0:00:05 > 0:00:09This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting
0:00:25 > 0:00:30Come on. Come on, for God's sake.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34BELL RINGS
0:00:36 > 0:00:38You've just cost me a penny, love.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46No school today. Ladies, to your work.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52There's no schoolroom today.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54No teacher come in.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57- Right, Mr Stanford. - They can play out.- But it's cold!
0:00:57 > 0:00:59It's fresh air.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Come on, your work won't do itself.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- Morning, Dr Turner. - Good morning, Dunks!
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- Too early to talk about rat poison? - Never too early for rat poison.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48Morning, Mrs Lytton, can I have the rats and mice quarterlies, please?
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Not a very nice subject to start the day with, is it? Vermin?
0:02:52 > 0:02:55These are the 1916 ones - I need the current ones.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57They're underneath.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- I think you should talk to this gentleman.- Who is it?
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Mr Stanford, Queen Street Mill.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- This is for you.- Thank you.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09- Good morning.- Good morning!
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Any more news on Mr Lytton?
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Oh. Just one or two days.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18- His battalion's on its way home, so they say.- That's good, in't it?
0:03:18 > 0:03:20We can all get back to normal.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Er, that's the one, I think.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Mrs Lytton, forget the rodents.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29I need the recent bronchopneumonic figures. Specifically influenza.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31There's a child dead at Queen Street Mill.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Flu? We're done with that, aren't we? We had it in August.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Mrs Lytton, leave these.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38I'd like you come with me - I may need some help.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40I've been in this job for 30 years
0:03:40 > 0:03:43and let me tell you, Dunks, it does come back.
0:03:43 > 0:03:44Cheerio.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01They would normally be in school.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04We have a little schoolroom for them, but the teacher's sick.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06The teacher's sick? Since when?
0:04:06 > 0:04:10- Since today. - How was the teacher yesterday?
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- How should I know? - I need you to find out, Mr Stanford.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Indeed, I need you to find out a number of things.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- Let's start with the lavatories. - The lavatories?
0:04:25 > 0:04:29You have only one towel, Mr Stanford, for this entire floor.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31They CAN bring their own.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35How many do? And how many is that one towel supposed to go round?
0:04:35 > 0:04:38You must have read my most recent pamphlet,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40otherwise you wouldn't have known who to telephone.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45Did you read the bit about common towels spreading infection?
0:04:45 > 0:04:48I'm running a business in difficult times, Dr Niven.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Along much more charitable lines than a lot of other men.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54It's as much as I can do to keep the looms going.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56I've no men.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58I've had no men for four years.
0:05:01 > 0:05:02This is the lady.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06What's her name?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09What's your name?
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Mrs Houlston.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17What's your daughter's name, Mrs Houlston?
0:05:17 > 0:05:19Ellen.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Mrs Houlston,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25I have to ask you one or two questions
0:05:25 > 0:05:29so that other mothers don't go through this.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33How long was Ellen ill?
0:05:35 > 0:05:41It came on this morning. Right as rain yesterday night.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Have you had other visitors in the house?
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Her Uncle Frank came back from France last night.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50And how's her Uncle Frank?
0:05:50 > 0:05:51I don't know.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57Mrs Houlston, I...
0:05:57 > 0:06:02- I have to ask you if I can take Ellen's body away with me.- What?
0:06:02 > 0:06:06We have to identify what caused this. It'll be of great benefit.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08Benefit?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10To who?
0:06:11 > 0:06:12Not to her.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14No, love.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18But it might stop it happening to the other kiddies.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21You're not going to cut her up?
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Mr Stanford!
0:06:26 > 0:06:29He wouldn't do it if it wasn't going to help.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30Have you got bairns?
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Yes. I've got a lad.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37And you'd have him cut up, would you?
0:06:37 > 0:06:39I'll not have her taken.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42I have a husband who I've never buried,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45who's lying in pieces somewhere with no grave!
0:06:45 > 0:06:47I'll not have her taken.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Now then, Mrs Houlston, if the doctor says he wants to take the child,
0:06:50 > 0:06:54then surely he's got good reason. So shall we stop being sentimental?
0:06:54 > 0:06:56You've still got other kiddies to feed.
0:06:56 > 0:06:57Don't you touch her!
