Foreign Fields

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0:00:43 > 0:00:49IMAGINARY GUNFIRE

0:00:55 > 0:00:58TANNOY: Passengers are reminded that smoking is not allowed

0:00:58 > 0:01:00anywhere inside the airport terminal.

0:01:07 > 0:01:08Bellamy.

0:01:10 > 0:01:14Sergeant Hugh Wilson Bellamy.

0:01:14 > 0:01:15My great grandfather.

0:01:17 > 0:01:21'It was France, the Western Front.

0:01:21 > 0:01:25'Early in the war, his regiment had been part of a major offensive

0:01:25 > 0:01:29'but the Germans had counter-attacked, in force.'

0:01:33 > 0:01:35And Hugh deserted his post?

0:01:35 > 0:01:40That's the inference from the military association. One line.

0:01:40 > 0:01:42"It is believed..." - believed -

0:01:42 > 0:01:44"that Hugh Bellamy fled the battlefield."

0:01:44 > 0:01:46So who was the witness?

0:01:46 > 0:01:47There wasn't any.

0:01:47 > 0:01:51Hugh was a career soldier. 20 years he served in the Boer War.

0:01:51 > 0:01:55Re-enlisted in 1914, one of the first to the colours.

0:01:55 > 0:02:00I just can't believe that he would be the kind of man who would...

0:02:00 > 0:02:02that he was a coward.

0:02:02 > 0:02:04But he never faced a court-martial?

0:02:04 > 0:02:07He went missing in action the same day.

0:02:07 > 0:02:10In a way, that's worse - damned by association.

0:02:10 > 0:02:13At least in a court martial he would have been able to speak for himself.

0:02:13 > 0:02:17Look, I can understand why you'd want to clear his name

0:02:17 > 0:02:19but I can't understand what I can do for you.

0:02:19 > 0:02:24I've read your books. You've pieced together some fair mysteries.

0:02:24 > 0:02:26Rwanda, Srebrenica.

0:02:26 > 0:02:29You've allowed those people to tell their stories.

0:02:29 > 0:02:31I'm a forensic pathologist.

0:02:31 > 0:02:35I wasn't just completing a narrative.

0:02:35 > 0:02:38I know. But in finding those people, finding out what happened to them,

0:02:38 > 0:02:41you restored them back to history.

0:02:41 > 0:02:43That's why I want you to help me find Hugh Bellamy.

0:02:47 > 0:02:49Needles and haystacks don't even come into it.

0:02:49 > 0:02:53With places like Srebrenica, we had a concentrated search area.

0:02:53 > 0:02:54But with the Western Front...

0:02:54 > 0:02:56I know.

0:02:56 > 0:02:58Over the years, I've always wondered about the location -

0:02:58 > 0:03:01the last place where Hugh could have been.

0:03:01 > 0:03:02So I did an internet search

0:03:02 > 0:03:07based on the location of the regiment when the Germans attacked.

0:03:07 > 0:03:08The only reference to him

0:03:08 > 0:03:13I could find always came back to the regimental account,

0:03:13 > 0:03:15placing him here.

0:03:15 > 0:03:18Now if he was fleeing from the Germans, he would have headed west.

0:03:18 > 0:03:21So the next thing I did - I tried something different.

0:03:21 > 0:03:25Along with "Hugh Bellamy", I cross-referenced buildings,

0:03:25 > 0:03:28- churches, prominent features. - Must have taken some time.

0:03:28 > 0:03:30No kidding. But that came up with a blank.

0:03:30 > 0:03:32Then I found this name.

0:03:32 > 0:03:33La Figalle.

0:03:33 > 0:03:36So I typed in "La Figalle", with "Hugh Bellamy".

0:03:36 > 0:03:38And in the search results...

0:03:41 > 0:03:44I found this had been uploaded.

0:03:44 > 0:03:47It's the memoirs of Lieutenant Joshua Wise.

0:03:47 > 0:03:49Wise was a Captain in the Indian Corps.

0:03:49 > 0:03:53From the memoirs, I think the last people to have seen

0:03:53 > 0:03:56Hugh Bellamy alive were Wise and his NCO.

