:00:14. > :00:19.I am here in Helmand province in Afghanistan, one of the most
:00:19. > :00:23.dangerous countries in the world. Although 9,500 British troops are
:00:23. > :00:27.deployed here, and in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday, I am proud to
:00:27. > :00:37.be introducing both their stories and those from past conflicts
:00:37. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :00:58.around the world. This is Every day this week, we mark the
:00:58. > :01:03.build-up to Remembrance Sunday by letting those who march past the
:01:03. > :01:06.Cenotaph tell their personal stories of strength and courage. We
:01:06. > :01:16.also commemorate those who have laid down their lives for their
:01:16. > :01:17.
:01:17. > :01:27.country. Coming up: I get a true taste of how exhausting it is to
:01:27. > :01:28.
:01:28. > :01:32.work in Helmand Province. There are always four of you? Two of us.
:01:32. > :01:38.We find out the personal stories behind the headlines in Northern
:01:38. > :01:41.Ireland. It is not just another soldier, it is my brother, Simon.
:01:41. > :01:50.And their young family count down the days for their loved one to
:01:50. > :01:57.come home. No-one in the world could have a better dad then me.
:01:57. > :02:01.This series is all about exceptional bravery and courage and,
:02:01. > :02:07.in the case of our next story, the ability to cope in extreme
:02:07. > :02:14.environments. In the Second World War, Burmah rifleman Orde Wingate
:02:14. > :02:20.was part of an elite special forces known as the Chindits. Our role was
:02:20. > :02:28.to challenge the Japanese in jungle warfare. We became special because
:02:28. > :02:33.we went behind the lines. We went over 100 miles behind the lines.
:02:33. > :02:39.The Chindits were the pioneers of jungle guerrilla warfare and the
:02:39. > :02:49.brainchild of Major-General Orde Wingate, the man who named them
:02:49. > :02:52.
:02:52. > :02:57.after a feature of the army's temples. Chindtat was the dragon
:02:57. > :03:03.outside temples. It was a forceful men. Before the war Burmah was part
:03:03. > :03:12.of the British Empire, but in 1942 the Japanese invaded in a bid to
:03:12. > :03:18.control the country's natural resources and extend their power.
:03:18. > :03:25.The only way to forge a counter- attack was to have a special group
:03:25. > :03:33.of soldiers. You did not walk, you did everything in the double, you
:03:33. > :03:41.trotted the hallway. -- you trotted all the way.
:03:41. > :03:51.The only way to get supplies in was by year. You were freezing cold.
:03:51. > :03:52.
:03:52. > :03:56.The pilots released us in a glider. There was no more noise. And then
:03:56. > :04:04.you're coming down, it is getting hotter and you can feel the heat
:04:04. > :04:10.going up your nose. You were supposed to come down at 75 miles
:04:10. > :04:14.an hour, but we came down at around 150 miles an hour. They did not
:04:14. > :04:24.account for the hills. You hit the paddy-fields and all hell breaks
:04:24. > :04:25.
:04:25. > :04:33.out. There were brambles, of weeds coming through the windows. --
:04:33. > :04:43.weeds coming through. My full title was Reconnaissance
:04:43. > :04:47.Platoon Commander. I would go ahead of the column, that was 400 men and
:04:48. > :04:55.100 mules. I had to find the way through the jungle, find water,
:04:55. > :04:59.find the Supply Drop the area. I had to find an area of where light
:04:59. > :05:09.planes could land to take away the wounded.
:05:09. > :05:14.
:05:14. > :05:17.In 1944, three -- 3,000 Chindits began an advance. In the jungle,
:05:17. > :05:26.you had the creepers coming down and you had to hack your way
:05:26. > :05:31.through. And then there was the elephant grass, seven feet high, it
:05:31. > :05:36.had serrated edges and your clothes were just form. Then there was the
:05:36. > :05:44.dust coming down on you. Sometimes the column would do it eight miles
:05:44. > :05:49.in a day, starting at five in the morning. You could only do eight
:05:49. > :05:56.miles because the jungle was so thick. All I can remember is the
:05:56. > :06:00.man in front of me, or the mule in front of me with its tail swishing.