0:07:02 > 0:07:05This may signify the start of a new outbreak.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I want an ambulance service
0:07:07 > 0:07:10specifically for any child taken with flu at school,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12to get them home and quarantined.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14So who's supposed to look after them?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17Their parents. Health visitors.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20There should be a quarantine room in every home.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Bit of a luxury.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Most homes only have two rooms.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Then they can divide the room with a curtain.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30All the information is in my last leaflet.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33I want 150,000 more made.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35I want all public assemblies curtailed,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I want the Sunday schools shut down,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I want the trams stopped and I want the mills closed.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43You do aim high, don't you, Doctor?
0:07:46 > 0:07:49The girl's ears had turned blue. Heliotrope cyanosis.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52It's what happens at the last stages before death.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56But you don't have any post-mortem evidence?
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Not as yet.
0:08:02 > 0:08:03What are the figures?
0:08:03 > 0:08:07- We only have confirmed figures from two weeks ago.- What are they?
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Nine deaths from influenza. Nine from pneumonia.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Six from bronchopneumonia. Nine from bronchitis.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15In a population of one million,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18including Salford, which I suppose we must.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21The Evening News says that this winter,
0:08:21 > 0:08:22Manchester won't be infected.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24I didn't realise the qualification
0:08:24 > 0:08:27for writing for the Evening News was a degree in Medical Science.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32We did have a very expensive false alarm in the summer, Dr Niven.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I closed things down for you, and there was hardly an outbreak at all.
0:08:36 > 0:08:3820% of the people got it.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43- The fatality rates were low. You're twitchy.- Yes, I'm cautious.
0:08:43 > 0:08:44It comes back.
0:08:46 > 0:08:52Why don't you get me the current figures? I'll see what I can do.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53That takes time!
0:08:53 > 0:08:57But surely, like the doctor says, prevention's better than cure.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59We need to do something now.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It's not my job to close things down, James.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05It's my job to keep things running.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And since we're about to come out of this war,
0:09:08 > 0:09:14I rather fear that my chief health priority is going to be VD.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Sorry.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35You'll be wanting some leave, I expect?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37For when Mr Lytton comes home.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Three days enough?
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Are you sure?
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Thank you, Doctor. That's more than enough.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49- I wonder if you would wait a little later this evening?- Oh, I see.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50Yes, it's just that Dunks
0:09:50 > 0:09:53is doing door-to-door round the hospital for figures,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and I want some frequency curves by tomorrow morning.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I need something to persuade Mr O'Donnell.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02- This is really serious, isn't it? - Oh, no, you'll be fine.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05You're fairly fit, you had it in August.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08It's the vulnerable who'll suffer.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11When the Russian Flu broke out, long before you were born,
0:10:11 > 0:10:16I was just a young doctor just down from Scotland.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19We did what we could, but we knew very little.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21An awful lot of children died.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25But of course, that was then.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30- What time is it?- A little after six.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32I'm going to catch the last London train.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35- What?- I'll be back as soon as possible.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39I want to go and ask an old friend about something.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45Oh, and...chin up, Mrs Lytton.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48We're going to nip this thing in the bud.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Sam!
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Sam!
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Get inside the house!
0:11:49 > 0:11:53I won't tell you again. And the rest of you, get home to your mammies!
0:11:53 > 0:11:54Go on!
0:11:56 > 0:11:59I will not tell you again, get inside.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21What's up with you?
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Mrs Flynn says your John's lot are back -
0:12:26 > 0:12:28they've stopped at Salford.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Salford?! Oh, Mam!
0:12:31 > 0:12:33He could be walking back from there!
0:12:35 > 0:12:36When did she say that?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38This afternoon. Her lad sent her a letter.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41They're keeping them in Salford a few more days.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Well, why?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47She didn't say. You know how the army is.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Why didn't he send ME a letter?
0:12:49 > 0:12:51And why on earth are they keeping them?
0:12:51 > 0:12:53The war's over, in't it?
0:12:53 > 0:12:55It's only paperwork or summat.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58You've hardly had him here the last four years, love.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Your John'd be late to his own funeral.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Will you stop saying that, Mam?
0:13:37 > 0:13:40This sickness was almost completely unpredictable,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and it is very hard to prepare for something one cannot predict.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46This is the second wave of it, Sir Arthur.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50One can always predict that there will be a second wave.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52The chances of co-ordinating
0:13:52 > 0:13:57a nationwide, or even metropolis-wide strategy to any kind of influenza
0:13:57 > 0:13:59are so slim they're impossible.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01London's infected.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02As are Liverpool and Glasgow.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04They are the first ports of call.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09We have neither the resources nor the personnel to contain this.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13With regret, we must just allow it to take its course.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18Manchester has hardly been touched yet. And that is why I am here.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22You have people working on a vaccine, don't you?
