:29:19 > 0:29:23and that was the de Havilland Sea Vixen.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26And there is one on display in one of the hangars over there,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29so I was quite interested to see that.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31When I looked at the age of the plane,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33it made me realise how old I'm getting.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Well, Angela's still with us.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45We're also joined by Bombardier Gary Prout.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Now, Angela is here with her father's medals. I know, Gary,
0:29:49 > 0:29:53you are very proud of one you were awarded in 2010. Tell us about that.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55It's called a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross,
0:29:55 > 0:29:58so it's one below the Victoria Cross and one above
0:29:58 > 0:30:03the Military Cross, so it's a very significant award. Huge award.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06And it was for an incident that happened in 2009.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Yeah. It was 14th March, 2009.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12We were just south of Musa Qala,
0:30:12 > 0:30:15so it's a quite an infamous area of Helmand.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17We were pushing into an enemy stronghold
0:30:17 > 0:30:21that had been well established. They had underground tunnels,
0:30:21 > 0:30:24multiple firing positions, engaging us through cover.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28We broke through, we got in to where we believed the enemy were,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31then, out of the blue, massive explosion went off.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35I didn't know what it was to begin with, and then the call came over
0:30:35 > 0:30:39the radio that we had a casualty. I pushed forward,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42and I was looking for the casualty,
0:30:42 > 0:30:46and it became apparent that he was still out in the actual ambush
0:30:46 > 0:30:48in that area where the enemy were engaging.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53Ran round the corner and I bumped into one of the platoon sergeants,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57Al Higgins, and asked Al where the casualty was
0:30:57 > 0:30:59and he pointed out into the open ground.
0:30:59 > 0:31:04And it was then that I seen one of our guys laid out there.
0:31:05 > 0:31:07So...
0:31:09 > 0:31:14..without really thinking, I thought we need to get to him...
0:31:14 > 0:31:16So, um...
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Still really hard to talk about, isn't it?
0:31:19 > 0:31:21It's a big part of my life.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25So I just moved out into the open ground,
0:31:25 > 0:31:28and...I got to him...
0:31:28 > 0:31:32and I was pulling him, and I heard somebody beside me,
0:31:32 > 0:31:39and Al had got out to me. So Al didn't get any recognition
0:31:39 > 0:31:44but he was with me throughout that whole event. It was quickly apparent
0:31:44 > 0:31:48that we couldn't do anything for the casualty, Chris,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51but what we then had to do was turn our focus to the enemy.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54The enemy were maybe 20, 30 metres away from us
0:31:54 > 0:31:59just over a wall, and we were in a tricky position.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01So, between me and Al,
0:32:01 > 0:32:04we...put up a bit of a fight.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06We got Chris loaded onto the wagon
0:32:06 > 0:32:11and I can remember someone saying we should get in the wagon,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and extract back but me and Al looked at one another
0:32:14 > 0:32:16and we were like, "No,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18"the rest of the guys are across there,"
0:32:18 > 0:32:22so we ran back through that killing zone again, and...
0:32:23 > 0:32:25All I can say was we had a bubble.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27We had a bubble - something was protecting us on that day.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30I can see how difficult it is for you even just
0:32:30 > 0:32:33to retell that story and how raw it all still is.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37I started talking to new recruits in the armed forces
0:32:37 > 0:32:40and it was one of the platoon commanders that got me
0:32:40 > 0:32:45to talk to them, and the next day we went to the National Arboretum.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47I was stood behind the young guys,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50they didn't know that I was there, and they were looking through
0:32:50 > 0:32:52the list of names and one of them pointed up and goes,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55"There's Chris." And as soon as he said, "There's Chris,"
0:32:55 > 0:32:58I thought this is an important story to tell,
0:32:58 > 0:33:02and that's kind of kicked it off. Um...
0:33:02 > 0:33:06I think sometimes we distance ourselves from the true emotions
0:33:06 > 0:33:10of these kind of things. I think it's important that we deliver it in
0:33:10 > 0:33:15a way that's realistic, and we don't glorify it into something it isn't.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17It's important that we tell the truth.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21On operational tours, you see acts of bravery
0:33:21 > 0:33:23and courage all the time,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25that don't always get recognition.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29That's right. If you go even from the youngest member of that patrol,
0:33:29 > 0:33:31a couple of hours later, he was out
0:33:31 > 0:33:35putting one foot in front of the other going back against the enemy,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38where he had just seen that event happening.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41And, you know, in the heat of the moment, you can justify
0:33:41 > 0:33:44doing those kind of things. Adrenaline kicks in and you go.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47But whenever you come to a couple of hours later,
0:33:47 > 0:33:51and everything's settled in, that takes a great amount of courage
0:33:51 > 0:33:53for you to be able to walk up to that gate and carry on.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55It's a loyalty to your friends
0:33:55 > 0:33:58and that's what it's all about, at the end of the day.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01You just want to do as much as you can for your friends around you.
0:34:01 > 0:34:02And the thing on Remembrance Sunday
0:34:02 > 0:34:05is that it really does unite the generations, doesn't it?
0:34:05 > 0:34:07People who've fought in different conflicts,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09all kinds of different ages. I know that you used to go
0:34:09 > 0:34:11to Remembrance Sunday events with your father.