:06:01. > :06:05.The Chindits were a superior international fighting force.
:06:05. > :06:11.some wonderful trips, including British boys, Scottish, Welsh, the
:06:11. > :06:19.lot. Even though I was born and bred in Burma, it was tough for us.
:06:19. > :06:24.I never saw one person go back by one foot. We were all there to
:06:24. > :06:27.fight. He initially, the Chindits had taken the enemy by surprise,
:06:27. > :06:33.but soon the Japanese were fighting back.
:06:33. > :06:39.I was a soldier, I took what came. Even in the jungle when you are
:06:39. > :06:47.ambushed, your heart was in your mouth and fear To Cover. Then you
:06:47. > :06:57.fight and you keep on fighting. Fire, and fire quick dash to get
:06:57. > :07:01.
:07:01. > :07:06.them first, before they got you. -- fire quick - get them first.
:07:06. > :07:16.The Chindits had to be supplied by air, but this was not reliable so
:07:16. > :07:19.
:07:19. > :07:29.they had to be resourceful. You get a thick bamboo that has bought a
:07:29. > :07:35.remit. We had a Burmese knife that was razor sharp. With bamboo, you
:07:35. > :07:40.must cut up words. We had to teach the British boys. It is very hard
:07:40. > :07:44.to. You did it this way. foliage was so dense that it was
:07:44. > :07:49.easy to get lost, so it was important to follow strict
:07:49. > :07:55.instructions, even going to the toilet. You had to go in pairs. You
:07:55. > :08:03.would walk around 20 paces away from the camp, turn your back to
:08:03. > :08:11.each other, walked for 10 paces, deja business and then came back.
:08:11. > :08:18.Some of them got lost, having done a slightly wrong turning. Surviving
:08:18. > :08:25.in these conditions was tough. Always hungry, always dirty, always
:08:25. > :08:32.wet. You were wet with perspiration, wet with rain, wet with fear. And
:08:32. > :08:35.just tired of being tired. I cried at night sometimes because of the
:08:35. > :08:39.hunger. All you can think of his food.
:08:39. > :08:47.Neville and his comrades ate whatever they could find. I taught
:08:47. > :08:54.them how to eat monkey because monkey flesh is lovely. They had
:08:54. > :08:58.blow pipes because we could not fire a gun. It would give our
:08:58. > :09:01.position away. Neville fought and survived for
:09:01. > :09:07.four months deep in the heart of the jungle but the severe
:09:07. > :09:14.conditions caught up with him later in 19 night -- 1944. I was in
:09:14. > :09:24.hospital, having been bitten by rats. I hat typhus, pneumonia and
:09:24. > :09:26.
:09:26. > :09:32.malaria. Dame Vera Lynn came round. I said, kiss me, Vera. I saw how a
:09:33. > :09:41.few years back and I told her, you kissed me in July 1944. She said,
:09:41. > :09:47.how can you remember that? I said, because I was 21 years old then.
:09:47. > :09:55.Neville met the girl called Glory Rose. By the Thai my got to our
:09:55. > :09:59.camp -- by the time I got to our camp, there was no more fighting.
:09:59. > :10:06.did not believe that anybody could do so much. If she was cooking rice
:10:06. > :10:15.cakes. I thought it was a bit of a nuisance, disturbing the cooking!
:10:15. > :10:19.Happy, always smiling. A darn good cook. He made me very happy.
:10:19. > :10:23.Neville and Glory Rose were married in 1949 and celebrated their sixty-
:10:23. > :10:29.second anniversary this year. Former Neville and his fellow
:10:29. > :10:39.Chindits, their legacy lives on. What the SAS is doing now, be
:10:39. > :10:40.
