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I'm here in Helmand province, Afghanistan, with the men and women | :00:29. | :00:34. | |
who make up today's Armed Forces. In the lead-up to Remembrance | :00:34. | :00:40. | |
Sunday, we are sharing the personal war stories to understand the | :00:40. | :00:50. | |
:00:50. | :01:05. | ||
enormous sacrifice made. This is Every day this week we mark the | :01:05. | :01:07. | |
build-up to Remembrance Sunday by listening to those marching past | :01:08. | :01:10. | |
the Cenotaph as they tell their personal stories of strength and | :01:10. | :01:16. | |
courage. We also commemorate those who have laid down their lives for | :01:16. | :01:26. | |
our country. Coming up in today's programme - I'm privileged to be in | :01:26. | :01:29. | |
the hub of operations on a frontline patrol base. Sir Matthew | :01:29. | :01:32. | |
Pinsent learns what life was like in the air for his great uncle | :01:32. | :01:37. | |
during World War I. 96-year-old Rosemary Powell remembers the first | :01:37. | :01:47. | |
:01:47. | :01:48. | ||
poppy appeal, when she was just six years old. We have always worn a | :01:49. | :01:53. | |
poppy, ever since that day. And the reality of war hits home for one | :01:53. | :01:58. | |
Palestine veteran. When you're looking down the wrong end of a gun, | :01:58. | :02:08. | |
:02:08. | :02:11. | ||
Camp Bastion is the engine room of all the operations in Afghanistan. | :02:11. | :02:15. | |
We're now going to find out what life is really like for the troops | :02:15. | :02:18. | |
on the frontline. Every day, these Chinook helicopters ferry men and | :02:18. | :02:20. | |
essential supplies to British soldiers throughout Helmand | :02:20. | :02:30. | |
:02:30. | :02:30. | ||
Province. And I'm lucky enough to have been given a seat on one. I'm | :02:30. | :02:33. | |
flying over the deadly Green Zone to visit the men of A Company 1 | :02:33. | :02:40. | |
Rifles in the Nahr-e Saraj region. I want to discover what day-to-day | :02:40. | :02:49. | |
life is like for soldiers living on the frontline in a patrol base. | :02:49. | :02:53. | |
This one is in the heart of the notorious Green Zone, and I'm | :02:53. | :02:56. | |
heading up to the watchtower to see how close we are to the front line. | :02:57. | :02:59. | |
The watchtowers or sangers are the main form of protection for a | :03:00. | :03:04. | |
patrol base. They are heavily-armed and offer a vantage point over the | :03:04. | :03:07. | |
countryside to prevent a Taliban attack. Rifleman Josh Scorah is on | :03:07. | :03:17. | |
duty. What are you looking for? General pattern of life. If there | :03:17. | :03:21. | |
is no locals around, that is generally a bad sign. Because if | :03:21. | :03:25. | |
the Taliban is in the area, they will warn off the locals from | :03:25. | :03:31. | |
coming out. What about those white flags in the trees? Basically, | :03:31. | :03:36. | |
they're Taliban flags. They come in and put these flags up in certain | :03:36. | :03:43. | |
areas, they will then booby-trap the flags, put some kind of anti- | :03:43. | :03:53. | |
:03:53. | :03:54. | ||
Tampa device, or IEDs on the ground. So, we do not go anywhere near them. | :03:54. | :04:00. | |
Those Taliban flags, which are maybe 100 metres away, are a clear | :04:00. | :04:07. | |
reminder that we are in a dangerous place, which is why these guys in | :04:07. | :04:14. | |
the watchtowers are alert 24 hours a day. Major Boswell has been | :04:14. | :04:17. | |
commanding A Company in Patrol Base 4 for the past six months, and he | :04:17. | :04:26. | |
and his men have made it their own. This is where it is all that, this | :04:26. | :04:34. | |
is the front line for us. So, we have this patrol base, compound, | :04:34. | :04:38. | |
and out of boredom, we add to it over the months, making | :04:38. | :04:43. | |
improvements to the camp. We have got a carpenter, a welder, a | :04:43. | :04:50. | |
British or a painter. Just seeing these random qualifications that | :04:50. | :04:54. | |
the rilfe men have from various walks of life, and it all comes | :04:54. | :05:00. | |
together to construct a massive construction company. It is amazing. | :05:00. | :05:05. | |
It can be the most simple thing, like creating a drainage system for | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
brushing your teeth, or putting up a shower system made from old money | :05:09. | :05:14. | |
or sex. So everything has been built and produced by the rifleman? | :05:14. | :05:19. | |
Absolutely. Of the 9,500 British troops in Helmand, around a third | :05:19. | :05:23. | |
endure the simple conditions of frontline compounds like this one. | :05:23. | :05:26. | |
One of Major Bosswell's riflemen, Jamie Thornton, has agreed to show | :05:26. | :05:36. | |
:05:36. | :05:37. | ||
me his company's creative DIY skills. This is the washing machine. | :05:38. | :05:44. | |
