Episode 1 Remembrance Week

Welcome to Remembrance Week. I am at Camp Bastion in Helmand province.

As Remembrance Sunday approaches, we will be witnessing the fantastic

work of our armed forces here and honouring sacrifices made by others

in past conflicts around the world. Coming up: A gang Royal Marine

remembers the dangers of his first tour of duty. -- a young Royal

Marine. Is that a mine? We hear a Holocaust survivor's remarkable

story of determination and love. was everything - my lover, my

friend. My liberator, my husband. And I spend the night with our

troops in a remote checkpoint here in Afghanistan. Here is your bed.

Are you serious? This is as basic as it gets. Enjoy! The Royal

Marines are renowned for bravery, courage and determination. As our

next young veteran tells us, these qualities are not just reserved for

the battlefield. Ben McBean was just 18 years old when he joined

one of the most elite units in the British Armed Forces - the Royal

Marines. Being a Royal Marine was my dream. You are the best fighting

soldier in the world. Everyone tries to argue but if you have a

green beret and you have that cap badge on, everyone knows you are

the best. Ben's first tour of duty came in 2008 when he was sent to

Afghanistan. This is my first war. I was in school a few years ago. I

got off the plane in Afghan. It's a man world, it's really serious.

his first experiences of armed combat weren't quite what he

expected. In training you always shoot away so you do not practise a

bullet going past ahead. You think, what was that? Some might think,

someone is trying to kill us. Everyone starts to dive on the

floor. Guys went to the hills to cover. There were bullets following

his feet. I thought, he is going to get shot but he did not. You get

back and you are laughing. What else to do? You don't bring home

and Fay, I almost got shot. Laughing is a good way of coping.

But it wasn't only Taliban snipers Ben had to worry about. Every step

you take, is there a mine there? Is that connected to an IED? You are

trying not to get shot. And you get back and you have survived, shower,

bed, sleep, wake up next patrol. 28th February 2008, Ben prepared

for another gruelling patrol but this one would turn his world

upside down. It was pitch dark. We had been walking for a few hours

and the sun started to come up. The idea was to clear this compound. We

had about 30 metres to run. We were going to run towards the compound.

Just get there. Against the wall and you go in. We were sprinting

across and it was sunny. There were flies around my face because I was

sweating. The guys behind were going, run, run, run. We just ran

in and then that was it. Ben had It didn't hurt. I just had to go to

sleep. That would have been the end. I was lying there, slowly breathing.

I remembered my sister was about to have a baby and all those little

things like that. I thought it would have been selfish to give up

now. I thought, stuff it. Let's go fight to the death. That's why I

got a Green Beret because that's what you do. Fighting to survive,

Ben was air lifted to the trauma hospital at Camp Bastion before

being flown home for life saving treatment. I'd just turned 21, lost

Scars everywhere. I could not get dressed. I couldn't get solid foods

on board. With the support of his family and friends around him, Ben

knew he had to fight for his future. Just getting better was a duty of

mine. As a Royal Marine, not give up kind of thing. After just five

weeks in hospital, Ben was moved to Headley Court, the military

rehabilitation centre, where he was fitted with a prosthetic leg.

only should have walked for an hour at a time. I used to walk around in

it all day. I wanted to be this tall again. But having mastered the

art of walking, running was next on his list. At first I was like Bambi.

I could not do it. I was all over the place. My brain had forgotten

what to do and what food to put in front of the other and things like

that. I kept thinking I was going to fall over. Mike Trainer

gradually slowly pushed me down a bank. -- my trainer. Yes, that was

it. I felt and he was like, yes. That was it. It was done. A bit

like Forrest Gump, I just started running. And in a brief moment of

relaxation, Ben had a brainwave. am lying there and wondering what

shall I do. The marathon was on the TV and I said next year that's what

I'd do. Just 14 months after being blown up Ben was on the starting

line for the London Marathon. gun went. I remember overtaking

Katie Price. That was after the first two miles. I thought, hoping

I will not see them again. If I can beat them, that will be all right.

The next 13 miles were epic. I dragged myself over the finish line.