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- I beg your pardon?- I understand you have people working on a vaccine.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29I don't know why you would understand that.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42It'll be some weeks before the trials are undertaken.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44By that time, this outbreak will have passed over.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48We can run trials in Manchester now, Sir Arthur.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52We can pre-empt it. We can stop it before it starts.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54James, you're right.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57This is a little more severe than the normal yearly flu,
0:14:57 > 0:14:59but it will run itself out.
0:14:59 > 0:15:00And it's nothing compared
0:15:00 > 0:15:04to what we and public health have been through in the war.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06I suggest sticking to the sanitary measures
0:15:06 > 0:15:08outlined in my latest memorandum.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Stop men spitting in the streets, ventilate the assembly rooms,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16and do what you can in general to keep people away from one another.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Never mind the vaccine.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21BELLS TOLL
0:15:21 > 0:15:23That'll be the Armistice.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Well, James...
0:15:28 > 0:15:30there we are.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36How are we supposed to keep people away from one another now?
0:16:27 > 0:16:29What's the matter? Eh?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31You all right?
0:16:33 > 0:16:37Can we get a doctor or a nurse? Can somebody help him, please!
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Everybody stand back.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Get him into that waiting room.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Don't touch the skin! Just the tunic, careful.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Just the tunic, not the skin!
0:16:54 > 0:16:57We have to clear this waiting room, please. Everybody out.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04We need to isolate him.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07What are you doing? You can't just leave him!
0:17:07 > 0:17:09- He'll need an ambulance. - There's as many coming as can.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12There's sick getting off all the trains!
0:17:15 > 0:17:18We need to stop this spreading. We have to seal off the station.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21We can't enforce it - I'm the only one here.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Everyone else is on the Armistice party.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- What Armistice party? - Albert Square.- Dear God.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28Leave him, go.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02Mr O'Donnell.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05James, you remember my wife.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09How do you do? Can you please send these people home?
0:18:09 > 0:18:10What? Why?!
0:18:10 > 0:18:13There is a lot of infection coming home with the boys.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17- The people should not gather! - Don't be such an old woman, James!
0:18:17 > 0:18:20What do you want them to remember in 20 years' time?
0:18:20 > 0:18:22The fact they had an almighty party
0:18:22 > 0:18:26to celebrate the end of the worst bloody four years of their lives,
0:18:26 > 0:18:29or the fact that our municipality sent them all home
0:18:29 > 0:18:32cos we're worried they might get a nasty cold?
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I've just seen a man coughing his lungs up at Oxford Road.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37This is no cold!
0:18:37 > 0:18:40- Good afternoon, Doctor. How was London?- It was full.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44Did you get over to the hospital? Did you get the latest figures?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46There's not much chance of getting anything today,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- apart from trodden on. - Sorry. Flat feet.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Good for getting you out the army. Not so good for dancing.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54I need to get figures first thing tomorrow morning.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56I wish we could close this down!
0:19:25 > 0:19:29LABOURED BREATHING
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Dear God!
0:20:11 > 0:20:14PHONE RINGS
0:20:15 > 0:20:18ANOTHER PHONE RINGS
0:20:19 > 0:20:24SEVERAL PHONES RING
0:20:51 > 0:20:53COUGHING
0:20:53 > 0:20:56WHEEZING
0:20:58 > 0:21:01BANGING ON DOOR
0:21:01 > 0:21:05Heliotrope cyanosis. Purplish tinge to the mouth.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Named after a flower.
0:21:07 > 0:21:14My mother has purple hydrangeas in her garden. I can't look at them now.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17He's been completely starved of oxygen.
0:21:17 > 0:21:24Yeah, and we should expect to see the usual Pfeiffer bacillus influenzae
0:21:24 > 0:21:25and... Uh!
0:21:25 > 0:21:28- God! Smells like gangrene.- Yeah.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33His lungs should be white.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Look, they're full.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37It's drowned him.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39That's the worst I've ever seen.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42Not even the Russian flu could manage that.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44- How old was he?- 21.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Just had a birthday, according to his papers.
0:21:48 > 0:21:55Strong as a carthorse on his demob report, then dead within 24 hours.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Who knows what happened to him in France.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- Gas.- No, I saw this boy off the London train.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06He hadn't suffered gas.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09This is something entirely new.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Look, I really am sorry - I don't know any more! Doctor,
0:23:13 > 0:23:17I'm sorry. I've been entertaining this gentleman of the press
0:23:17 > 0:23:20for as long as possible. I probably said all the wrong things.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23This Spanish flu, where's it really come from? America?