:10:40. > :10:47.learnt from us. -- they learned from us. We were proud to be
:10:47. > :10:55.Chindits. Everyone did their bit to, otherwise we could not have overrun
:10:56. > :11:01.Burma. I am so proud of all of them. For his contribution to the
:11:01. > :11:08.Chindits and the Burmese Army, Neville was awarded an MBE. We hope
:11:08. > :11:11.that his efforts and those of his comrades will never be forgotten.
:11:11. > :11:17.Camp Bastion is situated in the middle of a harsh Afghanistan
:11:17. > :11:23.desert. Our front line troops are based hundreds of miles away, the
:11:23. > :11:32.pain more hostile territory. The only way to get vital supplies to
:11:32. > :11:37.them is by air or by vehicle. We are travelling in a heavily
:11:37. > :11:43.armoured vehicle. But it is the fear of the unknown that is
:11:43. > :11:53.unsettling as we travel in one of these. Moving anywhere outside camp
:11:53. > :12:15.
:12:15. > :12:20.increases the danger. That was completely disorientating,
:12:20. > :12:24.but luckily it is just a training exercise. It is something all the
:12:24. > :12:29.soldiers have to do when they get out here in Afghanistan. The thing
:12:29. > :12:34.is, that is a reality. That can happen at any point when you're
:12:34. > :12:39.travelling on the roads out here. These vehicles have saved countless
:12:39. > :12:44.lives, but the hostile environment and hidden bombs puts them through
:12:44. > :12:50.their paces every day. I am about to meet the team of specialists
:12:50. > :12:56.whose job it is to maintain them. Working out here is tough, even
:12:56. > :13:06.right now - it is windy with dust flying about. For a mechanic that
:13:06. > :13:07.
:13:07. > :13:14.is a nightmare scenario, isn't it? Yes. We can fix anything anywhere.
:13:14. > :13:19.Matt is part of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
:13:19. > :13:25.Any move about here is relatively dangerous. The routes we have to
:13:25. > :13:32.take are varied so that we do not use the same roads over and again
:13:32. > :13:37.in set patterns. The guys will drive across conditions like this
:13:37. > :13:42.where it is lumpy, uneven and without tarmac.
:13:42. > :13:49.It is a full-time job to keep their vehicles in Afghanistan on the road.
:13:49. > :13:55.Sometimes that means fixing them in the middle of a Taliban firefight.
:13:55. > :13:59.You are in a really dangerous feria. It goes with wearing the suit. We
:13:59. > :14:04.are soldiers first and tradesmen always. The guys are prepared to go
:14:04. > :14:14.into battle and put their lives in danger. If an explosive device goes
:14:14. > :14:15.
:14:15. > :14:19.off and endures the vehicle, the guys will get out. The guys will go
:14:19. > :14:22.and assess the vehicle, pull it to safety and administer first aid
:14:22. > :14:28.where they can. To see how physically punishing it
:14:28. > :14:32.is to recover vehicles, the engineers are going to put me
:14:32. > :14:40.through my paces. Every second counts because, when one vehicle
:14:40. > :14:50.stops, so does the convoy. And then you are sitting target. -- you are
:14:50. > :15:07.
:15:07. > :15:17.Is it always four of you? usually it is two. Come on! It is
:15:17. > :15:18.
:15:18. > :15:24.so hard, I cannot get any grip underfoot. Doing this for real, it
:15:24. > :15:31.could take 10-15 minutes, it could take two days. This is perfect
:15:31. > :15:34.conditions. Perfect conditions? It is dusty, it is windy. There is
:15:34. > :15:43.loads of space to manoeuvre the vehicles, this is perfect
:15:43. > :15:46.conditions, suck it up, big man! After just 25 minutes, this
:15:46. > :15:56.specialist team have recovered the vehicle and moved it away from
:15:56. > :16:00.
:16:00. > :16:06.That was absolutely epic, something very, very difficult made to look
:16:06. > :16:10.relatively straightforward. I think to be honest, the boys have quite
:16:10. > :16:14.enjoyed bossing me around a bit, which is fine, because it has given
:16:15. > :16:20.me a real idea of what they have to go through a day in, day out. It is
:16:20. > :16:25.so hard. I cannot tell you, these conditions, the wind, the dust,
:16:25. > :16:29.pulling heavy equipment, you have got no grip on the ground, either.
:16:29. > :16:39.Add to that the dangers of being in the Green Zone, it gives you an
:16:39. > :16:42.
:16:42. > :16:48.idea of how hard it is. But there is another job which REME take an
:16:48. > :16:53.immense pride in. They make this cross for any service person who
:16:53. > :17:02.falls here in Helmand province. Do you take a lot of pride in this
:17:02. > :17:09.work? Yes. It is something of the boys will stop everything to do.
:17:09. > :17:19.The final touch is the badge of the unit. Sadly in this case we have
:17:19. > :17:32.
:17:32. > :17:39.Still to come, we hear from the original sweet heart of the Armed
:17:39. > :17:49.Forces, Dame Vera Lynn. I thought, just a lipstick will have to do,
:17:49. > :17:54.
:17:54. > :18:00.and that is how I used to work. Margaret, James and Sophie are
:18:00. > :18:07.counting down the days until Neill, the missing part of the family, is
:18:07. > :18:11.back from Afghanistan. He is due back on Tuesday, four days away.
:18:11. > :18:16.will be a bit cheesy, but I would really like to just give him a hug
:18:16. > :18:26.again. He is an amazing dad, no-one in the world could have a better
:18:26. > :18:27.
:18:27. > :18:32.dad than me. He's coming home, four days! Neill and Margaret got
:18:32. > :18:36.together in 2003 after tragedy struck her young family. With Neill,
:18:36. > :18:41.it wasn't just walking in on a ready-made family that was all OK,
:18:41. > :18:45.it was walking in on a ready-made family that has been ripped apart,
:18:45. > :18:51.basically. It was the day before Sophie's second birthday. Singing
:18:51. > :18:57.Happy birthday to a two-year-old less than 24 hours after finding
:18:57. > :19:02.out that your husband had died in a road accident... James took it
:19:02. > :19:07.really hard. He had just started school and come home one day and
:19:07. > :19:14.Dad had not come home from work. I probably could put it down to one
:19:14. > :19:19.of the hardest days of my life. from the moment Neill stepped into
:19:19. > :19:24.their lives, he has been their rock. For everything that happened,
:19:24. > :19:31.everything that went wrong, every struggle that we had, he was there
:19:31. > :19:37.for us. Neill has been a great father for the 13-year-old and the
:19:37. > :19:43.11-year-old. He has been amazing, he helps with your homework and he
:19:43. > :19:53.is extremely cuddly. He's basically one big teddy bear. I'm lucky to
:19:53. > :19:54.
:19:54. > :20:00.have him. He's spot on, he's great. James and Sophie are actually quite
:20:00. > :20:04.desperate for Neill to be their dad. Whilst we tried to explain that he
:20:04. > :20:10.could be, without being married, it was not a concept that they were
:20:10. > :20:14.happy to go with. It was Bonfire Night in the local area, and we
:20:14. > :20:21.went to a firework display, and when the fireworks were going off,
:20:21. > :20:25.he turned round and asked me to marry him, with the Ring! Neill and
:20:25. > :20:31.Margaret married in 2008, and, for this new military family, the
:20:31. > :20:36.inevitable happened earlier this year. I found out in one fell sweep
:20:36. > :20:41.that we had been re-posted, and he was going to Afghanistan. I was
:20:41. > :20:45.absolutely gutted, but it was always going to come. You just pick
:20:45. > :20:51.yourself up and have to get on with it, that's what I signed up for,
:20:51. > :20:55.not literally, but it is what I married into, and it is what Neill
:20:55. > :20:59.signed up for. But breaking the news to the children was always
:20:59. > :21:04.going to be difficult. We were sitting down, all relaxed with hot
:21:04. > :21:09.chocolate and drinks and things like that, then Mum said, kids, I
:21:09. > :21:16.have something very important to tell you. He looked at me and
:21:16. > :21:20.Sophie, straight in the eye, and said, I'm going to Afghanistan. I
:21:20. > :21:28.knew that Mum was very upset so I tried not to show that I was upset,
:21:28. > :21:32.to make Mum feel better. I really felt for James, because Neill is
:21:33. > :21:40.everything for him now, he really looks up to him. And it all the
:21:40. > :21:48.other stuff, will he be saved, will he come home? And what will I do if
:21:48. > :21:55.anything happens to him? The RAF Flight Sergeant was posted to Kabul,
:21:55. > :21:58.the capital of Afghanistan, where he is a mentor to the Afghan
:21:58. > :22:05.National Army. It is his first tour of duty since meeting Margaret.