It is a cement mixer! I don't know if that is bizarre or ingenious. | :05:44. | :05:49. | |
is ingenious. So, hot water it goes into the cement mixer. Yes, and | :05:49. | :05:56. | |
just turn it on. Just leave your washing in there, throw it in, | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
can't brush your teeth, come back, rinse it, stick it in for a bit | :06:00. | :06:08. | |
longer. It just gets the sweat out. What about the tumble-drier? That's | :06:08. | :06:17. | |
the sun. Even the sleeping quarters are more basic than I ever imagined. | :06:17. | :06:21. | |
This is where we sleep. We have got a bit of a mouse problem at the | :06:21. | :06:28. | |
moment. We have got our mouse exterminator, as such, this is him. | :06:28. | :06:35. | |
He's quite good so far. We have got six confirmed so far. When you see | :06:35. | :06:39. | |
life in a base, you realise just how much we take for granted in the | :06:39. | :06:43. | |
UK. You can't go for a quick jog outside the walls, so each base has | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
its own small gym. Exercise is not just about the body, it also helps | :06:46. | :06:49. | |
concentrate the mind, because soldiers like Jamie need to be | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
ready to risk their lives at any moment. Our normal day is going out | :06:53. | :07:02. | |
the gate... Just doing what we are trained to do. It is no different. | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
It is different to many people's normal day, however. Suddenly the | :07:06. | :07:15. | |
base seems empty and an eerie silence descends. It is quite quiet | :07:15. | :07:23. | |
around the camp today - where is everybody? Most of the riflemen are | :07:23. | :07:26. | |
out and about. Essentially, we are trying to draw them out, the | :07:26. | :07:36. | |
insurgents. Bash in the operations room. The Ops Room is the hub of | :07:36. | :07:38. | |
any operation it's where Major Boswell co-ordinates his men in | :07:38. | :07:48. | |
:07:48. | :07:51. | ||
battle. By using all the intelligence, they have identified | :07:51. | :07:53. | |
two members of the Taliban. They are just waiting for the all-clear | :07:54. | :07:57. | |
to engage. Major Boswell listens carefully to all the updates on the | :07:57. | :08:06. | |
ground. Finally Major Boswell makes his decision. We are tracking that | :08:06. | :08:16. | |
:08:16. | :08:17. | ||
guy, the commander. Everyone has got their job, everyone's | :08:17. | :08:21. | |
communicating brilliantly. It is an extremely exhilarating place to be. | :08:21. | :08:25. | |
But there is a job at hand, and they're all focused on that. His | :08:25. | :08:28. | |
men did not get the insurgent commander they were after on this | :08:28. | :08:38. | |
:08:38. | :08:42. | ||
day. Through the leadership of Major Boswell, and precision co- | :08:42. | :08:46. | |
ordination, the mission is a success. But more importantly, with | :08:46. | :08:49. | |
only two weeks of their tour left, none of A Company were killed or | :08:49. | :08:56. | |
injured on the mission. These boys have been on the patrol we were | :08:57. | :09:00. | |
watching from the Ops Room. They must have been on foot patrol for | :09:00. | :09:04. | |
maybe five hours. It is baking hot. There were no casualties on this | :09:04. | :09:12. | |
mission, but as Jamie reminds me, that's not always the case. My mate | :09:12. | :09:17. | |
from camp, he was a double amputee. I was at a checkpoint at the time, | :09:18. | :09:25. | |
when I found out that he was blown up. I went and saw him in Selly Oak. | :09:25. | :09:30. | |
I was walking down the corridor, it was a really long corridor, and I | :09:30. | :09:40. | |
:09:40. | :09:41. | ||
had a bit of a cry. If there is one thing I have learnt from this place, | :09:41. | :09:45. | |
it is just to live life to the max. You see people come and go all the | :09:45. | :09:49. | |
time in the army. Jamie's moving story of his friend is a reminder | :09:49. | :09:53. | |
of the reason I've come to Afghanistan. There is a special | :09:53. | :09:58. | |
place set aside in this patrol base the memorial. The names of men and | :09:58. | :10:08. | |
:10:08. | :10:12. | ||
women who have fallen in battle in How many have we lost on this tour, | :10:12. | :10:17. | |
and how many have been seriously injured? We have had an awful lot | :10:17. | :10:21. | |
wounded, and an awful lot seriously wounded, but thankfully we have | :10:21. | :10:26. | |
only lost two. There are some demons which we will deal with when | :10:26. | :10:30. | |
we get home, and we will deal with them together. But right here, it | :10:30. | :10:34. | |
is one big unit, one big happy family, and nothing can really | :10:34. | :10:42. | |
upset that. Spending time at Patrol Base 4 has given me a real insight | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
into how our troops live on the front line. It is really basic, | :10:46. | :10:50. | |