I've got there and beat 11,500 people. I had no training. It gave

me confidence. One thing that Ben really did need confidence with was

meeting girls. I wasn't good with girls anyway and then this happened,

so I thought, what's the point? Ben wouldn't have to look too far,

when on a night out in his home town of Plymouth, he bumped into an

old school friend. I just passed him on the stairs and I said, Ben,

are you all right? And we had a bit of a chat. He had a massive smile

on his face, and I thought he was hot! I was not good with girls

anyway. I was not an expert. My friends were making it worse.

really thought he was not interested in me and he did not

like me at all. I was just a girl from school. We spent more time

together. Then he asked me to be his girlfriend. I was like, yes.

The fact I met someone who had liked as a person and was fit, I

was like, yes. I have done all right for myself. Give myself a pat

on the back. It has been four years since Ben stepped on an IED and he

has already achieved a massive amount and it is clear he is not

going to stop now. I want kids and I want grandchildren. I have been

This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday, the day we honour those that have

given their lives for their country. In the lead up to this National

Service of Remembrance, we tell the real stories of the people who

march past the Cenotaph on Whitehall. The Holocaust was an act

of such extraordinary evil it has left a lasting scar nearly 70 years

after the Second World War. For one survivor, it provided the unlikely

backdrop to remarkable personal story. She found something she

never expected - love. The Imperial War Museum, in the heart of London,

looks after an incredibly special dress for 89-year-old Gena Turgel.

I must stroke it. It is wonderful. I can't tell you how I feel to see

it again. It's a dream. Made from British parachute silk, Gena's

wedding dress is a constant reminder of the man who liberated

her from a Nazi concentration camp. How slim I was then. Today, the

dresses are much nicer. To me, it was the most beautiful dress in the

world. I could really cry and cry from happiness. But it symbolises

so much more than most could imagine - it represents the end of

her desperate struggle for survival. Born in Poland in 1923, Gena was

the youngest child of an affluent Jewish couple. I had a very happy

childhood - lovely family. We had friends and lived a normal life.

But that didn't last. Unfortunately, 1939, the Germans invaded Poland. I

was terrified what was going to be next. World War Two was instantly

declared but under the command of Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany's plan

to wipe out Poland's Jewish population was already gaining

They came very well prepared. They had a list of affluent Jewish

families. They entered homes and wanted to speak to my mother. They

said, you have a very nice home but you will not be needing it for very

long. We command you that by 12 o'clock tomorrow you have to

deliver all the things we see here. You know, if not, one of your

children is going to be shot. Stripped of all their worldly

possessions, 18-year-old Gena and her family, along with thousands of

other Jewish people, were rounded up and forcibly herded into ghettos.

We wore a Star of David. We walked on foot, not on buses or trains and

had to have identity cards. We were restricted in everything. This

included the basic necessity of food. The Polish people used to

come to the gates and we exchanged bread. -- a watch or ring for bread.

The bread was most important. You focused on the bread. I love bread,

maybe because I didn't have enough then. Starvation and disease were

already claiming thousands of lives but more horror was yet to come.

There were rumours they were going to create concentration camps and

the day came when they segregated women. Gena, her mother and two

sisters, were separated from her sister-in-law and young nephew, who

were bundled onto trains. And that was the very first transport to

All those women and children Suddenly, we grow up and we weren't

children any more. Although the Nazis murdered other national and

ethnic groups, the Jews were singled out for special treatment,

which meant they would be methodically killed with poisonous

By 1941, nearly one million Jewish men, women and children had been

murdered. This included three of Gena's brothers - Herman, Janek and

Willek, In March 1942, Gena left the ghetto with her mother and

sisters and were marched to Plaszow Concentration Camp. We got to the

huge barracks. There was a straw mattress and blankets. We had to

stand to attention and be counted and waited for Commander Macro to

appear. Amon Goeth was a notoriously sadistic German

commander. He was accompanied by two Alsatian dogs and bodyguards.

Gun in one hand, he walked over to our side. -- the side of the men.

You look too stupid, he was shot down. You look too clever and were

Such brutality occurred on a daily basis and her sister Mirjam Ott was

killed in cold blood. The tears we cried, we could fill buckets full.

And my sister Helen was working in Schindler's factory. She was

kidnapped when she was on the night shift on the way to her living

quarters. She was taken to the hospital for experiments. When I

tried to see her I was not allowed. He end-December 1944, Gena and her

frail mother left the concentration camp. -- in December. We marched on

to we reached Auschwitz. We smelled and it was terrible. We were

segregated to the shower room and we left our clothes behind. We

walked into awards the place, stone floors. -- enough towards the place.