0:34:11 > 0:34:16I did indeed, and he was still going to memorials well into his 80s,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19and it was terrific because all the young men that were now
0:34:19 > 0:34:21serving in the Royal Marines would be there as well,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and it's sharing those stories, isn't it, and I think that's
0:34:24 > 0:34:27when perhaps old soldiers, and young soldiers, like you,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30however difficult it was for you to tell that story,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33you find it's easier because you're with people of a like mind,
0:34:33 > 0:34:37and you start from the same foundation, from the same base.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40You can all understand what you did and why you did it, and you can
0:34:40 > 0:34:45share those emotions and they become real for you again, don't they?
0:34:45 > 0:34:48They do, yes. Angela, and Bombardier Gary Prout, thank you both so much
0:34:48 > 0:34:50for telling your story.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Well, earlier in the programme
0:34:53 > 0:34:55we heard about Lance Corporal Jamie Webb
0:34:55 > 0:34:59who was killed by Taliban insurgents in 2013.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02His name was recorded on a memorial wall
0:35:02 > 0:35:05at the UK's headquarters in Afghanistan.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09To pay tribute to all the men and women who lost their lives,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12that memorial has been recreated here in Britain,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14and Jamie's family are going to its unveiling.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29Today, the Bastion Wall is being rededicated,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32and among those attending the ceremony are the family
0:35:32 > 0:35:37of Lance Corporal Jamie Webb, who was killed in Helmand province in 2013.
0:35:37 > 0:35:42It's important that the sacrifice is remembered of all the fallen.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46And the Camp Bastion memorial is always there for future generations
0:35:46 > 0:35:48and the next generation along.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52When the family arrive, some of the men who served with Jamie
0:35:52 > 0:35:55are on duty for the ceremony.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Can I shake your hand? Thank you.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Thank you.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Nice to meet you.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08I want to thank you all very much,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11I love you all very much.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13I do.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16I just wish Jamie was with you. I know. I do.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18I think you're fantastic,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21all of you, what you went through, very brave.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24He was a soldier that would break down barriers,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27he was the guy who, if a new soldier came along,
0:36:27 > 0:36:29he would be the one to go over and make him feel welcome.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Oh, there's the wall, look.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44Jamie's name will be one of 453 being rededicated
0:36:44 > 0:36:46on the new Bastion Wall,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49a replica of the one which stood in Afghanistan.
0:36:49 > 0:36:53It will join 300 other memorials in the Arboretum.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00It's the first time Jamie's family have seen his name on it.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19To look at a wall that Jamie would have once seen,
0:37:19 > 0:37:21in Afghanistan on Camp Bastion.
0:37:22 > 0:37:27He must have walked past it and paid his respects to them all,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30because he lost lots of his friends.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33He wouldn't think he'd be added with them.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Forces families are joined at the rededication ceremony
0:37:41 > 0:37:43by the Prime Minister and Prince Harry,
0:37:43 > 0:37:46who himself saw action in Afghanistan.
0:37:48 > 0:37:53The memorial was a place where anyone could go to reflect
0:37:53 > 0:37:54and remember their comrades,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58whether individually or part of a formal parade.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02This memorial reflects the spirit of the old one,
0:38:02 > 0:38:06containing, as it does, the original brass plaques,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09a large piece of the original stonework,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11the original cross,
0:38:11 > 0:38:13Afghan pebble chippings,
0:38:13 > 0:38:18and the last Union flag to fly over the memorial in Camp Bastion.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23HE PLAYS LAST POST
0:38:31 > 0:38:37At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39ALL: We will remember them.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59I would like to thank all the people that made this happen.
0:38:59 > 0:39:04It means a lot. To help keep the fallens' memory alive forever.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07Cos it means a lot, and it means a lot for the soldiers as well.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11Yeah. Because of their friends, comrades.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14They were together through thick and thin over there.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Brothers in arms forever.
0:39:25 > 0:39:30Well, that's nearly it for today's programme but, before we go,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33back to a piece of music written on a scrap of paper
0:39:33 > 0:39:35in the trenches of World War I.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38It was recently discovered in the war time diaries of soldier
0:39:38 > 0:39:41and composer Harry Farrar, and it's been christened
0:39:41 > 0:39:43The Hymn To The Fallen.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46It's performed today on the viola by Levine Andrade.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50MUSIC: "Hymn To The Fallen" by Levine Andrade
0:42:35 > 0:42:38APPLAUSE
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Hymn To The Fallen.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49Well, we've come to the end of our week of The People Remember
0:42:49 > 0:42:52in Duxford. Thank you very much to our special guest Angela Rippon.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54Well, thank you for inviting me.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57I have to say it was particularly moving sitting next to Gary,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01listening to him relive so emotionally that story,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05and I think when we're doing a programme around remembrance
0:43:05 > 0:43:10and Remembrance Sunday, it's really important to have that memory
0:43:10 > 0:43:14of what it was really like for the men and the women who lived through
0:43:14 > 0:43:17all of those really traumatic experiences.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20I found that very poignant. It was incredibly moving
0:43:20 > 0:43:24and you can see highlights from the past five days of The People Remember
0:43:24 > 0:43:27on Remembrance Sunday in a special programme on BBC One.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30But, from all of us here at the Imperial War Museum,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33thanks for watching and goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.