0:03:57 > 0:03:59Zulman?

0:03:59 > 0:04:03We haven't got a relative called Zulman.

0:04:03 > 0:04:05Great-grandfather?

0:04:05 > 0:04:09Yeah, sure, send over the e-mail.

0:04:09 > 0:04:11TANNOY: 'This is the final call for all passengers

0:04:11 > 0:04:16'wishing to travel on flight EF32 to Berlin. Please proceed to gate 17.'

0:04:16 > 0:04:17Mr Bellamy?

0:04:18 > 0:04:20Zainab?

0:04:22 > 0:04:23Great to finally meet you.

0:04:24 > 0:04:26See you've brought your copy.

0:04:26 > 0:04:28Not that I don't know it by heart already.

0:04:31 > 0:04:33Can I get you a coffee?

0:04:33 > 0:04:34Thanks, but I'm fasting.

0:04:36 > 0:04:38Feel I've really gotten to know him.

0:04:38 > 0:04:40- Zulman?- Joshua Wise.

0:04:46 > 0:04:51'France was a shock for the men, not least the weather.

0:04:51 > 0:04:53'We'd exchanged the heat of the Punjab

0:04:53 > 0:04:57'for a European Winter. Uniforms were inadequate,

0:04:57 > 0:05:01'thick serge was needed but these wouldn't reach us for many months.

0:05:05 > 0:05:09'Our own rations had yet to reach us and food was home army issue

0:05:09 > 0:05:12'and for Indian palettes, almost inedible.

0:05:13 > 0:05:16'The combination of climate and diet created illness.

0:05:16 > 0:05:18'But with the coming offensive,

0:05:18 > 0:05:21'we needed the men to demonstrate determination and fortitude.

0:05:24 > 0:05:28'In that, we were fortunate to have outstanding NCOs,

0:05:28 > 0:05:31'not least Zulman Choudry.'

0:05:33 > 0:05:36HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:05:36 > 0:05:39Lance-daffadar, very good. Carry on.

0:05:43 > 0:05:47'We had enjoined the timeless lot of the soldier.

0:05:47 > 0:05:50'the wait before the call to battle.'

0:05:52 > 0:05:55- You were a soldier? - My original career.

0:05:55 > 0:05:58- Did you fight? - Active service? Yes.

0:05:59 > 0:06:03We had some tough times, but nothing like what they went through.

0:06:03 > 0:06:08The weather, the conditions, the casualties.

0:06:08 > 0:06:11Isn't it awful how people can just disappear?

0:06:11 > 0:06:14When I found out about Zulman that he was 25,

0:06:14 > 0:06:17had a wife, children, was well thought of

0:06:17 > 0:06:21and that he didn't make it back,

0:06:21 > 0:06:24I really wanted to know what happened to him.

0:06:24 > 0:06:25Then you got to the missing pages.

0:06:25 > 0:06:28Doctor Jukes says you haven't been able to find them.

0:06:28 > 0:06:30We've checked and checked online.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33Even managed to track down their foreman from the building

0:06:33 > 0:06:36- site where the originally memoirs were found.- No?

0:06:45 > 0:06:46Don't shoot!

0:06:49 > 0:06:52The Indian Expeditionary Force attacked here, to the south.

0:06:52 > 0:06:55That movement was intended as a pincer movement,

0:06:55 > 0:06:57to cut off the German salient here.

0:06:57 > 0:06:59The northern arm of the pincer were British.

0:06:59 > 0:07:02- Including Hugh's regiment? - The Bradford Fusiliers.

0:07:02 > 0:07:04But the Germans counter-attacked

0:07:04 > 0:07:06with massive force, pushing them back.

0:07:06 > 0:07:09So thousands of men were scattered all over the battlefield?

0:07:09 > 0:07:11Yeah, it was chaos.

0:07:11 > 0:07:14Formations broken, chain of command gone

0:07:14 > 0:07:16and with the Germans advancing all around...

0:07:19 > 0:07:22'Of my troop, Zulman and I were among the few survivors.