0:23:23 > 0:23:26Regardless, it's here. You can tell your readers to stay inside.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30What do you say to the assertion that the majority of American troops
0:23:30 > 0:23:33currently stationed at Old Trafford are presenting with the disease?
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- No comment.- What about this immunity we're supposed to have?
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Can we assume if you had it in the summer, you won't have it again?
0:23:40 > 0:23:42Are you gonna have to close down the city?
0:23:42 > 0:23:44I can't answer any of these questions.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47And don't make up your own answers and print them.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51- Why don't you take a leaflet?- Print that if you want to be responsible.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Don't panic people and don't print rumours.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55Doctor...
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Just man to man...
0:23:58 > 0:24:01if we had it in summer, are we immune?
0:24:04 > 0:24:06We really don't know that.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08And are we gonna have to close the city?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11You'll hear that from the Town Hall. Thank you.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18"Whole families were swept away together,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21"but this was indeed at the very height of the distemper.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23"Time inured them to it all,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26"and they ventured everywhere without hesitation,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28"as I occasion to mention at large hereafter."
0:24:28 > 0:24:30What's that?
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Daniel Defoe. A Journal Of The Plague Year.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Please tell us that you've found something more recent than that.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38What plague year?
0:24:38 > 0:24:391665.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43- 16-flipping-65?! - The epidemiology's quite accurate.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46A first spread of infection, then dormancy,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49during which people start to move about again, then a second spread,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52even worse than the first. Dr Niven was right.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55That was our first wave back in the spring.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58It's not plague? It's flu. Isn't it?
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The flu has nothing in common with pneumonic or bubonic plague,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Mrs Lytton. And it is not helpful to refer to it in that way.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Well, except that a second spread is common to most infectious diseases,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12if the incubation period is long enough. Same with the Black Death,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15the Great Plague, the Plague of Justinian.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Even your Russian Flu, Doctor. Because of human behaviour.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21People believe it's over, they start moving about again,
0:25:21 > 0:25:23and up it pops. Worse than before.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27- All this is medically established. - Yes, but I'm talking about socially.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Aside from all the other problems,
0:25:28 > 0:25:31we need to start preparing for the social difficulties.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35It's the same with all significant epidemics. Social order breaks down -
0:25:35 > 0:25:37you have looting, fighting, unrest.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- The rich leave and the poor remain to die.- What?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44Please, could you keep to the statistics, Mr Dunks.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47PHONE RINGS All right.
0:25:50 > 0:25:51Medical office?
0:25:51 > 0:25:53I found this in the library too.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58- Well, not much of any use in there. - We'll accept the charges.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01I thought it wasn't spread by breath - it probably was.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04I thought that civil intervention wasn't necessary -
0:26:04 > 0:26:06it probably should have been.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09I'm afraid I allowed myself be convinced by the powers that be
0:26:09 > 0:26:11when they said they didn't want to notify the disease.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- Mam?- I did better than Sir Arthur damned Newsholme.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19- They were dropping like flies when he was in MOH in Brighton.- Oh, God!
0:26:19 > 0:26:24All right, all right! Just stay with him. All right?
0:26:27 > 0:26:29It's Sam.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30Who?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32My son!
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Right, Mrs Lytton, get yourself home right away.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Quickly, we can spare you, please.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40- Thank you.- Yes. Quickly.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I don't want you talking about plague.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51People fight on the streets because they get panicked.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54And if you say the word "plague" to them,
0:26:54 > 0:26:55that's the first thing they'll do.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01It is a plague, though. Isn't it?
0:27:19 > 0:27:23- Oh, sweetheart.- He's got the sweats. - I'm all right.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24What's the advice, love?
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Um... Right.
0:27:28 > 0:27:34We're going to keep him isolated... and let's get that window open.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Get some fresh air in.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Weren't we to keep a fire going? Weren't we to keep it warm?
0:27:39 > 0:27:42I don't know - isn't that normal flu?
0:27:45 > 0:27:48They never said what to do when you've got it -
0:27:48 > 0:27:50only what to do to stop it spreading!
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Right, um...
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Let's wash our hands.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00- And I'll get some water from the pump.- That's it?
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Um...
0:28:06 > 0:28:08Maybe we should move him in there.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12You know. Let's get something to put a curtain up there, and...