There were openings in the ceiling and we waited and waited. After a

while, the water came through and we drank it because we were so

thirsty. And then after the water stopped, the doors opened and we

came out, and the women who worked screamed and said, you are alive!

How wonderful to see you! They embraced us. I said, what are you

talking about? They said, don't you know where you have been? I said,

where? They said, you were in a gas chamber. I never, never, never

forget it all my life. Displays, the way we were trembling. -- this

place. In an extraordinary twist of fate, the lethal gas had

temporarily run out. Less than a month later, Gena and her mother

were moved again. Eventually, the train stopped. And they opened and

I can still hear today, I never forget, the locks and the noise of

that. We marched for several hours until we reached Belsen

Concentration Camp and that was known to us as a finishing camp.

From there, there is no escape. And I just could not believe my eyes.

Walking skeletons in every sense of the word. Pepys of bodies. You

could not distinguish whether they were men or women. -- piles of

bodies. The people were dying like flies. The starvation, the fear, it

was horrendous. It was unbelievable. And I said to myself, I am not

going to die like this. In just four months, over 35,000 prisoners

perished at this camp but Gena was determined to survive and secured a

job at the hospital to help save lives. But little did she know he

does not see regime was collapsing and her six-year nightmare was

nearly over. -- little did she know Hitler's not see regime. A very

quickly the gates opened and Jeeps and tanks and loudspeakers and

voices came through. "and we British came to liberate you. Be

happy. The Nazis have nothing more to say to you". I get very

emotional. The tears poured down my cheeks. At 3pm on 15th April 1945,

control of Belsen Concentration Camp was transferred to the British.

Oh, it was wonderful! For and that particular sergeant who used to

come in, his name was Norman. Norman was a soldier with the task

of finding and arresting ses personnel but he had also taken a

liking to Gena. He invited her to dinner. She was in for a big

surprise. He came in to give me a big kiss, still with his

translator! I was still a baby I had lived such a sheltered life. He

said, this is our engagement party. I said, pardon? And I looked around

and thought he must be crazy. I said, I don't know the man. But you

see, he made up his mind when he first saw me in a hospital in that

white overall that I was the girl he was going to marry. Seven months

later they were married and move to England with Gena's mother. He was

a wonderful, wonderful man. He had the most beautiful eyes. I really

fell in love with his eyes. He was wonderful. We would have celebrated

our golden wedding but two months before, my husband died. He was my

everything. My lover, my friend... My liberator. My husband.

Holocaust claimed the lives of over 6 million Jewish people, all

innocent victims of Germany's Nazi regime. Now nearly 70 years on,

Gena is one of the few survivors who can share story. One can't

describe... It is just... I am always very, very proud. To be

I am at one of the basis that side of Camp Bastion but where I am

going to now, the lads literally have nothing. -- at one of the

bases outside Camp Bastion. I am heading to a British-run checkpoint

in the heart of Afghanistan so I can experience myself what life is

really like for our frontline troops. For we have just left the

base at high speed and I was a bit surprised by that, but to suppose

you don't really want to hang around. This is how the armed

forces get around in Afghanistan. The roads all have tarmac now.

There is a great route to get from of a letter to B around the check

points. You can see a lot of farming. -- get front of the letter

to B. We act in the countryside and you can see people around, which is

weird. I am on my way to Checkpoint Hewad, which is deep inside Taliban

territory. It is currently home to The Royal Welsh and is as basic as

it comes. Welcoming me into the fold is Sergeant Sean Griffiths.

Sean, I have to say, it is a Welsh and took -- a pleasure to be among

still boys. What was it like at the start? If you can imagine outside

wall was as you can see here, so... So this is what separated you?

from the enemy. There were many checkpoints like this scattered

around Afghanistan and making it feel as normal as possible was

essential. You can see the gym here. We have quite a few of these.