0:07:22 > 0:07:25'I was wounded by shrapnel in the thigh.

0:07:25 > 0:07:29'I ordered the men to scatter, but Zulman refused to leave me.

0:07:29 > 0:07:32'Many times I have wished I had insisted he go.

0:07:32 > 0:07:35'But I know Zulman would have felt obliged to disobey.

0:07:35 > 0:07:43'Every moment, we were looking to be caught, overrun, then we saw him.

0:07:43 > 0:07:45HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:07:45 > 0:07:48- Don't shoot!- Who are you?

0:07:48 > 0:07:51Bellamy, Sergeant Hugh Bellamy, Bradford Fusiliers.

0:07:51 > 0:07:53Where are your men?

0:07:53 > 0:07:56- They're dead. - Your officers?

0:07:57 > 0:08:00I thought he may have been a deserter.

0:08:00 > 0:08:04I had heard of officers being shot by the desperate.

0:08:04 > 0:08:06But his story was like our own.

0:08:06 > 0:08:09We hadn't thought such losses possible.

0:08:09 > 0:08:12But my men and brother officers had died around me.

0:08:15 > 0:08:16Stand down.

0:08:16 > 0:08:17Sahib.

0:08:22 > 0:08:24HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:08:29 > 0:08:30HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:08:30 > 0:08:31He says the barn.

0:08:31 > 0:08:34We saw a barn back there. We should go there.

0:08:34 > 0:08:37Wouldn't it be better to stay in the open, sir?

0:08:37 > 0:08:40HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:08:42 > 0:08:44We've seen men gunned down without question.

0:08:44 > 0:08:46If they find us, they'll gun us down in there.

0:08:46 > 0:08:48HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:08:52 > 0:08:55- He could have run off. - Who?- Hugh.

0:08:55 > 0:08:58He could have left Wise and Zulman and continued on his own.

0:08:59 > 0:09:01But Wise was the officer.

0:09:01 > 0:09:05But he didn't give Hugh any direct orders. In fact,

0:09:05 > 0:09:09"I told Sergeant Bellamy that I absolved him...'

0:09:09 > 0:09:11'...from any consideration of my rank.'

0:09:12 > 0:09:16'He could do as he thought fit.'

0:09:16 > 0:09:17The barn.

0:09:19 > 0:09:23- Bellamy you don't have... - If you say the barn, sir.

0:09:25 > 0:09:26Sahib.

0:09:29 > 0:09:30Come on.

0:09:40 > 0:09:43Was it the right decision?

0:09:43 > 0:09:44To go into the barn?

0:09:47 > 0:09:49I was 2IC of an operation in Armagh.

0:09:49 > 0:09:52We had intel on a weapons cache, in an old cottage.

0:09:52 > 0:09:55As we were going in, somebody opened up on us with an ArmaLite.

0:09:55 > 0:09:58But we managed to hold that place for ten hours.

0:09:58 > 0:10:03But Wise and Zulman didn't have a cache of ammunition.

0:10:03 > 0:10:07And the Germans had reached the farm.

0:10:07 > 0:10:10GROANING

0:10:14 > 0:10:15They're near.

0:10:25 > 0:10:28Sir? Sir?

0:10:28 > 0:10:32'Had I taken the decision to make for the barn for my own reasons?

0:10:32 > 0:10:37'I was weary - the wound was giving pain.'

0:10:38 > 0:10:40Sir - your orders?

0:10:45 > 0:10:48HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:10:48 > 0:10:49What's he saying?

0:10:51 > 0:10:52The hay.

0:10:54 > 0:10:55Hide? Hide?

0:10:55 > 0:10:57Hide, yes!

0:10:57 > 0:10:59Well, better be quick about it.

0:10:59 > 0:11:01HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:11:02 > 0:11:04Must have been horrible.

0:11:04 > 0:11:07Lying there, hoping that the Germans wouldn't come.

0:11:07 > 0:11:10They knew they were coming.

0:11:10 > 0:11:14TANNOY: Flight EF174 to Paris now boarding at Gate 3.