0:28:13 > 0:28:15..we'd better stay in here.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Maybe he needs a mask.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25Or maybe we need a mask.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Mam, I don't know.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- Oh, bloody idiot!- Oh, dear, dear.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Makes me sick, shuffling these damn papers all day. No bloody use.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21- Yes, it is. Now stop carping. - There's a woman down our street
0:29:21 > 0:29:24posts a white feather through our letterbox every week.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26You are not a coward. You've got flat feet.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29- I'm a stupid bloody clerk. - Stop it, Mr Dunks.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32THIS is your war,
0:29:32 > 0:29:33if you want to fight it.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44We'll have more of Dr Niven's pamphlets printed
0:29:44 > 0:29:48and we'll get disinfectant and coal to as many houses as we can.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Hygiene and warmth are the best ways
0:29:50 > 0:29:52to prevent the spread of the illness.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Those who are sick will have a shoulder to lean on.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58While the rest of us keep our heads down and carry on.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Isn't that right, Dr Niven?
0:30:00 > 0:30:03No. That is not what I've been telling you.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06We need to close the city.
0:30:06 > 0:30:11This pestilence spreads at about the same rate that men travel
0:30:11 > 0:30:13and it spreads easily.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15We don't yet know how.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20Probably by direct contact, skin to skin, and possibly
0:30:20 > 0:30:24by contact with infected materials, which we call fomites.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28Dirty handkerchiefs, anything which has infected sputum or blood on it,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31any soiled clothes or fabrics should be burnt straightaway.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33D'you want everybody wandering around naked?
0:30:33 > 0:30:36They don't want folk wandering around at all.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38You want us all to stay at home, don't you?
0:30:38 > 0:30:42- That's what you told your pet journalist, isn't it? - Yes, I want everybody in isolation.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Close my cinemas? Cancel the trams?
0:30:45 > 0:30:49Cancel the trams, close the cinemas, shut the schools,
0:30:49 > 0:30:53the mills, the public houses, help the hospitals deal with the patients
0:30:53 > 0:30:56that they have and not provide them with thousands more.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Shut the city.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02We can't enforce that! We'd need the army.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Half the army are in Salford hospital.
0:31:04 > 0:31:10We're not establishing martial law! I wouldn't know how to, in any case.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14Short of a miracle cure, this is the only way to stop it.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18I've nothing from London on this matter, Dr Niven,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20and we must follow London's lead.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22London is letting it run its course,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26however fatal. This is Manchester. Manchester makes its own choices.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29- Its own destiny.- Too bloody right.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35If we do implement these closures, it is to be understood that they
0:31:35 > 0:31:38will re-open and be back to normal again as soon as possible.
0:31:38 > 0:31:43- That is understood. - I won't be closing my Sunday schools.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47- I beg your pardon? - As an officer of God's communion,
0:31:47 > 0:31:50I refuse to sanction the closing of the Sunday schools.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52This thing kills children.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56Adults can look after their own spiritual wellbeing.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58I will not be turning the children away!
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Don't look so depressed, James. They'll come round.
0:32:08 > 0:32:09When?
0:32:09 > 0:32:11When the children are dead?
0:32:11 > 0:32:14We need to isolate now, or this thing will get worse.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17We need to cut it off. We need to starve it to death.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Mr Gold has agreed to clear his cinemas.
0:32:19 > 0:32:23- That's good. For how long? - 15 minutes between the shows.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27I asked him for 30, but 15 is enough to clear the air, isn't it?
0:32:27 > 0:32:31- What do you think? - I think I'm doing my best, James!
0:32:31 > 0:32:36You can't isolate an entire city. Even at the best of bloody times,
0:32:36 > 0:32:39and certainly not with no police force, the army away,
0:32:39 > 0:32:44and people who'll starve to death if they can't get in to work.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49Look, be realistic. We're gonna close most of the schools.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50You've got that.
0:32:50 > 0:32:55And the city'll provide milk, sugar and coal for sick families.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58- When?- Immediately - I'm not a monster, James!
0:32:58 > 0:33:01- And how will we get it to them? - I don't know. Door to door.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03We'll run out in five minutes.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05We cannot abandon people to their fates!
0:33:05 > 0:33:08We've moved on from the days of the plague.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12- We need a system.- Well, you provide me with one, then!
0:33:18 > 0:33:23Plague? I thought we weren't supposed to mention plague.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27I need you to find out the exact quantities that we have available
0:33:27 > 0:33:31of milk, Glaxo, coal and sugar, and their costs.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34I also need to find out how many men and vehicles
0:33:34 > 0:33:35that we have at our disposal.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38And don't begin to tell me that there isn't the time!