really important to have the exercise. Yes, the last thing the

lads want is a long period of time without keeping fit. This is what

we call the basic washing area and cooking utensils. This is our main

source of water, the world. Everything has to be sanitised and

it goes into what is called a "Puffin barely". This gets licked

and it will warm the water. This is also where the lads will do their

washing. We get some water and then some good old Army issue detergent

and you can also see this, which they place inside to give their

clothes the best clean possible. OK, this is inside a tent. As you can

see, it is quite tight... Heller, lads. You can fit up to 10 blokes

in here. At first, we didn't have electricity but now we have a

generator so they can have electricity. Do you get used to

living at the checkpoint? You have to. We are here for up to 6 and a

half months. You have to make it work. With no room for me to sleep

with the boys, Sean shows me where I am sleeping tonight. Five-star

luxury liner Q I used to! yourself sorted and I will come and

you can you later. Make sure you Every day, the lads go on patrol

and Sean is giving orders for tonight's mission. The picture

itself, go down and tried to persuade them and go into a plan of

patrol. -- the Mission. We have got Kenny, the medic, and he will be

the expert if you are injured. Weapons have been cleaned and we'll

go to go. They also have a sock -- serviceable and ready for battle.

We have tea and biscuits, steak and chips. Good to go. There was a lot

of information in that brief, which took about six minutes and 30

seconds, and now the boys are out again. They can be out from

anything like an hour to 12 hours. Hopefully it will be

straightforward for them tonight and they will be back for steak and

The bases are eerily quiet and it brings home the danger these guys

face whenever they set foot outside the gates. For the boss of the

checkpoint, Lieutenant John Black, this is a real concern. As a

commander, obviously one of your jobs is to be responsible for these

troops but then also they are your best friends now. Do you feel that

responsibility? Yes, you do. I am a single guy with no kids, and the

idea of being a paternity figure for these guys are weighs heavily

on you. They are part of my responsibility. We have orders on

what to do if a guy gets killed in action and that is a horrible, so

the list of things to do. One of the things on the list is to write

a letter to his mother or guardians... And that is just a

drill. It is something I do and unprepared to do. Have you had to

do that? No, thank God. If anything, that is why I don't worry about

getting hurt myself because somebody else will deal with that.

But if somebody has got shot, seriously injured or killed, I have

to pack up his things and get writing a letter. That is a

chilling thought. The guys have been out for over two hours but

when they get back, they are in for a proper treat. Forget rations, for

the first time in weeks, they have fresh meat and potatoes and

Corporal Damian Evans is in charge. I have heard you are the best chef

in can? Well, my mum taught me how to cook. She thought me and my

brother were more important to learn to cook them my sisters so

she taught me first. Did she? This is quite a task because it

takes a lot of time to Brett. Everybody chips in here and you

have to? Yes, you have to work as a team because otherwise it falls

apart. Can I appeal some spuds? 32 spuds! Welcome To Check Point

life, Jones! Cut them in half and slice it up so you have nice, thick

slices. 12 chips a spud. Something like that because they are quite

small. A seven down... A bad fall to go! I soon realised I need some

help so I wrote Paine Lance Corporal Mitchell Hodson to fight

the potato a battle. -- I wrote it in. Cite any checkpoint, steak and

chips is a bit of a luxury. What do you miss the most from home?

favourite meal at home he is not that luxurious. It is chips and egg

made by me! Honestly! While I am watching the telly. Just simple

things. You will be having that soon? Yes. 28 days. As I finish up

in the kitchen, Sean and his men returned from patrol and it is all

hands on deck to get the feast on to the table. Her being in this

checkpoint for just a day makes you appreciate the small things in life,

but having a shower, and especially food. And of quite a few hours of

food, the steak and chips are ready. I think we have fresh bread,

mushrooms. So I am going to get One of the most satisfying meals

I've ever had, and if I do say so myself the chips weren't too bad!

It has been a really interesting day. It has been lovely to meet the

guys and see how they live. They told me to look out for camel

spiders, snakes and mice. I wish The sun rose at 5:45am. That was a

normal start time for the boys. The postman had already arrived with

lots of luxuries. This is a letter from the people of Paris. They sent

all this stuff out. There are loads of books and sweets. For the colder

months, some hats to keep them warm, which I think our rather fetching.

This is part of being a soldier which many people might not get to

see. This checkpoint is very remote and is very basic. All the things

we take for granted like running water, and my shower and food, it

is hard work. Having lifted for only 24 hours, I have the utmost

respect for all paratroops serving on the frontline. Was British

troops were fighting on the front in World War II, another Army was

at Bletchley Park and making a real difference. Rozanne Colchester is

remembering being a teenager in bitterly as she took risks before

fighting in the most important war of her time. -- in Italy. It was

the time of Hitler and Mussolini. There were masses of Germans coming.

They were our enemies. There we were surrounded. We were rather

noisy and threw things at them. We were pursued by a furious not see

youths. With its bring on to a tram. So it was an early start but the

postman had already delivered lots And she got a job at Bletchley Park.

They were the cigarettes and pipe days. She spoke fluent Italian and

was put to work on messages intercepted from the Italian Air

Force. We had to decode them. We all have to think about what the

message might mean. One got used to things like the Italian things same,

S79 is leaving North Africa at 4pm. If it was in advance of the time

you were doing it, it was much -- it was wonderful because you could

send a message to the fighter pilots. Endless doing codes. He

could not give up for a minute. It might have been a vital thing. We

were third day after day and night after night. All on shift. We

simply went to our billets at night and came back to work during the

day. Decoding the German and Italian messages was vital in

helping to save British lives. Bletchley Park was the hub of the

secret operations. Everybody they're called it the Park.

Everybody knew where it was. Everybody knew something was going

on her. Soldiers were outside guarding it. It was a secret world.

Nobody must know about it. They were terrified the news would get

through to the Germans. You were told never to talk about it and

never mention it. So, we did not. You have to keep strictly to your

own kennel. You were like a well- trained dog. You must not go

anywhere else. It was not all work and no play for the decoders at

Bletchley Park. We went to a pub which was nearby. That was where

all our fund took place. We used to have meals in the pub and meet

friends in the pub and had dances in the pub and so one. Breaking

into a song every now and again helped to keep spirits high for

News 69 peacetime -- # Peace time glamour, dab away the wrinkle and

the brown. Throw your cares away and go to

town. That was about young girls lies at

that time. I was alone in the office. It was late at night. I was

doing the usual thing. One message began to come out. It was saying,

this aeroplane was going to leave North Africa at a certain time. One

suddenly realises, it was ahead by about three or four hours. I went

to Joe Hooper and said, this is interesting. What you make of it?

He jumped out of his chair. There was wild excitement in the room.

Telephones were ringing. There was wild excitement. They got through

to North Africa in time and shot the aeroplanes down. We will never

know how many lives were saved that night. It was another example of

the important work at Bletchley Park code-breakers did during the

ball. -- that Bletchley Park code- breakers did during the war. It was

wonderful satisfaction - I did something worthwhile. The hard slog

was justified. Just as the ball was coming to an end, had younger

brother began training to be an RAF pilot. -- her younger brother.

went away a boy and came back a man. I was at Bletchley and he came down

wearing an Air Force uniform, having just been made an officer.

We had a lovely time of course. I introduced him to my friends. The

went out to a party at the pub and so on. Weeks later, the reality of

war was to hit home for Rozanne when Dick took part in the Battle

of Arnhem. The telephone rang and it was my father. He said, Rozanne,

terrible news. Dick is missing. Then I remember, I felt awful and I

could not go on working. Not knowing was so terrible. Rozanne

and her family had a painful nine- month wait before heartbreaking

confirmation came through. Her brother, Dick, had been killed in

action. There was more. It makes me cry. -- that was war. She left

Bletchley Park in 1945 and set sail on the troopship to her next

posting in Egypt. On board was the 28-year-old SAS paratrooper her.

had seen three young men walking around in duffel coats. They rock

all the same height. They were rather attractive. -- they were all

the same height. That evening she went for dinner and had a very

pleasant surprise. There were thousands of people on this boat.

It was a troop ship going out. The man next to me was the man I had

seen on the deck. Isn't that extraordinary? We started to talk

to each other and got on terribly well. The passage to Egypt would

take over two weeks. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know

each other well. We sat in a lifeboat in the morning doing

screams of laughter. We were having great fun. He was one of the people.

Soon after that, he just said one day, I would like to marry you.

What? He said, which you marry me? Well, I will think about it. I was

thrilled. I liked him very much - I liked him a lot. It was quite a

surprise. They were married 10 months later and work together for

almost 50 years before he sadly passed away. Having loved and lost,

have for years will always have a special place in her heart. Life

was very precious. You were lucky to be alive. There was a wonderful

spirit in England. Everybody got on with each other. It did not matter

where you came from. You were in it together. It was a wonderful