0:11:14 > 0:11:15That's us.

0:11:20 > 0:11:24GUNFIRE

0:11:39 > 0:11:40'I prayed.

0:11:49 > 0:11:51'And I thought it had been answered.'

0:11:58 > 0:12:01HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:12:31 > 0:12:33I know I'm asking a lot.

0:12:37 > 0:12:41But I know you're taking your students to excavate here.

0:12:42 > 0:12:44- Howard.- I realise...

0:12:44 > 0:12:48The dig is by the archaeology department - we're only just there.

0:12:48 > 0:12:50It's not that far.

0:12:52 > 0:12:57Hugh and Zulman - we could finish their stories too.

0:13:15 > 0:13:19HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:13:20 > 0:13:25'It looked as if Zulman's forbearance had saved us.

0:13:25 > 0:13:31'In that landscape of desecration and under the heavy stink of fear,

0:13:31 > 0:13:34'the hay possessed all the sweetness of summer.

0:13:34 > 0:13:37'For a moment, there was beauty in the world.'

0:13:38 > 0:13:42So now we know they survived the search of the barn.

0:13:42 > 0:13:44We know that Wise was a prisoner of war

0:13:44 > 0:13:46in a German military hospital.

0:13:46 > 0:13:50So how come Wise was the only survivor?

0:13:50 > 0:13:51There's no mention in his memoirs.

0:13:51 > 0:13:54He talks about his convalescence, being transferred to a camp,

0:13:54 > 0:13:58coming back to England. But whatever happened to Hugh and Zulman

0:13:58 > 0:14:01is in these missing pages.

0:14:01 > 0:14:04And whatever happened, happened in the vicinity of Figalle.

0:14:11 > 0:14:12Zainab.

0:14:14 > 0:14:15You look lovely.

0:14:18 > 0:14:19Let me.

0:14:30 > 0:14:33- How's the menu? - In French. How's yours?

0:14:33 > 0:14:35Also in French.

0:14:35 > 0:14:37Bonsoir.

0:14:37 > 0:14:39Well, I know I'm safe with steak-frites.

0:14:39 > 0:14:41And me with the salad.

0:14:49 > 0:14:52It's dark. We should go, sir.

0:14:52 > 0:14:55Shouldn't we make sure that the patrol has moved on?

0:14:55 > 0:14:57They might come back if they need shelter.

0:14:57 > 0:15:00I would imagine that their orders would be to keep advancing.

0:15:00 > 0:15:04I would...suggest we wait a little longer.

0:15:04 > 0:15:06Sir.

0:15:14 > 0:15:16Iftar.

0:15:16 > 0:15:20- Eh?- Zulman is a Mohammedan.

0:15:20 > 0:15:23It's Ramadan - when they fast during daylight.

0:15:23 > 0:15:26They break the fast at nightfall with the Iftar meal.

0:15:28 > 0:15:30It's an honour to be offered first.

0:15:35 > 0:15:36Thank you.

0:15:38 > 0:15:41HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:15:43 > 0:15:45If I get the gist, amen to that!

0:15:50 > 0:15:53- Mmm!- Mmm.

0:15:53 > 0:15:58'The sharing of Iftar was a moment of peace, together.

0:15:58 > 0:16:01'It felt that there was something benign, some power,

0:16:01 > 0:16:03'which had taken us in its hands.'

0:16:07 > 0:16:10- That's so thoughtful, merci. - De rien.

0:16:12 > 0:16:14It's Ramadan.

0:16:14 > 0:16:17The traditional way to end the day's fast is with a date.

0:16:30 > 0:16:33- So are you religious? - I was brought up that way.

0:16:33 > 0:16:36Moved away from it a bit at university and in my twenties.

0:16:36 > 0:16:38But I've always celebrated Ramadan.

0:16:38 > 0:16:42- Fasted?- Sneaked the odd latte. How about you?

0:16:42 > 0:16:44I'm more of an espresso man myself!

0:16:46 > 0:16:47I meant are you religious?

0:16:49 > 0:16:55I was christened and confirmed, so I suppose I'm C of E, by default.