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Meeting in the council chamber - I'm sure Mr O'Donnell can spare you.
0:33:52 > 0:33:54Public Monuments and Lavatories
0:33:54 > 0:33:57has now been subsumed into Health, gentlemen, please.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Two of you go to the Salvation Army, two of you go to the Boys Brigade,
0:34:00 > 0:34:03two of you to the Women's Social and Political Union.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Dr Niven wants at least three volunteers for everyone here.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Come on, this is our war now.
0:34:11 > 0:34:17Today will be mainly a paper chase - tomorrow the real work will start.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20We will find the homes with children from the school registers.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23We'll find the homes without a man from the war casualty list.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27We'll find the poor homes from the special assistance register.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30I want all these documents here and collated by teatime.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Thank you very much, ladies and gentleman.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36Trams have stopped running - prepare for some extra leg work.
0:34:36 > 0:34:38Six pounds' worth of milk.
0:34:38 > 0:34:4125 pounds' worth of coal. 30 pounds' worth of sugar.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44- Per street? - No. That's for the entire city.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46Good Gordon Highland!
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Let's see where these depots are, see what we've actually got in them.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53These things are miles out of...
0:34:53 > 0:34:54Let's stir things up a bit.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Let's get this coal into where it's really needed.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01That's like there, there, there... How many delivery men do we have?
0:35:01 > 0:35:04- Well, it's changing every day. - Let's work on the assumption that
0:35:04 > 0:35:08- half of them will be ill on any one day.- Er...20 wagons.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11How many homes can they do in a day?
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Well, they can do streets.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17No, no, no - I don't want streets, I want it targeted at homes.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21- Which ones?- Well, the homes with a family and no man there.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Homes that live on less than 18 shillings a week.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Homes that require assistance!
0:35:25 > 0:35:27I don't know where they are!
0:35:27 > 0:35:31That's why we sent our people out! They're in there, there and there!
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Masks are available for those who wish them.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18Over here, please! Over here, thank you!
0:36:18 > 0:36:23And take this one... just directly to Stretford Street.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26Half a dozen houses there without coal.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Straight on to Heaton Moor, Moss Side and Didsbury, you two.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Homes, yes, yes, homes.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Specific homes, not streets. Homes!
0:36:35 > 0:36:37- Oh, no, there's not enough.- Pardon?
0:36:37 > 0:36:40There's not enough coal and there's not enough waggoners.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42There's more of them ill than we thought.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46Then we have to send it to the parts of the city with the most children -
0:36:46 > 0:36:47that has to be the priority.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51Parts of the city with the most schools.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54Can I have those three on that trolley there...?
0:37:00 > 0:37:06Yes, will you kindly pass on the message to Sir Arthur?
0:37:06 > 0:37:08Well, I'm terribly sorry to hear that, but...
0:37:08 > 0:37:13Erm, yes, the message is that we are ready and anxious to conduct trials
0:37:13 > 0:37:18of the vaccine here in Manchester to stop this thing spreading further.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58Well, would you send someone down the street to tell her?
0:37:58 > 0:38:02No, I understand, but what is the point in me dictating a telegram?
0:38:02 > 0:38:04In what way is that different
0:38:04 > 0:38:07from you sending someone down the road with a message?
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Oh, yes, yes, right, I understand.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16"Mrs Lytton, please come back to work,
0:38:16 > 0:38:18"sickness permitting.
0:38:18 > 0:38:19"Stop."
0:38:19 > 0:38:22HE PUTS PHONE DOWN
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Well?
0:38:27 > 0:38:29We've lost another 300 since Monday.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Damn it.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36And there's something else.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41I think there's a pattern.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44We expect to find deaths at each end of the spectrum. And there are.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47But there are also a considerable number of deaths here,
0:38:47 > 0:38:49where there should be very few.
0:38:49 > 0:38:53The curve of mortality peaks between the ages of 20 and 34.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58Perhaps it's because the very young and the very old are dying at home,
0:38:58 > 0:39:01and what we're looking at is the middle group, who die in hospital.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04You know as well as I do, they shouldn't be dying at all.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06There should be no deaths here at all -
0:39:06 > 0:39:09they should be best-equipped to fight it off.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11It doesn't make any sense.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14For the young, fit, healthy.
0:39:14 > 0:39:20Well...troops often expire when they come back home.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22No, no, that wouldn't explain it. No, no.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Why are the strongest... now the most vulnerable?
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Why are they now in the most danger?