harsh conditions, but their friendships get them through. Every | :10:50. | :10:54. | |
time they leave those gates, they put their lives in danger. For that, | :10:54. | :11:02. | |
they get my utmost respect. Still to come - Blitz Ambulance driver | :11:02. | :11:12. | |
Peggy celebrates her 101st birthday. Everybody came together, everybody | :11:12. | :11:22. | |
:11:22. | :11:26. | ||
was nice to everybody. It was like Sadly, all the combat servicemen | :11:26. | :11:29. | |
from the First World War have passed away. It falls upon a | :11:29. | :11:32. | |
different type of British hero to remember the men and women who | :11:32. | :11:36. | |
played their part in the Great War. Sir Matthew Pinsent has won four | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
gold medals for his country and since appearing on Who Do You Think | :11:39. | :11:44. | |
You Are? Has a newfound interest in genealogy. And he's keen to learn | :11:44. | :11:52. | |
more about the life of his Great Uncle Philip in World War I. I know | :11:52. | :11:57. | |
very little about his life. There is an amazingly touching family | :11:57. | :12:03. | |
photo I have, and Philip is off to one side almost in a sailor suit. | :12:03. | :12:07. | |
He must have been about five or six. Born in 1897, Philip was the | :12:07. | :12:09. | |
youngest of five sons born to Matthew's paternal great | :12:09. | :12:19. | |
:12:19. | :12:20. | ||
grandparents. What I know of him, he volunteered for the air force, | :12:20. | :12:24. | |
although I'm pretty sure it was not called the air force. He flew on | :12:24. | :12:28. | |
the Western Front, he was wounded in the air, and he died one day | :12:28. | :12:33. | |
short of his 19th birthday. I don't know what plane he was flying, how | :12:33. | :12:38. | |
many missions or how long he had been flying for. I would like to | :12:38. | :12:42. | |
picture if I can what was going through his mind, or appreciate a | :12:42. | :12:47. | |
little bit more what that period of his life was like. And where better | :12:47. | :12:51. | |
to begin Matthew's journey into the life of his great uncle than here | :12:51. | :12:56. | |
at the RAF Museum in Hendon? Morning, Matthew, welcome to the | :12:56. | :13:01. | |
Royal Air Force Museum. David Keen is a resident aviation historian | :13:01. | :13:06. | |
and World War I enthusiast. And in the Bomber Hall, the history of the | :13:06. | :13:09. | |
Royal Air Force is brought to life. David answers Matthew's first | :13:09. | :13:19. | |
:13:19. | :13:21. | ||
question of what plane Philip was flying. Your great-uncle was flying | :13:21. | :13:29. | |
a BE2e, which is similar to this aeroplane. It was stretched over a | :13:29. | :13:34. | |
wooden framework, it does not look very substantial, does it? By any | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
measure, it is a debt trap. You have got a cushion, a wicker chair | :13:39. | :13:46. | |
and a sheet of linen. It is very, very flimsy. It is just... It is | :13:46. | :13:51. | |
what they had to do. This is the pilot's cockpit in the rear. He | :13:52. | :13:55. | |
would have sat here, his observer would have been in front of him. He | :13:55. | :13:59. | |
would have been looking out to see how far the British Army had | :14:00. | :14:03. | |
advanced in the first days of the Battle of the Somme. | :14:03. | :14:07. | |
communication between each of these two in the air, would they be able | :14:07. | :14:11. | |
to shout back and forth? No, they would not be able to hear each | :14:11. | :14:19. | |
other, it would be purely by hand signals. These BE2es were | :14:19. | :14:23. | |
inherently safe aircraft, but unfortunately, that does not make | :14:23. | :14:27. | |
it a safe military aeroplane. The German aircraft were superior, | :14:27. | :14:31. | |
because this was not designed as a fighter. There is no protection at | :14:31. | :14:35. | |
all. There is no protection from machine gun fire or anything like | :14:35. | :14:45. | |
:14:45. | :14:57. | ||
It is scratchy apart from anything else. And, very heavy. It is a | :14:57. | :15:04. | |
lovely jacket. Et les -- like a heavy blanket. If it gave you any | :15:04. | :15:10. | |
sense of protection, it would be a false one. This helmet is a leather, | :15:10. | :15:15. | |
soft. It is not to protect the head but to protect your ears from | :15:15. | :15:19. | |
frostbite. You need to see where you are going. A pair of goggles | :15:19. | :15:26. | |
like that. Then, you would be trying to fly the aeroplane wearing | :15:26. | :15:32. | |
gloves like this. With a very strong wind blowing in your face. | :15:32. | :15:38. | |
And, no parachute? They felt it would cramp their start in the | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
cockpit. And, if they had parachutes, they might jump out of | :15:43. | :15:48. | |
the aeroplanes. This is something which would have been familiar to | :15:48. | :15:54. | |