0:16:55 > 0:16:57But I've never really been religious.

0:16:58 > 0:16:59Except...

0:17:00 > 0:17:02Except?

0:17:02 > 0:17:05Well, they say there's no atheists on a battlefield.

0:17:14 > 0:17:17HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE

0:17:17 > 0:17:19Do you have a faith?

0:17:19 > 0:17:25I attended church as a boy. Lapsed a little as an apprentice.

0:17:25 > 0:17:27Church parade?

0:17:27 > 0:17:29No choice there.

0:17:33 > 0:17:37But the burials, when we CAN bury them...

0:17:44 > 0:17:46How about you, sir?

0:17:46 > 0:17:48Me?

0:17:48 > 0:17:51Do you believe?

0:17:51 > 0:17:52Yes.

0:17:52 > 0:17:58But my belief...stops short of the Gospels.

0:17:59 > 0:18:01I'm a Jew.

0:18:04 > 0:18:07So what about you? You've done all right for yourself -

0:18:07 > 0:18:10head of IT, international firm.

0:18:10 > 0:18:12I originally wanted to go into research.

0:18:12 > 0:18:15- Computing?- Had a place for a PhD in the States.

0:18:15 > 0:18:17So why didn't you go?

0:18:17 > 0:18:21There was um...something else, at the time. Didn't work out.

0:18:24 > 0:18:27Fancy a drink in the bar?

0:18:27 > 0:18:28Big day tomorrow.

0:18:28 > 0:18:31- Yeah, sorry.- I know.

0:18:31 > 0:18:35My drink would have been a boring orange juice, anyway.

0:18:35 > 0:18:36I don't think boring applies.

0:18:42 > 0:18:45- Good night.- Night.

0:18:50 > 0:18:52Ready?

0:18:52 > 0:18:53Sergeant.

0:18:54 > 0:18:55Sir.

0:19:03 > 0:19:05Right, close order. Good luck.

0:19:29 > 0:19:31Doctor Jukes!

0:19:57 > 0:20:00- It's got to be him! - We've just taken the DNA.

0:20:00 > 0:20:05- But the buttons - you said they were Bradford Fusiliers? - We also found a paybook.

0:20:05 > 0:20:08- And?- It was pretty damaged.

0:20:08 > 0:20:12But there was some writing that was legible, including his name.

0:20:18 > 0:20:22But there were two of them? Did you find...?

0:20:22 > 0:20:25We've already matched the DNA from the great-grandaughter, Zainab.

0:20:35 > 0:20:38Thank you. Thank you.

0:21:04 > 0:21:06This is where Zulman was found.

0:21:12 > 0:21:16And Hugh - we found over there.

0:21:17 > 0:21:20They're quite far apart.

0:21:20 > 0:21:24I suppose the shelling must have churned up the ground.

0:21:24 > 0:21:27Actually, this area was mostly behind the lines later in the war.

0:21:29 > 0:21:34That's why the remains were...intact and we were able to locate them.

0:21:36 > 0:21:39I had a feeling - I knew they would be near to the barn

0:21:39 > 0:21:40but you must have...

0:21:42 > 0:21:45- We had an expert witness. - Are those the missing pages?

0:21:45 > 0:21:47Where did you find them?

0:21:47 > 0:21:49- Zainab.- Me?

0:21:49 > 0:21:52I contacted the Jewish Military Museum.

0:21:52 > 0:21:54They didn't have any records of a Joshua Wise.

0:21:54 > 0:21:56Nor did the Imperial War Museum.

0:21:56 > 0:21:59Then I remembered you suggesting checking the IP address

0:21:59 > 0:22:03for the upload of Wise's memoirs.

0:22:03 > 0:22:04Tel Aviv?

0:22:05 > 0:22:08Joshua's great-granddaughter, Chava.

0:22:10 > 0:22:13She wanted to mark the centenary of the war...

0:22:14 > 0:22:17..by putting his memoirs online.

0:22:17 > 0:22:19But she didn't have the missing pages?