0:39:31 > 0:39:33It's perverse.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35PHONE RINGS
0:39:39 > 0:39:40Yes - Dr Niven.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45Yes, I am Mrs Lytton's employer.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49This is where Mrs Lytton lives.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Yes, Brick Street.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Was Brick Street on our list?
0:39:55 > 0:39:58No, no, I don't think so. It's not a priority.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01There's not so many schools here.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05What did happen to your eye, by the way?
0:40:05 > 0:40:09I advised a gentlemen against spitting in the streets.
0:40:09 > 0:40:10This was the thanks I got.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12Which one is it?
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Mrs Lytton's house?
0:40:24 > 0:40:25Er, yes.
0:40:25 > 0:40:30I'm Dr Niven - I received a telephone call.
0:40:30 > 0:40:31Is everything all right?
0:40:33 > 0:40:34You'd best come in.
0:40:42 > 0:40:43Mrs Lytton?
0:41:21 > 0:41:23He got all the way to Salford.
0:41:26 > 0:41:31I'm so sorry, Mrs... So sorry.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Died day before yesterday.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Apparently it were quick.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43They buried him already, some of his pals buried him.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48Apparently he wrote me a letter, but the...
0:41:48 > 0:41:53the sergeant told him to burn it, burn all his stuff.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Oh, God, Peggy, I'm so sorry.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Stops it spreading, doesn't it?
0:42:03 > 0:42:06What did you do about the soldiers, Doctor?
0:42:07 > 0:42:08I...
0:42:08 > 0:42:12What did you do about the grown-ups?
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Cos it's not the children, is it?
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I mean, he's fine, just a bit off-colour with it.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22It's the men that it's killing.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26There's three on this road, and now my John.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29What's happening with this sickness is...
0:42:29 > 0:42:31It does nothing that we expected.
0:42:31 > 0:42:33Who's gonna look after this lot if I get it, eh?
0:42:33 > 0:42:36You'll be looked after, you'll all be looked after.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40A system is now in place...
0:42:40 > 0:42:45What...what bloody system? Your system might be working elsewhere,
0:42:45 > 0:42:47but it ain't working round here!
0:42:47 > 0:42:49I mean, have you been outside lately?
0:42:49 > 0:42:52Of course you bloody haven't!
0:42:52 > 0:42:56There's people starving behind their own front doors,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59cos no-one will go anywhere near 'em!
0:42:59 > 0:43:01People are frightened.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05You're meant to be in charge!
0:43:06 > 0:43:08You're meant to know what to do.
0:43:10 > 0:43:16Peggy...the doctor's come all this way to see you.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18He only means well.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Sorry.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26Sorry.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Sorry.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03I will ensure that her wages are paid for as long as she likes.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07She can come back to work at any time.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08Thank you.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12MRS LYTTON COUGHS VIOLENTLY
0:44:12 > 0:44:14Mrs Lytton...
0:44:20 > 0:44:21Take her to the Monsall,
0:44:21 > 0:44:24attention Dr Dickinson, if he himself is not ill.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27Tell them that she's incubated for query, three days.
0:44:27 > 0:44:29Low bloods and fever but no cyanosis yet.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32Thank you, driver.
0:44:32 > 0:44:33Walk on!
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Thank you. Goodbye.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Latest figures?
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Coming in like clockwork now, every damn day.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Why didn't people give their figures a fortnight ago?
0:45:56 > 0:46:00London's a catastrophe. They're losing 1,500 a week.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03Starting to call it another Passchendaele.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08I don't know what else I can do, Mr Dunks.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11I've been doing this all my life.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Ask me to get clean water or milk,
0:46:13 > 0:46:18or get rid of rodents, or even stop TB, I can do that. I've done that!
0:46:18 > 0:46:20But I can't stop this!
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Ta.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29Just arrived from London.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Doctor, limited stocks of prophylactic vaccine -
0:46:44 > 0:46:46immediate distribution, please.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Come with me.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Oh, dear God!
0:47:22 > 0:47:23Matron,
0:47:23 > 0:47:26why is this lady not in a main ward?
0:47:26 > 0:47:28There are no more beds, Doctor.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Her hair has turned white.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35- Although that's not critical. - And look at the fingernails.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38It must attack the keratin for some reason.
0:47:38 > 0:47:39It's all right. I know it looks terrible,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42but I've known them survive like that.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44What is your prognosis here, Matron?