:22:05. > :22:08.Neill got upset, and I have never really seen him upset. Which told
:22:08. > :22:14.me actually this time was probably going to be a bit harder for him,
:22:14. > :22:22.because it was the first time he was ever leaving children behind.
:22:22. > :22:27.The bit I miss most is the laughter that we have together, and just him
:22:28. > :22:33.being around. Sometimes when I'm on my own, just playing a game or just
:22:33. > :22:41.doing something, he will just pop into my head, and I will think, I
:22:41. > :22:45.wish he was there. I missed him every minute of every day.
:22:45. > :22:49.James and Sophie, Neill's absence has had a huge impact on their
:22:50. > :22:56.lives. Because they have known him for five years before we were
:22:56. > :23:05.married, he was Neill. And we had conversations about starting to
:23:05. > :23:15.call him Dad. They were try, Neill, Dad, and it ended up being quite
:23:15. > :23:15.
:23:15. > :23:20.funny. But while Neill has been in Afghanistan, James has pretty much
:23:20. > :23:26.decided it is Neill. They do not forget their dad, but it means they
:23:26. > :23:33.are working towards the family that they want it back again. After four
:23:33. > :23:39.months, Neill returned home for his mid tour break. We were going,
:23:39. > :23:44.where is he? Here he is a! We saw the car come up, as soon as he came
:23:45. > :23:49.out, we went straight into his arms, it was really special, one of the
:23:49. > :23:53.most special moments ever. We were arguing who would sit next to Neill
:23:53. > :23:58.at the table when we went for a meal. Needless to say, I was across
:23:58. > :24:03.the table, and the two children were next to him, I got chucked
:24:03. > :24:08.out! I did not win, and I don't think I will win this time, either!
:24:08. > :24:12.I will have to run quickly. And then of course, two weeks later you
:24:12. > :24:17.have got to say goodbye again. Being back in Afghanistan is
:24:17. > :24:22.challenging for Neill as well. Being away from the family so long,
:24:22. > :24:27.it is difficult at times, not being able to see the children, going
:24:27. > :24:31.through the highs and lows of their life over the last six months, just
:24:31. > :24:37.missing holding them and being there when they need it. After a
:24:37. > :24:47.tough six months, Neill is finally on his way home. We were all really
:24:47. > :24:56.
:24:56. > :25:01.excited. I'm looking forward to the -- hugs ever. I'm so proud to be
:25:01. > :25:05.his son, I'm just so proud of him. The first thing I will say to him
:25:05. > :25:15.is, I love you, because I have not been able to say that properly to
:25:15. > :25:40.
:25:40. > :25:45.I'm very pleased he's home. It is good to see the kids so happy, they
:25:45. > :25:53.have been waiting for this day. just really happy to be back with
:25:53. > :26:03.my family again. Just finally, things are back to normal. Happy,
:26:03. > :26:08.
:26:08. > :26:14.Next, we hear from Darren Ware, who has returned from the place where
:26:14. > :26:20.he laid to rest his only brother, Simon, 20 years ago. When I'm here
:26:20. > :26:25.at the graveside, it is me and him, it is just a small way of saying,
:26:25. > :26:30.we have not forgotten about you. From childhood, these brothers were
:26:30. > :26:35.inseparable. Simon was a huge influence on me, he was my elder
:26:35. > :26:40.brother. We used to play cops and robbers and soldiers, like other
:26:40. > :26:44.kids. Even though we were in a different year, we went to the same
:26:44. > :26:49.school. We would make up at playtime, and occasionally, we
:26:49. > :26:51.would go out and get up to boisterous mischief. Simon joined
:26:51. > :27:01.the army cadets, sparking his ambition to be a professional
:27:01. > :27:09.
:27:09. > :27:15.soldier. When he left school, isn't In front of Darren, their family
:27:15. > :27:22.and friends, Simon passed out in February 1987. I was very proud of
:27:22. > :27:30.him. It was very wet and windy, but it was a really good day. And where
:27:30. > :27:35.Simon went, Darren followed. When he left school and joined the Army,
:27:35. > :27:40.I followed his footsteps. I went straight to the same Careers Office,
:27:40. > :27:46.and I said, I wanted to join the Coldstream Guards, just like Simon.
:27:46. > :27:50.They measured my height and said, you're not tall enough to join the
:27:50. > :27:54.gods, so I ended up joining the Royal green jackets. Simon ended up
:27:55. > :28:02.taking the Mick, because according to him, the regiment I joined was
:28:02. > :28:08.insignificant, not as good. And I would say the same thing to him. It
:28:08. > :28:12.was always good-natured banter. two brothers were posted to
:28:12. > :28:16.different parts of the world but always managed to stay in touch.
:28:16. > :28:21.did not have mobile phones, it was a case of winning the operations
:28:21. > :28:25.room, and getting them to ring you back. We kept the conversations
:28:25. > :28:32.pretty short. But it is traditional for soldiers to say, keep your head
:28:32. > :28:35.down. It speaks for itself, really, just keep safe and look after
:28:35. > :28:42.yourself. So, at the end of every conversation, it would always be,
:28:42. > :28:48.keep your head down, you, too. soldiers completed tours of
:28:48. > :28:57.Northern Ireland, and then, in 1991, they returned. Simon was posted to
:28:57. > :29:03.the notoriously volatile south Armagh. Every soldier knows that it
:29:03. > :29:09.is rough, South Armagh. It was known as bandit country, it was
:29:09. > :29:16.such a dangerous place for soldiers and police officers to patrol.
:29:16. > :29:22.Known as the Troubles, the years 1969 to 1998 were a period of
:29:22. > :29:28.conflict in Northern Ireland. And the main group resisting British
:29:28. > :29:32.rule and targeting our Armed Forces was the IRA. They only have to be
:29:32. > :29:37.lucky once. They plant a bomb, soldier goes past, the bomb goes
:29:37. > :29:41.off, that is their luck. But for the soldier, you have to be lucky.
:29:41. > :29:45.You're always thinking in the back of your mind, anything could happen.
:29:45. > :29:49.It was a difficult time for both brothers. Simon was worried, he
:29:49. > :29:59.knew what he was going to, he knew it was tough. But he was like any
:29:59. > :30:00.
:30:00. > :30:05.11 phone call, Simon had a special request for his younger brother.
:30:05. > :30:11.rang me up, asking, do you want to be my best man? I was pleased to do
:30:11. > :30:17.it for him. We both had our Northern Ireland medals on. He was
:30:17. > :30:21.proud as punch. He was the tall, handsome Guardsman. He got married
:30:21. > :30:29.on the Saturday and had to go to Northern Ireland on the Monday, two
:30:29. > :30:33.days later. I remember the last conversation quite vividly. He let
:30:33. > :30:37.me know that he was going out on a three-day operation and would be
:30:37. > :30:42.back on Saturday. At the end of the conversation, we said, keep your
:30:42. > :30:47.head down. What 17th August 1991, Darren's
:30:47. > :30:52.commanding officer would give in use that would shatter his world.
:30:52. > :30:59.Sitting in the chair in his office, with my helmet on and my camouflage
:30:59. > :31:04.cream, gun and ammunition, he told me, your brother has been killed by
:31:04. > :31:10.a bomb in South Armagh this morning. It hit me. Suddenly, everything
:31:10. > :31:16.just sort of fell apart. I remember just bursting into tears. I did not
:31:16. > :31:21.know what to do. The only brother I had, a big chunk of my life, had
:31:21. > :31:28.suddenly been killed. Darren was immediately flown home to be with
:31:28. > :31:37.his family. I remember the first radio broadcast on the news.
:31:37. > :31:41.NEWS reader: A soldier was killed today in South Armagh.
:31:41. > :31:46.The soldier died at the scene near the Irish border.
:31:46. > :31:52.I was thinking, they are talking about my brother. It is not just
:31:53. > :31:57.another soldier, it is my brother, Simon. I think the first broadcast
:31:57. > :32:05.on the television showed the scene of the explosion. They showed the
:32:05. > :32:11.wood where he patrolled. I asked myself, what was he doing in the
:32:11. > :32:14.wood? How was he killed? How big was the bomb? How was it
:32:14. > :32:18.constructed? I was determined to find out.
:32:18. > :32:23.As his brother and as a fellow soldier, Darren needed to know what
:32:23. > :32:27.happened to Simon on that fateful morning. After months of research
:32:27. > :32:32.he could finally answer role of the questions that he had.
:32:32. > :32:36.The last 15 minutes of the patrol that morning, his team had entered
:32:36. > :32:45.a track which went through the middle of the wood. There was a
:32:45. > :32:50.bend and the terrorists had buried the the bomb. It just happened that
:32:50. > :32:56.the piece of equipment that Simon was carrying was compatible with
:32:56. > :33:06.the initiation device for the bomb. He was so close to the end of his
:33:06. > :33:15.
:33:15. > :33:23.tour. He was due to come back only It does not get any easier. There
:33:23. > :33:31.is no-one there to share those experiences, what soldiers talk
:33:31. > :33:41.about, what brothers talk about. Everything, everything I miss about
:33:41. > :33:49.
:33:49. > :33:55.In the Second World War, British efforts to keep morale high a gave
:33:55. > :34:05.rise to one of our most treasured entertainers. Dame Vera Lynn is
:34:05. > :34:09.
:34:09. > :34:17.without doubt the original forces sweetheart. It all started when she
:34:17. > :34:22.joined ENSA. All of the boys had their run idea of what it stood for
:34:23. > :34:29.- every night something awful. The performers were not always that
:34:29. > :34:33.good. Formed in 1939 by the impresario Basil Dean and the
:34:33. > :34:41.British Government, entertainers were posted around the world to
:34:41. > :34:46.entertain our troops. If you were a performing artist and he joined up,
:34:46. > :34:50.be made good use of you, I can assure you! They may not have been
:34:50. > :34:56.fighting but they certainly did their bit.
:34:56. > :35:02.Dame Vera Lynn was just 20 when she signed up for ENSA. My mother put
:35:02. > :35:06.me on the stage when I was seven. I went through singing with dance
:35:06. > :35:15.bands before I started in the real profession. It was great experience,
:35:15. > :35:21.a good background to be able to old people's attention in a smoky hall
:35:21. > :35:27.or a working man's club with no microphone.
:35:27. > :35:32.By 1940, her sweet voice was already a huge hit with the armed
:35:32. > :35:39.forces. If I had been broadcasting to the boys overseas and I thought
:35:39. > :35:47.it would be nice to go and see them in person, actually where they were
:35:47. > :35:51.fighting and sing to them as me and not just over the radio. So why
:35:51. > :35:57.approached ENSA and suggested that I could go overseas somewhere. They
:35:57. > :36:03.said, where do you want to go? I said, Europe gets a lot of ENSA
:36:03. > :36:09.parties, so I want to go somewhere where they are not getting a lot of
:36:09. > :36:15.entertainment, if any. They said, Burma is the only place that nobody
:36:15. > :36:21.wants to go to. I said, that is where I want to go.
:36:21. > :36:25.In 1944, Dame Vera arrived in Burma. Although everything was rationed,
:36:25. > :36:30.it was still important for the young singer to look her best.
:36:30. > :36:40.took a pretty dress with me because I thought I would need it. I only
:36:40. > :36:46.
:36:46. > :36:53.wore it wants. It was much too hot. I lived in khaki all the time. I
:36:53. > :36:59.thought, just a lipstick will have to do. And that is how I worked -
:36:59. > :37:06.khaki and lipstick. A little bit of lipstick went a
:37:06. > :37:10.long way, as thousands turned out to see her. I never imagined
:37:10. > :37:15.singing to 6,000 in one go. It was rather wonderful, really, you know,
:37:15. > :37:20.just to be on a little platform and look out and see all of these chaps
:37:20. > :37:25.out there, spread quite a long way away. It was rather nice, really,
:37:25. > :37:32.to be the only girl amongst so many chaps. People ask me, how did they
:37:32. > :37:38.treat you? I say, absolute perfect gentleman and they treated me with
:37:38. > :37:42.the utmost respect. There was never any saucy calls or anything like
:37:42. > :37:47.that. It was not only large groups that
:37:47. > :37:53.Dame Vera sung to. 11 occasion, two injured soldiers had a special
:37:53. > :37:57.request. They were poorly and could not go to the concert. I went to
:37:57. > :38:05.visit them and sat on their bed, chatting. They said, will use in
:38:05. > :38:15.We'll Meet Again? So I sang it to them. -- will use saying We'll Meet
:38:15. > :38:19.It is just something from home, and that means everything.
:38:19. > :38:27.That became her signature tune. Wherever she went, a pianist went
:38:27. > :38:32.as well. But it did -- but it did not always go to plan.
:38:32. > :38:38.He started playing the piano and the sides came off. A couple of
:38:38. > :38:41.guys jumped upon the stage and put them back on and we carried on!
:38:41. > :38:45.A making the best of a challenging situation was part of the job.
:38:45. > :38:53.appreciate what they were doing, you had to live with them. I would
:38:53. > :38:59.not have felt comfortable if I had lived a few miles out in a hotel.
:38:59. > :39:09.There were no hotels. There were not any hoses even, let alone what
:39:09. > :39:12.else! Being in tropical climates, she had to learn and adapt quickly.
:39:12. > :39:21.With a bowl of soup, you would have to be nifty with your spoon and get
:39:21. > :39:27.it under the flies and whip out a spoonful quickly. I came back a bit
:39:27. > :39:33.thinner than when I went. And I was not fat to start with! During the
:39:33. > :39:41.Second World War, thousands of ENSA artists perform over 2.5 million
:39:41. > :39:46.show so worldwide. I just talked to them. They did not care whether
:39:46. > :39:51.Raeside are not. It was just that I was there, having a chat, talking
:39:51. > :39:58.about London and the Blitz. To be able to pass on messages and tell
:39:58. > :40:04.them, do not worry about us, we are find, to reassure them that we were
:40:04. > :40:14.doing all right. For the troops who had been away
:40:14. > :40:17.
:40:17. > :40:22.from home for so long, the morale boast was massive. -- morale boost.
:40:22. > :40:27.One chap said to me, now you are here, home does not seem so far
:40:27. > :40:35.away. Dame Vera signed to British troops in Egypt, India and Burma,
:40:35. > :40:41.and will always be our forces' sweetheart. The war brought out a
:40:41. > :40:47.lot of talent. Some of it was not so good, but a lot of celebrities
:40:47. > :40:52.were made by entertaining during the war. It is one of the most
:40:52. > :40:58.important things that I did in my career. I always look back on it
:40:58. > :41:07.with happiness, actually, because I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I know
:41:07. > :41:16.that the boys enjoyed it, and that was all that mattered. I wouldn't
:41:16. > :41:20.have missed the experience for the world. Just been out here amongst
:41:20. > :41:28.today's servicemen and women, I can see how important it is to have a
:41:28. > :41:32.small bit of home nearby. I camp -- I am glad to say that the tradition