Philip. Their job was to relay information. There would be a wait. | :15:54. | :15:59. | |
He would fly over headquarters and chuck that out. With its bright | :15:59. | :16:05. | |
colour. It would flutter down helped by the lead weight. The | :16:05. | :16:08. | |
commander on the ground would get the information from the very front | :16:08. | :16:12. | |
as to how the attack was progressing. Guided solely by his | :16:12. | :16:14. | |
observer, Philip flew over the western front mapping our ground | :16:14. | :16:19. | |
troops advancement. In the museum's archive room, WW1 documents reveal | :16:19. | :16:29. | |
:16:29. | :16:33. | ||
more. The aircraft would fly overhead. At low level. To see | :16:33. | :16:39. | |
whether troops were. That would be close enough to see a uniform? | :16:39. | :16:43. | |
need to be under 1000 ft to distinguish in the form, and they | :16:43. | :16:48. | |
needed to get down to 700 feet. They were susceptible to fire from | :16:48. | :16:54. | |
the ground. The Battle of the Somme was one of the most bitterly | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
contested and costly battles of the First World War resulting in | :16:57. | :17:03. | |
millions of casualties both on the ground and in the sky. The BE2E was | :17:03. | :17:12. | |
a very stable aircraft. Lovely for taking photos. But not a fighting | :17:12. | :17:20. | |
aircraft. But it would have been outclassed by German opponents. | :17:20. | :17:22. | |
Sometimes lucky, sometimes not. Therefore to have any chance | :17:22. | :17:25. | |
against the enemy Philip had to have competence and skill. Which he | :17:26. | :17:29. | |
demonstrated three months earlier when he left school to join the | :17:29. | :17:38. | |
corps. Looking on 18 March, we can find among the privates, lowest | :17:38. | :17:48. | |
rank in the Army, Winchester College, Officer Training Corps. He | :17:48. | :17:56. | |
was in the equivalent of the combined Army Cadet Force. Moving | :17:56. | :18:03. | |
on to the London Gazette. June 1916. Temporary second lieutenant. In | :18:03. | :18:07. | |
just three months, Philip become an officer. Which was the only way he | :18:07. | :18:15. | |
was able to be a pilot during World War I. So, a young man in his prime, | :18:15. | :18:25. | |
:18:25. | :18:28. | ||
an officer in the officer corps. A certain amount of Sligo. He would | :18:28. | :18:34. | |
have considered himself the best. Philip was part of 34 Squadron | :18:34. | :18:38. | |
which moved to France in 1916 in preparation for the battle of the | :18:38. | :18:45. | |
Somme. And they set some pretty impressive records. The aeroplanes | :18:45. | :18:54. | |
flew over in three days without damage! The first squadron to land | :18:54. | :19:01. | |
all of their aeroplanes without a crash. It goes to show the | :19:01. | :19:09. | |
hazardous nature of flying in those days. And a loop the loop. Very | :19:09. | :19:17. | |
accomplished. In one of these aircraft, that is heroic. But on | :19:17. | :19:20. | |
23rd September 1916, just four months after getting his aviation | :19:20. | :19:30. | |
:19:30. | :19:36. | ||
licence, Philip was shot. managed to land safely. He crashed. | :19:36. | :19:43. | |
The nature of flying wasn't that different. Tragically, he was | :19:43. | :19:49. | |
wounded. His observers did survive down to his skill, but he himself | :19:49. | :19:55. | |
died of his wounds. It was the eve of his 19th birthday. This is a | :19:55. | :20:03. | |
telegram that reported on Philip. 24th Sept 1916. It says, | :20:03. | :20:13. | |
:20:13. | :20:16. | ||
dangerously ill. Gun shot wounds. Injury above the waist. That is the | :20:16. | :20:21. | |
vulnerable area. He was not going to survive that with the conditions | :20:21. | :20:30. | |
of the time with the medical available. -- medicine. And sadly, | :20:30. | :20:34. | |
he would lead the way for many others. So he was the first death | :20:34. | :20:44. | |
:20:44. | :20:45. | ||
for 34 Sqaudron in France? Yes. wasn't the trenches of the Battle | :20:45. | :20:51. | |
of the Somme. One of the things about the whole First World War | :20:51. | :20:54. | |
experience, you get the impression no lessons were learned that that | :20:54. | :20:59. | |
is not the case. Certainly with aerial activity, they were keen to | :20:59. | :21:03. | |
make sure they reported on what was effective, what could be improved, | :21:03. | :21:07. | |
what worked really well and these lessons were taken to heart. Within | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
13 years of the Wright Brothers inventing the first aircraft, | :21:10. | :21:19. | |
British pilots were paving the way for modern warfare. His parents | :21:19. | :21:29. | |
:21:29. | :21:33. | ||
can't have imagined that this young man was going to fly. Yeah. Gosh. | :21:33. | :21:43. | |
:21:43. | :21:46. | ||
His mum might have been mortified Delving into the short life of his | :21:46. | :21:50. | |
great uncle, Matthew now has a clearer picture of what it must | :21:50. | :21:55. | |
have been light during the First World War. They might not have | :21:55. | :22:02. | |
known it at the time, but we have got so much from what they did. For | :22:02. | :22:09. | |
us, we have to say thank you. There is no other way, other than being | :22:09. | :22:19. | |
:22:19. | :22:24. | ||
respectful, for two minutes of your life. That is pretty simple. The | :22:24. | :22:28. | |
the bombings of British cities still haunt the memories of many | :22:28. | :22:32. | |
but there was a forgotten army of volunteers who braved the Blitz and | :22:32. | :22:35. | |
saved lives. Surrounded by her close family, | :22:35. | :22:45. | |
:22:45. | :22:48. | ||
Peggy Crowther is celebrating a Born in 1910, Peggy demonstrated a | :22:48. | :22:55. | |
passion for cars from an early age. I really loved being a driver. I | :22:55. | :23:05. | |
didn't like being a passenger. I took a great interest in cars. I | :23:05. | :23:10. | |
was quite good with engines as well. I learnt to drive as soon I was old | :23:10. | :23:14. | |
enough to get my licence. And I happened to be a good one, so I got | :23:14. | :23:20. | |
employed very quickly, and I signed on for the ambulance. Penny joined | :23:20. | :23:25. | |
the Ambulance Service as a driver in 1939. And, after London was | :23:25. | :23:29. | |
repeatedly bombed, she deliberately asked to be posted at the heart of | :23:29. | :23:35. | |
the devastation. I had heard by bush telephone that "Jerry" was | :23:35. | :23:44. | |
going to aim at the city, and the west end of London. There was going | :23:45. | :23:49. | |
to be a lot of misery there. If you were going to do a job like that, | :23:49. | :23:53. | |
you might as well start at the worst end. When Peggy was issued | :23:53. | :23:56. | |
with her very first ambulance, she had to follow strict instructions. | :23:56. | :24:00. | |
The most important thing is the ambulance. You can lose the people, | :24:00. | :24:04. | |
but you mustn't lose the ambulance. You've got to get the ambulance | :24:04. | :24:09. | |
home. That was the attitude. with so many things during wartime, | :24:09. | :24:13. | |
Londoners made the best of what they had to get the job done. And | :24:13. | :24:20. | |
this included the ambulance crews. The first type of ambulance we had | :24:20. | :24:29. | |
was a converted lorry. It was bit high. We had an awful job lifting | :24:29. | :24:36. | |
it up, to get it in. The person on the stretcher was usually a man and | :24:36. | :24:46. | |
:24:46. | :24:47. | ||
very rude. Calling us all sorts of things. Being incompetent women. In | :24:47. | :24:53. | |
the end, we said, well, you get up and do it yourself! The relentless | :24:53. | :24:56. | |
bombing of London during the Blitz meant Peggy and all the ambulance | :24:56. | :25:03. | |
crews were called to duty on a regular basis. As the sirens went | :25:03. | :25:06. | |
off, and they were having dog fights just above your head, and | :25:06. | :25:14. | |
the bombs were falling. You didn't wait. You had to go out really if | :25:14. | :25:17. | |
you were going to save a life. Blitz air raids killed nearly | :25:17. | :25:20. | |
30,000 civilians and destroyed countless London buildings. The | :25:20. | :25:26. | |
east end of London. Dropped some nasty bombs there. Almost before | :25:26. | :25:30. | |
the dust had settled, we had to be there. And of course the hospital | :25:30. | :25:33. | |
became full in no time, For Peggy, these moments were the most | :25:33. | :25:43. | |
:25:43. | :25:49. | ||
It was the children. A little boy of two. I always remember him, he | :25:49. | :25:56. | |
would claim to May. He said, I will be killed. He was terrified. The | :25:56. | :26:04. | |
raid was still on. He had been badly injured. I held him in the | :26:04. | :26:10. | |
ambulance. It felt awful to take his off arms off me. Because you | :26:10. | :26:14. | |
had to go and pick up other people. You have these memories that wake | :26:14. | :26:21. | |
you up at night sometimes. Not so much lately. They did for a long | :26:21. | :26:25. | |
time. But Peggy remained determined to try and help whenever and | :26:25. | :26:29. | |
wherever she could. Every so many days, you had a day off. But I | :26:29. | :26:38. | |
wouldn't take it. I had a job to do. I made the best of it. I was scared | :26:38. | :26:45. | |
at times. But then you see someone worse off than yourselves. On one | :26:45. | :26:51. | |
particular callout, Peggy and her crew had a very close encounter. | :26:52. | :26:59. | |
This chap suddenly turned around. He said: Have you got a vacuum | :26:59. | :27:07. | |
cleaner? No. In that case, perhaps you had better go for another walk. | :27:07. | :27:10. | |
Because it was the bomb under the settee that was I sitting on. I'm | :27:10. | :27:13. | |
not making it up, it's absolutely true! Amazingly, despite driving | :27:13. | :27:16. | |
through bombing raids everyday, Peggy was never hit herself. But, | :27:16. | :27:22. | |
returning home one night, she was very close to danger. Very | :27:22. | :27:26. | |
cautiously I opened the bathroom door and there was a bit of a shell, | :27:26. | :27:36. | |
:27:36. | :27:37. | ||
red hot, in the bath. Burning away happily. The top of one of our own. | :27:37. | :27:44. | |
We were under Primrose Hill. A misfire came through the roof. We | :27:44. | :27:47. | |
went into the sitting room and got ourselves a good drink and said, | :27:47. | :27:53. | |
"Who's going in first?" The bombing of London and many other cities was | :27:53. | :28:00. | |
a major turning point during the Second World War. But, thanks to | :28:00. | :28:03. | |
the bravery of incredible people like Peggy, countless lives were | :28:03. | :28:13. | |
:28:13. | :28:22. | ||
saved. Very happy birthday! Chin Well, everybody came together, | :28:22. | :28:32. | |
:28:32. | :28:33. | ||
everybody was nice to everybody. It It was just the spirit of the whole | :28:33. | :28:43. | |
:28:43. | :28:57. | ||
thing really. I had no regrets of anything I did. No regrets. | :28:57. | :29:01. | |
In our next story, a man's first day in the conflict zone is one he | :29:01. | :29:09. | |
will never forget. On one day in 1948, Charles Speight | :29:09. | :29:13. | |
escape the arms of the enemy twice. The first time was all down to a | :29:13. | :29:23. | |
:29:23. | :29:29. | ||
The war was over, and just after Christmas I was told I was going to | :29:29. | :29:33. | |
the Middle East. That was Christmas 1947. I had never been abroad | :29:33. | :29:37. | |
before. I might have been to the Isle of Wight, but certainly never | :29:37. | :29:41. | |
further than that. Everybody said, you will be all right as long as | :29:41. | :29:51. | |
:29:51. | :30:00. | ||
you don't go to Palestine. In 1948, Charles Speight was just 19 years | :30:00. | :30:03. | |
old and about to embark on his first posting as an RAF National | :30:03. | :30:06. | |
Serviceman. Palestine was handed over to the British under a League | :30:06. | :30:09. | |
of Nations mandate in 1920. Both Arab and Jewish nationalists used | :30:09. | :30:12. | |
violence against each other as well as towards their mutual enemy the | :30:12. | :30:15. | |
British. And aged just 20, it was Charles' first posting as an RAF | :30:15. | :30:22. | |
National Serviceman. I knew there had been troubles, but nobody | :30:22. | :30:26. | |
envisages that they will walk into trouble. But on 29th February 1948, | :30:26. | :30:29. | |
that's exactly what happened, when Charles boarded a train for the | :30:29. | :30:37. | |
final part of his journey. There was a regular service between Egypt | :30:37. | :30:42. | |
and Palestine. It was an overnight train, but it ran on a regular | :30:42. | :30:47. | |
basis. The front of the train was all civilians, the restaurant car | :30:47. | :30:50. | |
was in the middle, and the troops were at the back of the train. | :30:50. | :30:53. | |
Charles was in a carriage with 30 other troops, none of whom he'd met | :30:54. | :31:02. | |
before. We were all armed, we all had rifles, because there was | :31:02. | :31:06. | |
always the danger that people might attack the train, or try and steal | :31:06. | :31:13. | |
stuff from the train by jumping aboard. So, they took turns in | :31:13. | :31:19. | |
guarding both ends of the carriage. At about 2 o'clock in the morning, | :31:19. | :31:26. | |
I went off guard and lay down as best I could on the carriage floor. | :31:26. | :31:29. | |
At 4 o'clock in the morning I got a gentle kick to tell me I was on | :31:29. | :31:34. | |
guard. I was politely reminding them that I had already done two | :31:34. | :31:39. | |
hours, and I was politely reminded that I was doing another two. So, I | :31:39. | :31:49. | |
:31:49. | :31:58. | ||
did another two hours on guard from four till six. The attendant from | :31:58. | :32:02. | |
the restaurant car came down the train asking if anybody would like | :32:02. | :32:07. | |
breakfast. I was with complete strangers, bear in mind, and I | :32:07. | :32:11. | |
asked a few guys who were near me, did they fancy having breakfast? | :32:11. | :32:16. | |
And nobody did. But I had been up most of the night, so I just asked | :32:17. | :32:20. | |
if they would look after my kit and my rilfe, which I probably should | :32:20. | :32:24. | |
not have left there anyway, but I did, and I went to the restaurant | :32:24. | :32:34. | |
:32:34. | :32:35. | ||
car for breakfast. I think I had three rounds of toast and jam and | :32:35. | :32:43. | |
tea for a price in excess of three shillings, as it was then, it was | :32:43. | :32:51. | |
quite expensive in those days, about 15p. In the event, it was a | :32:51. | :32:57. | |
price worth paying. Just moments later, the train went over a land | :32:57. | :33:06. | |
mine. The carriage that I had been in was blown up. It was just the | :33:06. | :33:13. | |
beginning of a day Charles will never forget. We all went to the | :33:13. | :33:21. | |
back of the train, and it was not a very pleasant sight. Almost 30 of | :33:21. | :33:27. | |
the people I had been with had been killed, and a lot of others injured. | :33:27. | :33:30. | |
It was the second largest attack during the conflict, killing 28 | :33:30. | :33:40. | |
servicemen and local civilians. realised straightaway as I was | :33:40. | :33:45. | |
going back that I should have been in that culture. For a start, I saw | :33:45. | :33:50. | |
my kit bag, I knew it was the coach I was in. I was just fortunate that | :33:50. | :33:59. | |
I chose to leave it and have a cup of tea and some toast. At breakfast | :33:59. | :34:09. | |
:34:09. | :34:09. | ||
saved my life. But Charles' day was far from over. On arrival in | :34:09. | :34:16. | |
Palestine, he travelled by road to his base. The rules seemed to vary | :34:16. | :34:20. | |
in Palestine at that time. On some days we were asked to stop at road | :34:20. | :34:25. | |
blocks, on other days, we were told to go through. This particular day | :34:25. | :34:30. | |
was a day when we were requested to stop at roadblocks. So, we were | :34:30. | :34:38. | |
progressing along quite comfortably until we were actually stopped. The | :34:38. | :34:44. | |
next thing I knew, sitting in the back of a small truck, with canvas | :34:44. | :34:48. | |
on top, was when an Arab Gentleman pointed a gun at us and said, would | :34:48. | :34:56. | |
we get out? Which, when you're looking down the wrong end of a gun, | :34:56. | :35:06. | |
:35:06. | :35:10. | ||
you do not argue. They marched us away from our truck, off the side | :35:10. | :35:17. | |
of the road, up the hillside. They were armed, and we were, by then, | :35:17. | :35:24. | |
unarmed, so there was no argument. You do as you're told. It is not | :35:24. | :35:30. | |
playing cowboys and Indians, it is for real. They took one of the | :35:30. | :35:38. | |
vehicles and all the equipment. And basically they just left us there. | :35:38. | :35:43. | |
We were sitting in the middle of a rocky outcrop in the middle of | :35:43. | :35:48. | |
Palestine, in those circumstances, when nobody knows you're there, | :35:48. | :35:53. | |
except the group you're with, I think you... To think, where is | :35:53. | :36:02. | |
this going to end? The after hours of uncertainty, Charles and his | :36:02. | :36:07. | |
comrades were found and rescued. was quite an introduction to | :36:07. | :36:17. | |
:36:17. | :36:21. | ||
Palestine. I think it probably made me into a man, yes. A day like that | :36:21. | :36:29. | |
is a day you remember all your life. It stands out amongst all other | :36:29. | :36:35. | |
days in my life, whatever has happened since. I shall never | :36:35. | :36:45. | |
:36:45. | :36:49. | ||
forget it. I shall never forget it Supporting our troops, young and | :36:49. | :36:52. | |
old, has always been important, but there is one military charity which | :36:52. | :36:57. | |
has been on hand for the past 90 years. The Royal British Legion has | :36:57. | :37:05. | |
only ever had one goal. The biggest part of our work is providing | :37:05. | :37:09. | |
welfare support to the Armed Forces community, up to 9 million people | :37:09. | :37:14. | |
in total. We're not just about old people, we are very much about the | :37:14. | :37:18. | |
younger serving generation. From veterans of the Second World War to | :37:18. | :37:23. | |
those serving here in Afghanistan, the Legion's message is simple - | :37:23. | :37:28. | |
they're here to help any way they can. That's the point about the | :37:28. | :37:34. | |
Legion. We are here yesterday, today and tomorrow, and for all | :37:34. | :37:40. | |
their tomorrows. It formed in 1921, primarily as a reaction to those | :37:40. | :37:44. | |
coming back from the First World War trenches, having experienced | :37:44. | :37:48. | |
dreadful scenes and injuries in some cases, coming back to this | :37:48. | :37:52. | |
country, really a country that was not judged to be fit for heroes at | :37:52. | :37:57. | |
the time. So this was a coming together, promoted by one of our | :37:57. | :38:02. | |
finders, in order to bring together a whole range of quite small | :38:03. | :38:06. | |
organisations into one organisation, which is today the Royal British | :38:06. | :38:13. | |
Legion. Everyone's needs are different, and the Royal British | :38:13. | :38:17. | |
Legion is on hand for support. Anybody that brings us for help, we | :38:17. | :38:21. | |
can be on their doorstep within an hour. It is not just an impersonal | :38:21. | :38:25. | |
telephone call. It is not just a helpline. But it would not be where | :38:25. | :38:29. | |
it is today without the generous support of the British public. | :38:29. | :38:33. | |
is that grassroots activity from local communities which is the | :38:33. | :38:36. | |
bread and butter, the life blood, of the Royal British Legion. We | :38:36. | :38:40. | |
rely on this vast army of supporters to keep our income | :38:40. | :38:46. | |
generated, so that we in turn can support that Armed Forces community. | :38:46. | :38:50. | |
And one of their most loyal supporters is 96-year-old Rosemary | :38:50. | :39:00. | |
:39:00. | :39:02. | ||
Powell, who was at the very first Poppy Appeal in 1921, aged just six. | :39:02. | :39:07. | |
I had one uncle that was very badly wounded, and they said, this money | :39:07. | :39:14. | |
will help people like him, who were wounded. I always remember that. It | :39:14. | :39:19. | |
is the first thing I had really done alone, standing on the bridge, | :39:19. | :39:22. | |
with the River Thames running underneath, just giving people | :39:22. | :39:27. | |
these poppy to put in their buttonholes. I have always worn a | :39:27. | :39:33. | |
human, -- Warner poppy, ever since that day, we knew how important it | :39:33. | :39:37. | |
was. With more and more injured service personnel needing lifelong | :39:37. | :39:41. | |
care, this money makes sure that they can still live life to the | :39:41. | :39:47. | |
full. At the end of last year, we committed �50 million, our largest | :39:47. | :39:53. | |
single donation. We're spending around �200,000 each day, 365 days | :39:53. | :39:58. | |
a year. Since the Second World War there has only been one year where | :39:58. | :40:08. | |
:40:08. | :40:09. | ||
a member of our Armed Forces has not been killed on active service. | :40:10. | :40:16. | |
We are the National custodians of remembrance. We look after the | :40:16. | :40:19. | |
National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, and they're getting | :40:19. | :40:24. | |
300,000 visitors each year, it is a huge drawl. It is for people who | :40:24. | :40:28. | |
wish to visit a place where they can remember their fallen comrades | :40:28. | :40:33. | |
and former members of the family. Year on year, the Royal British | :40:33. | :40:39. | |
Legion is constantly evolving to raise awareness. But there are some | :40:39. | :40:43. | |
people who think we only par putt three weeks of the year, when we | :40:43. | :40:47. | |
are collecting for the Poppy Appeal. In fact, whilst Remembrance is a | :40:47. | :40:50. | |
very important part of our activities, it is one of the | :40:50. | :40:56. | |
smaller parts. The Legion does fund-raising all through the year, | :40:56. | :41:00. | |
and sometimes they call on famous faces. Increasingly we are engaging | :41:00. | :41:04. | |
the support of the younger generation, and younger people that | :41:04. | :41:11. | |
we would recognise, if you like, celebrities. And so we see | :41:11. | :41:15. | |
performers and artists right the way across the generations, helping | :41:15. | :41:20. | |
us to change the image, towards one which transcends the generations, | :41:20. | :41:26. | |
not just one which is associated with the older generation. And this | :41:26. | :41:31. | |
year marks a huge milestone for this military charity. The Royal | :41:32. | :41:36. | |
British Legion is 90 years young this year. We are marking it with a | :41:36. | :41:40. | |
series of events across the country. The objective in fund-raising terms | :41:40. | :41:46. | |
this year is to try to raise �90 million in our 90th year. This will | :41:46. | :41:50. | |
no doubt mean that thousands of supporters will dig deep and go the | :41:50. | :41:56. | |
distance. We do an annual Pedal to Paris, which has been going for | :41:56. | :42:02. | |
quite some years. It is one of just two occasions when the Arc de | :42:02. | :42:07. | |
Triomphe is closed to traffic. It is very well supported, it raises | :42:07. | :42:12. | |
about half-a-million pounds each year, just that event. Some | :42:12. | :42:22. | |
:42:22. | :42:23. | ||
fundraisers go to the greatest of heights. Jump for Heroes is the | :42:23. | :42:27. | |
name given to two serving members of the Armed Forces, who do | :42:28. | :42:33. | |
freefall skydiving. They will jump from anything, as long as it is | :42:33. | :42:38. | |
sufficient high. Mountainsides, tops of buildings, bridges, you | :42:38. | :42:48. | |
:42:48. | :42:49. | ||
name it, and they go at a terrifying speed. To mark this | :42:49. | :42:53. | |
special anniversary, the Prime Minister hosted a tea-party in | :42:54. | :42:58. | |
their honour. A very happy birthday to the Royal British Legion, one of | :42:58. | :43:02. | |
the finest voluntary bodies in Britain. To me, it is about | :43:02. | :43:06. | |
remembrance, it helps remember those who have given such sacrifice. | :43:06. | :43:10. | |
But above all it is about service and welfare and actually helping | :43:10. | :43:14. | |
people who serve the Armed Forces and making sure we do right by them, | :43:14. | :43:21. |