0:22:19 > 0:22:21When the family found out what we were doing,

0:22:21 > 0:22:23they searched through everything.

0:22:23 > 0:22:25They found them...

0:22:25 > 0:22:28..in a box of things from Joshua's desk.

0:22:30 > 0:22:32So, what happened to Joshua?

0:22:32 > 0:22:35He died in 1971.

0:22:35 > 0:22:37So what happened in the end?

0:22:43 > 0:22:46'They made some distance from the barn, taking care.

0:22:49 > 0:22:51'If they'd known it, Allied troops in their sector had stalled

0:22:51 > 0:22:55'the German counter-attack and were only half a mile away.

0:22:55 > 0:22:58'But that meant the patrol who had searched the barn

0:22:58 > 0:23:00'had been forced back.

0:23:01 > 0:23:05'They had bedded down for the night and posted sentries.

0:23:05 > 0:23:07'It was one of those that they disturbed.'

0:23:07 > 0:23:09GUNSHOT

0:23:09 > 0:23:11SENTRY SHOUTS IN GERMAN

0:23:11 > 0:23:13HE SPEAKS TO SOLDIER IN SOLDIER'S OWN LANGUAGE

0:23:13 > 0:23:15GUNFIRE CONTINUES

0:23:17 > 0:23:19GUNSHOT

0:23:19 > 0:23:22HE GROANS AND PANTS

0:23:22 > 0:23:24'We hadn't sought the engagement

0:23:24 > 0:23:27'and it was only by chance and his own inclination

0:23:27 > 0:23:28'that Sergeant Bellamy was with us.

0:23:31 > 0:23:32'He glanced back...

0:23:38 > 0:23:41'..and then he charged.'

0:23:41 > 0:23:44GUNSHOTS RING OUT

0:23:44 > 0:23:47'It was a charge of naked courage,

0:23:47 > 0:23:49'in defiance of greater odds,

0:23:49 > 0:23:51'in defence of his comrades.

0:24:05 > 0:24:08'He met his end a true soldier...

0:24:10 > 0:24:12'..and in my mind...'

0:24:12 > 0:24:14..he charges still.

0:24:18 > 0:24:22Joshua thought the Germans were going to finish him off.

0:24:22 > 0:24:23But they took him prisoner.

0:24:24 > 0:24:27He came back here, after the war.

0:24:28 > 0:24:30In 1919

0:24:30 > 0:24:31and in 1925

0:24:31 > 0:24:33and in 1929.

0:24:34 > 0:24:38He never stopped trying to find Hugh and Zulman.

0:24:41 > 0:24:43Now he has.

0:25:32 > 0:25:33They're next to each other.

0:25:35 > 0:25:36Do you mind?

0:25:37 > 0:25:38No.

0:25:39 > 0:25:42I just didn't expect them to be touching.

0:25:42 > 0:25:47I mentioned to Zainab that when men were killed together in a trench,

0:25:47 > 0:25:52the headstones were often placed touching, to signify their unity.

0:25:54 > 0:25:56She thought that as Hugh and Zulman

0:25:56 > 0:25:58had spent their last few hours together...

0:25:59 > 0:26:00..and fell together...

0:26:05 > 0:26:06Good call.

0:26:25 > 0:26:28"At the going down of the sun...

0:26:28 > 0:26:30"..and in the morning...

0:26:30 > 0:26:32ALL: "..we will remember them."

0:26:35 > 0:26:38TRUMPET PLAYS LAST POST

0:27:08 > 0:27:12Nanny left this behind and I must drop it off.

0:27:12 > 0:27:14It's not mine yet, but one day...

0:27:14 > 0:27:16It'll be yours just like it was hers and her mothers.

0:27:16 > 0:27:18And her grandmother's.

0:27:18 > 0:27:20And her grandmother's mother's!

0:27:20 > 0:27:22I just always envy people with a strong faith.

0:27:22 > 0:27:24There but for the grace of God go I.

0:27:24 > 0:27:27I'm just walking down the street and I find myself looking.

0:27:27 > 0:27:29The whole world is a top shelf.