0:47:44 > 0:47:47She'll be all right, providing she makes it through the night.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51If cyanosis presents, it's not so good.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53- Yes, but there's no cyanosis presenting.- Not yet.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56That's why I insist that she has to find a main ward -
0:47:56 > 0:47:59she needs to have oxygen into the lungs as a matter of urgency.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01That is the centre of the attack.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03I'm aware of this, Doctor.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06I know you're under pressure, Matron, but please...
0:48:06 > 0:48:08I'll see what I can do, Doctor.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14You'll be taken care of, rest assured.
0:48:43 > 0:48:45What is this disease doing?
0:48:45 > 0:48:49Everyone gets flu. Everyone always gets flu.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51But why is it the strongest that die?
0:48:52 > 0:48:55And so horribly.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59The haemorrhaging in these lungs is the worst we've ever seen.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03It's brutal, it's like...it's like they've been attacked.
0:49:03 > 0:49:09Well, illness is a battle, isn't it?
0:49:09 > 0:49:10It's a war.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Why has this last war been so destructive?
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Because it was a war of attrition?
0:49:21 > 0:49:23That's right.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Because we have more horrible weapons,
0:49:27 > 0:49:29because each side was equally matched
0:49:29 > 0:49:33and couldn't overrun the other one without tearing itself to pieces.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35For the past four years,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39we've been pounding the same patch of ground into oblivion.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Maybe the flu is like that.
0:49:45 > 0:49:50You mean, the stronger the defences of the person it's invading,
0:49:50 > 0:49:52the bloodier the battle?
0:49:52 > 0:49:56It simply passes over the weak, just overpowers them and moves on.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00But with the strong, it stays and fights to the death.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03It actually likes a fight.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19Thank you, Matron.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Thank you, Doctor.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23She'll pull through if she can just hang on.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28She won't give up, our Peggy, not without a fight.
0:51:05 > 0:51:06Peggy?
0:51:09 > 0:51:10Hello, sweetheart!
0:51:18 > 0:51:20She's coming round!
0:51:22 > 0:51:25Hello, Peggy, my dear.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30Peggy, how are you feeling?
0:51:30 > 0:51:32John!
0:51:34 > 0:51:36John, my love!
0:51:36 > 0:51:39You've...
0:51:39 > 0:51:41come back.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07- I think the child should leave now. - Mrs Kershaw? Mrs Kershaw, please.
0:52:08 > 0:52:13It's all right, Sam. It's all right now.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Nurse, cyanosis has presented. Quickly, please.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22It's all right, love, it's all right. Doctor...
0:52:52 > 0:52:56VERY SLOW TYPING
0:53:32 > 0:53:36Well, you've managed extremely well, both of you.
0:53:36 > 0:53:41It's your efforts that have stopped Manchester going to hell, the way of Liverpool and London.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45How many have we dead?
0:53:50 > 0:53:52How many have we dead, Mr Dunks?
0:53:53 > 0:53:57- Two and a half thousand. - Out of a million.- So far.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01Most of them women.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03Many of them were young.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Yes, I appreciate that.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08What about this vaccine?
0:54:11 > 0:54:16The vaccine's made no quantifiable difference to the rates of infection or mortality.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18It might have done...
0:54:18 > 0:54:20if we'd had it in time.
0:54:20 > 0:54:25A lot of things might have made a difference if we had done them in time.
0:54:25 > 0:54:30Oh, we can pat ourselves on the back. Manchester escaped the worst.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32Anyway, we've got to get on.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36We need to get this city moving again.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Get the schools open.
0:54:39 > 0:54:45We think it's the right time to announce the end of the epidemic.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47The death rates have dropped.
0:54:47 > 0:54:51And we're stretched to breaking.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54It's nearly spring. We must get back to work.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58Wasn't the Great Plague signed off in the spring, Mr Dunks?
0:54:58 > 0:55:02- Yes, that's right. - This was no Great Plague, James!
0:55:02 > 0:55:06And in no small part thanks to you.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10But we've isolated this city long enough.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12We need to get back to normal.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17Let's declare it over,
0:55:17 > 0:55:19forget the whole business.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23Put this ghastly second wave behind us.
0:56:37 > 0:56:42'It is not necessary to understand the epidemiology of influenza,
0:56:42 > 0:56:47'to see that more might have been done to limit the spread of the disease.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51'And that public health authorities might be expected -
0:56:51 > 0:56:56'in future occurrences - to press for further precautions
0:56:56 > 0:57:00'to be taken in the presence of a severe outbreak.'
0:57:41 > 0:57:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:44 > 0:57:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk