World War One Remembered from the Battlefield

:00:13. > :00:18.of 4th August 1914, the Prime Minister and his colleagues gathered

:00:19. > :00:23.here in the Cabinet room at Number Ten Downing Street. Earlier that

:00:24. > :00:28.day, Germany had invaded Belgium, Britain had responded with an

:00:29. > :00:33.ultimatum back down by 11pm on face a declaration of war. The Minutes

:00:34. > :00:38.ticked by, there was no response from bore main, with the first chime

:00:39. > :00:40.of Big Ben, Britain, in the Prime Minister's words, was on the eve of

:00:41. > :01:17.horrible things. Good evening from West Minster

:01:18. > :01:20.Abbey, where later tonight, a be held to remember the millions who

:01:21. > :01:24.lost their lives in the First World War, the conflict which began

:01:25. > :01:27.exactly a century ago, at 11 o'clock This evening,

:01:28. > :01:30.there will be other services and commemorations, some large, some

:01:31. > :01:33.small, here in the UK and abroad. And we'll be joining some of them

:01:34. > :01:38.live, as the nation comes together and lights go out across the

:01:39. > :01:42.country to mark this anniversary. This was a conflict which claimed

:01:43. > :01:47.more than one million British and Commonwealth lives, which created

:01:48. > :01:51.200,000 widows, which deprived While it's true that the Great War

:01:52. > :01:58.is now beyond living memory, the scale of the losses

:01:59. > :02:02.and the depth of the suffering still have the power to resonate

:02:03. > :02:28.in our lives a century later. much, the contribution of so many

:02:29. > :02:31.Commonwealth forces. Representatives there of dozens of

:02:32. > :02:40.Commonwealth nations and territories in the service and the cathedral.

:02:41. > :02:44.Also this morning, in Kent, in the south-east of England, Prince Harry

:02:45. > :02:48.unveiling the new Memorial Arch there. There was a military parade,

:02:49. > :02:52.which followed the route of millions of soldiers who came through

:02:53. > :03:03.Folkestone. That was their route, on their way to France, a century ago.

:03:04. > :03:12.And across the Channel, in Belgium, this morning the duek and duch Duke

:03:13. > :03:17.and Duchess of Cambridge. Prince William was at a service. The peace

:03:18. > :03:21.we here enjoy together, as Allies and partners, does not simply mean

:03:22. > :03:26.no more bloodshed. It means something deeper than that.

:03:27. > :03:30.The fact that the presence of Germany and Austria are here today

:03:31. > :03:40.and that other nations, then enemies, are here too, bears

:03:41. > :03:43.testimony to reconciliation. We salute those who died to give us

:03:44. > :03:52.their freedom. We will remember them.

:03:53. > :03:54.A short while ago William and Catherine travelled to the military

:03:55. > :04:00.cemetery. In a short while, the Duke

:04:01. > :04:02.and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will make their way to

:04:03. > :04:37.the St Symphorien Military Cemetery us, in a short while, the Duke and

:04:38. > :04:42.Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry will make their way to the

:04:43. > :04:45.cemetery. They recommended the cemetery at St Symphorien for very

:04:46. > :04:50.good reasons - historically very important. It is though, the resting

:04:51. > :04:54.place of British Commonwealth and notably German soldiers.

:04:55. > :04:59.It does have a special quality to it and of course it is a strikingly

:05:00. > :05:03.tranquil place. If you have ever visited, it is really one of the

:05:04. > :05:11.most special places you could experience. Among those taking place

:05:12. > :05:16.th there this evening Gareth Malone and his children's choir.

:05:17. > :05:25.Well, later this evening, we will be live here at Westminster Abbey.

:05:26. > :05:27.The Abbey will gradually move from light into darkness until just

:05:28. > :05:30.one candle remains at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, which will be

:05:31. > :05:36.extinguished at 11 o'clock, marking the exact moment war was declared.

:05:37. > :05:39.My colleague Sian Williams is in the Abbey, as final preparations

:05:40. > :06:02.member will hold a candle. They will all be extinguished, just one flame

:06:03. > :06:07.will remain by the graif of The Grave of the Unknown Warrior. This

:06:08. > :06:13.is a serviceman, whose name we never knew and whose remains were brought

:06:14. > :06:19.back here to rest alongside monarchs and poets and politicians. Normally

:06:20. > :06:26.the stone is surrounded by poppies. Today, it is surrounded by fresh

:06:27. > :06:30.flowers because this will be a service of reflection. These flowers

:06:31. > :06:34.are what you would have seen in British gardens in 1914. This has

:06:35. > :06:39.been a place and a source of comfort for people who have lost those they

:06:40. > :06:43.love in war. Tonight, and at 11pm, it will be a national and

:06:44. > :06:48.international focus for contemplation, as we see the single

:06:49. > :06:56.flame extinguished and we all remember the start of war, a century

:06:57. > :07:01.ago. It does promise to be a memorable

:07:02. > :07:03.and a moving service. I should say, the evening not exclusively devoted

:07:04. > :07:12.to these big official events. This evening is not exclusively

:07:13. > :07:15.devoted to official events. The First World War affected every

:07:16. > :07:18.town, village and workplace in the United Kingdom, and today people

:07:19. > :07:21.are gathering at war memorials in churches and in town and village

:07:22. > :07:25.squares around the country. In Burnley, they will be remembering

:07:26. > :07:28.more than 4,000 men and women from that one town who died, a quarter

:07:29. > :07:32.of all men eligible to serve. local schoolchildren have been

:07:33. > :07:48.laying crosses. I know about Alfred Smith. I felt

:07:49. > :07:54.sad, but a different feeling that I can't describe because he jumped on

:07:55. > :07:57.a grenade to save everyone else. Just a sense what have children in

:07:58. > :08:01.Burnley have been saying. They've been part of a special project. It's

:08:02. > :08:03.nice to be able to see them taking part. Of course, many more taking

:08:04. > :08:07.part in events as well. We'll also be joining people in

:08:08. > :08:11.Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff and also in Glasgow for their candlelit

:08:12. > :08:14.commemorations and services. The distinguished historian

:08:15. > :08:19.Professor Margaret MacMillan, an Her great-grandfather was

:08:20. > :08:26.David Lloyd George, who became Author Sebastian Faulks,

:08:27. > :08:34.whose novel Birdsong has, for many people, brought alive

:08:35. > :08:37.the individual sacrifices and tragedies

:08:38. > :08:42.of the First World War. And historian and film maker

:08:43. > :09:03.David Olusoga. the evening - what are we looking

:09:04. > :09:09.ahead to here? I mentioned the abbey and the very special ceremony too in

:09:10. > :09:13.Belgium. They have been carefully planned, these events, they are

:09:14. > :09:17.meant to deliver a very strong message. For you, what is that

:09:18. > :09:21.message? Is it remembrance, is it respect? A mix of remembrance,

:09:22. > :09:26.respect and great sadness because you look back at the First World War

:09:27. > :09:30.and think what a waste it all was and how it could have been easily

:09:31. > :09:34.avoided. I think the mood is very much of reflection, sadness, a sense

:09:35. > :09:43.that it's something we ought to remember. For you? All of those

:09:44. > :09:52.things and tonight in Westminster Abbey the word the pen any tans.

:09:53. > :09:58.-- penitance. Had it been handled better by the can British diplomats

:09:59. > :10:01.and all the other competing powers, these terrible four years might have

:10:02. > :10:06.been avoided. That is a controversial note to start off on.

:10:07. > :10:11.One of the things we may talk about is the origins - which people cannot

:10:12. > :10:17.agree on. We'll come back to that in a moment. This evening is about what

:10:18. > :10:21.for you? The beginning of four years in which we can contemplate and

:10:22. > :10:28.debate among ourselves the biggest event of the 20th century. The event

:10:29. > :10:32.that made the modern world and that cost this country the servicemen. It

:10:33. > :10:35.is a pivotal moment that changed us on a family level and international

:10:36. > :10:42.level. There was a lovely moment, well there were lots in the service

:10:43. > :10:47.in Glasgow. I would like to show viewers this. They may not have seen

:10:48. > :10:52.it earlier on. This is where a candle of peace and

:10:53. > :11:01.hope was passed on to a new generation. What we had was a series

:11:02. > :11:11.of gifts, if you like, candles given to children of the local Glasgow

:11:12. > :11:15.boy's and girl's brigade and to the Sunday school.

:11:16. > :11:25.There was a very powerful symbolism to it. Indeed, one of the clergy men

:11:26. > :11:29.who took part and David Cameron was watch - one of the great themes was

:11:30. > :11:32.about this happening over of responsibility to a younger

:11:33. > :11:37.generation to remember. Making sure that the youth of today realises

:11:38. > :11:42.fully what The Great War was all about and of course n this context,

:11:43. > :11:46.David, you especially because of your expertise here, the

:11:47. > :11:51.Commonwealth element was very strong in this service. It was devised to

:11:52. > :11:56.tell people and to remind people of the sacrifice of Commonwealth forces

:11:57. > :12:01.in that war. And that's been the wonderful thing about today. We

:12:02. > :12:05.began the commemorations of the First World War on day one -

:12:06. > :12:08.remembering the Commonwealth. Not adding it on as an afterthought.

:12:09. > :12:14.With the Commonwealth, the people from all over the world, to help

:12:15. > :12:17.fight against Germany and her Allies. I don't think that would

:12:18. > :12:22.have happened 50 years ago. It is fair to say that. It is a theme

:12:23. > :12:26.which has always been there for studenteds of The Great War --

:12:27. > :12:30.students of The Great War, but maybe not as predominantly as it is today.

:12:31. > :12:37.They should be complimentary to one and other. Glasgow was always going

:12:38. > :12:42.to have a Commonwealth focus. And to make sure that no Commonwealth

:12:43. > :12:48.country who gave so much - I mean think of Newfoundland, which was

:12:49. > :12:51.almost defined by what happened and this should be complimented by what

:12:52. > :12:56.happens this evening about those who met in war, now meet in peace. It is

:12:57. > :13:01.about young people, which is why it is so wonderful that Prince William

:13:02. > :13:06.and Kate will be there and then this evening, Westminster Abbey, the

:13:07. > :13:08.vigil, as I say and a degree of breast-beating as well as

:13:09. > :13:14.commemoration and winding the clock back to the country we were 100

:13:15. > :13:19.years ago. From the historian's perspective - why is it important

:13:20. > :13:23.and we look back to lessons - why is it important that we today part of

:13:24. > :13:27.this major series of events and that people are clearly thinking this is

:13:28. > :13:31.something that must absolutely be remembered and must be noted? I

:13:32. > :13:40.think the First World War is a defining moment in the history of

:13:41. > :13:45.the #209 century and our own -- of century. Things are different after

:13:46. > :13:50.1918. Europe has spent itself down. It has torn itself to pieces. It has

:13:51. > :14:00.depleted its wealth. The hold on the empires is beginning to slip. New

:14:01. > :14:05.empires are arising. The roots of fash sism are laid in this period.

:14:06. > :14:09.We look back and we can see that it creates conditions for so much that

:14:10. > :14:14.thenment co-s and so much that still -- that comes and so much that still

:14:15. > :14:19.affects our lives. Are those lessons clearly taught in schools today? Do

:14:20. > :14:23.history lessons reflect the lessons of the First World War or not?

:14:24. > :14:27.Historians never think they do enough. What is so good about this

:14:28. > :14:30.discussion is it will move beyond just particular impressions of the

:14:31. > :14:35.battlefields, for example, which are strong among school children in

:14:36. > :14:39.Great Britain, to exploring the war, to encourage others to understand

:14:40. > :14:43.that the great debates about the war, as it should be. The more we

:14:44. > :14:50.learn, the more we can have a sense of how there may be parallels with

:14:51. > :14:53.our own world. You mention St Symphorien and mention that the

:14:54. > :14:58.services today are all complimentary. Why don't we pay a

:14:59. > :15:02.visit to Belgium, because Sophie Raworth is there. She has kept an

:15:03. > :15:05.eye on people who have been arriving and she will tell us more about the

:15:06. > :15:22.event itself. The graves of both German and

:15:23. > :15:28.Commonwealth soldiers, in almost equal numbers here.

:15:29. > :15:33.The tall trees that dominate their final resting place, normally it is

:15:34. > :15:37.so quiet here that the only sound is birdsong. This evening St Symphorien

:15:38. > :15:43.will be filled with music of another kind - 500 guests are here tonight.

:15:44. > :15:48.They are being joined by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, David

:15:49. > :15:52.Cameron t king and Queen of the Belgians and the Irish President.

:15:53. > :15:58.They are here to commemorate this centenary. 100 years on, this is

:15:59. > :16:04.very much about reconciliation. It is a shared Anglo--German event.

:16:05. > :16:09.Music, readings, poetry. All in English and in German. Among those

:16:10. > :16:12.performing here this evening is the actor Eddie Redmayne. Good evening.

:16:13. > :16:16.Welcome. It is an extraordinary cemetery

:16:17. > :16:24.this, isn't it? There's a wonderful atmosphere. It is completely unique.

:16:25. > :16:28.I have been to war cemeteries and it's much more sort of fluid and

:16:29. > :16:33.incredibly beautiful and something about today when we have been

:16:34. > :16:37.rehearsing and the sun has been shining. It feels so at odds with

:16:38. > :16:40.the images we are used to hearing about from the war. And the guests

:16:41. > :16:45.are starting to take their seats here behind us. You are the first to

:16:46. > :16:54.be reading tonight. Tell us about the poem. I am reading from a cycle

:16:55. > :16:58.of poems by A Houseman. Called a Shropshire Lad. The poems were

:16:59. > :17:05.popular in the accept onned world war and into -- in the Second World

:17:06. > :17:10.War. They talk about a youth and then mortality and, I suppose the

:17:11. > :17:16.idea that we only have one life and, as the First World War showed, it

:17:17. > :17:20.can be cut short very quickly. It is about living that life to the full.

:17:21. > :17:24.I am very privileged to be here. It with us a poem that was familiar,

:17:25. > :17:30.wasn't it, to very many of the men who came and went to war? It was. It

:17:31. > :17:38.has moments of great hope and moments of high energy. It's been -

:17:39. > :17:42.I suppose the song-like nature has been popular among composures. My

:17:43. > :17:51.piece specifically, the part we have chosen is about a man sitting on a

:17:52. > :17:57.hill in the summer loorksic the one behind -- in the summer looking at

:17:58. > :18:01.what is behind. There is a battle and it is very

:18:02. > :18:05.simple and beautiful. You will read it right here in front of these

:18:06. > :18:12.grave stones. A lot of people will remember you because you played in

:18:13. > :18:17.Birdsong. You were the lead part. You did a lot of work, a lot of

:18:18. > :18:21.research. You are very familiar. You know a lot about it already. The

:18:22. > :18:24.great thing about my job is you get to immerse yourself in the world and

:18:25. > :18:31.what you are playing and particularly with Birdsong, it was a

:18:32. > :18:36.major moment in our history that I knew embarrassingly little about. It

:18:37. > :18:40.was an extraordinary lesson for mesmt asking soldiers what they know

:18:41. > :18:51.about the First World War relates what it is like for them. It was an

:18:52. > :18:55.amazing experience. When we shot in the heat, a lot was fought in the

:18:56. > :19:00.baking heat anded that, when we were shooting, I remember we were hot.

:19:01. > :19:05.Seeing these guys in this extraordinary heat. It has been, I

:19:06. > :19:09.don't know how they did it. It will be an extraordinary evening.

:19:10. > :19:14.What does it mean to you personally? Do you know what - it is a great

:19:15. > :19:18.privilege. One of the pieces being read by one of the soldiers is about

:19:19. > :19:25.a man who fought in the war coming back a year later and he came back

:19:26. > :19:28.and he was at the unknown grave and these white butterflies were flying.

:19:29. > :19:34.He talked about how he felt it was the souls of the dead soldiers. It

:19:35. > :19:38.was extraordinary. As I watched the rehearsal today, three white

:19:39. > :19:43.butterflies went. It is the most... I hope it will be a wonderful

:19:44. > :19:49.evening. I am sure it will be. Thank you for having me. Many of the

:19:50. > :19:57.member buried here were among the earliest casualties of the war.

:19:58. > :20:01.The town of Mons is just a few miles from here, and it was

:20:02. > :20:04.there on the 23rd August ? just 19 days after the declaration of war -

:20:05. > :20:07.that British and German troops fought the first major battle.

:20:08. > :20:09.Dan Snow has been retracing the Battle of Mons through

:20:10. > :20:19.They still kept marching over their dead.

:20:20. > :20:24.We just cut 'em to grass, cut 'em to pieces.

:20:25. > :20:28.When the British soldier George Singleton caught sight of German

:20:29. > :20:32.troops massing outside the town of Mons in Belgium, he couldn't believe

:20:33. > :20:39.He was looking at just a portion of a large German army, well over

:20:40. > :20:43.100,000 strong, outnumbering the British two to one.

:20:44. > :20:46.The Germans had invaded Belgium on the 4th of August.

:20:47. > :20:54.In response, the British made their way to

:20:55. > :21:00.They reached the town of Mons on the 22nd August.

:21:01. > :21:02.The job of the British battalions was to hold the line

:21:03. > :21:09.So four divisions of the British Expeditionary Force

:21:10. > :21:15.In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force consisted of hardened

:21:16. > :21:23.They were confident they could take on the German threat.

:21:24. > :21:26.But senior British commanders appeared to misunderstand

:21:27. > :21:31.There were reports coming in that the German army

:21:32. > :21:35.approaching them was much, much larger than had been expected,

:21:36. > :21:38.but the British generals didn't appear to fully appreciate this.

:21:39. > :21:41.Few of them can have imagined that in less than 24 hours

:21:42. > :21:45.their men would be caught up in a full-scale battle right

:21:46. > :21:51.along here in which many hundreds of them would be killed or wounded.

:21:52. > :21:56.The British inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans.

:21:57. > :22:01.But the huge numbers of enemy troops quickly began to overwhelm them.

:22:02. > :22:05.At the Nimy railway bridge Lieutenant Maurice Dease,

:22:06. > :22:09.of the 4th Royal Fusiliers, had just two machine guns

:22:10. > :22:13.to hold off the massive German advance.

:22:14. > :22:16.The machine gun units were an obvious target

:22:17. > :22:19.for enemy fire, and Dease's men were all killed or wounded.

:22:20. > :22:21.He was hit several times but managed to crawl to

:22:22. > :22:27.a second machine gun and opened fire with that until he too was killed.

:22:28. > :22:34.The British fought on desperately, but they were forced to retreat.

:22:35. > :22:38.As the battalions left, Private Sidney Godley

:22:39. > :22:45.Godley knew manning the machine gun would almost certainly lead to his

:22:46. > :22:49.own death, or his capture, because the Germans were taking prisoner as

:22:50. > :22:52.they advanced, and yet he continued to put down covering fire for his

:22:53. > :23:01.friends for as long as he possibly could.

:23:02. > :23:04.As a tribute to their courage on that day both Lieutenant Dease

:23:05. > :23:08.and Private Godley were awarded the first Victoria Crosses of

:23:09. > :23:30.relatives of men who are buried here.

:23:31. > :23:35.Andes and he is buried here. The war was over so quickly. Some of the

:23:36. > :23:39.first casualties of the British in World War I. And also there's

:23:40. > :23:44.Germans here that were fighting on the other side.

:23:45. > :23:48.There is a man who won the Iron Cross. Extraordinary bravery he

:23:49. > :23:55.showed. He swam across the riff tore try and get the -- across the river.

:23:56. > :23:59.What is interesting, different to other events I have covered, because

:24:00. > :24:03.it is a long time ago, we are not talking about the British, what the

:24:04. > :24:12.British achieved, perhaps like we do at D-Day. We are talking about all

:24:13. > :24:16.of them and what is fighting. They were fighting for those around them.

:24:17. > :24:19.And it is now we are far enough away, we are not talking about the

:24:20. > :24:23.politics that got them there. The extraordinary thing about this

:24:24. > :24:27.cemetery, there is a British and German soldier buried side by side.

:24:28. > :24:31.Tell us about your uncle who is buried here. You have never been

:24:32. > :24:35.here have you? I have never been here before. I was aware he was

:24:36. > :24:40.killed on the very first day of the war. I knew he was buried somewhere

:24:41. > :24:44.around here I was not until this celebration was announced that I

:24:45. > :24:50.discovered it was at this really beautiful cemetery. It is simply

:24:51. > :24:57.glorious and it's been so well looked after. He was your uncle. He

:24:58. > :25:04.was my uncle. It is remarkable for me, because I had been aware that he

:25:05. > :25:13.had died, but I hadn't been aware that my grandmother was not told,

:25:14. > :25:17.not known that he had died until September, 1916 because his body

:25:18. > :25:25.wasn't found and he was not a prisoner of war. And it wasn't until

:25:26. > :25:29.a prisoner who came out of a prisoner of war camp and went to

:25:30. > :25:39.Switzerland wrote her a letter that she then... Read me the words then.

:25:40. > :25:49.It is so moving what is said. "From prisoner of war camp in German... He

:25:50. > :25:53.was to brave and exposed himself too much, he received a rifle shot in

:25:54. > :26:00.the head, which injured his brain. He lived but a few moments, in which

:26:01. > :26:08.he said, "carry on and then dropped his head and died." I buried his

:26:09. > :26:13.sword, revolver, maps, et cetera, after ascertaining that life was

:26:14. > :26:17.extinct. Amazing to have much extraordinary letters written at

:26:18. > :26:22.that time. You have wonderful medals, don't you? They belonged to

:26:23. > :26:29.my brother, who is a proud keeper of them. My mother left them to him.

:26:30. > :26:36.And... And they belonged to your great, great uncle? Yes, they were

:26:37. > :26:41.both in World War I. My grandfather always told me that his brother was

:26:42. > :26:48.lost in Flanders and never had a grave. I was pretty amazed, about

:26:49. > :26:54.eight years ago, having discovered the Commonwealth war grave. Your

:26:55. > :27:00.grandfather was so upset? Talking about him, tears would well in his

:27:01. > :27:05.eyes. He didn't keep his own medals, but kept his own brother's. What a

:27:06. > :27:15.shame he didn't keep them! You have been here a few times? I am amazed

:27:16. > :27:20.what a beautiful place it is. It will be an amazing evening this

:27:21. > :27:25.evening. Dan Snow, you have a key role in it all. I am overseeing it.

:27:26. > :27:30.I have a small role. I am introducing all the other amazing -

:27:31. > :27:34.we have actors. We saw Eddie Redmayne earlier. We have military

:27:35. > :27:39.music, of course and we have descendants of the people buried

:27:40. > :27:43.right here, reading out letters, with a personal link to those

:27:44. > :27:48.people. The key focus here is it is both British and German. It is very

:27:49. > :27:52.exciting. You hear a lot of German being spoken this evening. It adds

:27:53. > :27:56.something quite different. Thank you for coming in and talking to me this

:27:57. > :28:01.evening. Let's give you an idea of what will come up shortly because

:28:02. > :28:05.this is the scene - now this is the entrance to St Symphorien Military

:28:06. > :28:10.Cemetery. And here they are, waiting for the arrival of the Duke and

:28:11. > :28:15.Duchess of Cambridge and David Cameron, who will be arriving here

:28:16. > :28:20.shortly. They will be here to greet the guests as they come. The young,

:28:21. > :28:29.little girl, who we cannot see in shot, but will present the Duchess

:28:30. > :28:36.with flowers. She is a daughter of a gardener. A tribute to the hard work

:28:37. > :28:40.of the gardeners who work here. And, shortly after that, many of the

:28:41. > :28:45.other dignitaries will be arriving and taking their places. The stands

:28:46. > :28:52.here, behind me, are already filling up. Very many dignitaries and local

:28:53. > :29:00.people, local Belgians, who have been invited here tonight and guests

:29:01. > :29:06.from Germany, Britain and descendants who are waiting for the

:29:07. > :29:10.event, which will start at 7. 30pm. 100 descendants, who are both

:29:11. > :29:14.British and German. Although it has proved to be harder to track down

:29:15. > :29:20.some of the German relatives. As many as they could find they invited

:29:21. > :29:25.here. The German President will arrive and the King and Queen of the

:29:26. > :29:36.Belgians and the President of Ireland.

:29:37. > :29:39.It is inevitable that commemorations of war - and this is certainly true

:29:40. > :29:42.of the First World War - tend to focus on those who fought,

:29:43. > :29:46.the men and women on the frontline, and those who never returned.

:29:47. > :29:50.The army of civilians who supported the war effort - performing vital

:29:51. > :29:56.And the impact of the war on civilians, the disruption

:29:57. > :30:01.When the Germans invaded Belgium, some 1.5 million Belgians fled

:30:02. > :30:06.200,000 found themselves refugees in Britain.

:30:07. > :30:30.Dr Leon Le Dune is the son of one of those who were welcomed here.

:30:31. > :30:34.Britain, when he was young, was a very happy one. The day that my

:30:35. > :30:40.family found that they had to flee from their home because it was as

:30:41. > :30:43.abrupt as that, was etched on their minds and my grandmother and my

:30:44. > :30:53.father, in particular, would speak of it to me.

:30:54. > :30:55.On the morning of the 24th August 1914,

:30:56. > :31:03.And they kept hearing what they thought was thunder.

:31:04. > :31:06.And this thunder was really becoming quite alarming and they didn't

:31:07. > :31:08.know what to make of it, when suddenly there was

:31:09. > :31:15.was confronted with the surreal sight

:31:16. > :31:17.of a Scottish soldier in a kilt standing in the doorway

:31:18. > :31:20.and saying "Get out, get out, you're in the front line."

:31:21. > :31:23.As the war continued, thousands of Belgian refugees,

:31:24. > :31:27.including the Le Dunes, found sanctuary in Britain.

:31:28. > :31:30.Wounded soldiers from the Belgian army worked in factories across

:31:31. > :31:35.the UK producing ammunition for the British soldiers on the front line.

:31:36. > :31:48.Dr Leon's uncle, Edmund, was ordered to come

:31:49. > :31:51.to oversee the work of the munitions factory in Birtley, County Durham,

:31:52. > :31:54.in the purpose-built town of Elisabethville, named

:31:55. > :32:02.Elisabethville consisted of a closed space that was protected

:32:03. > :32:07.by a high fence, large enough to house 6,000 Belgians.

:32:08. > :32:09.Wooden bungalows had been constructed,

:32:10. > :32:15.They had coke stoves, they had flush toilets, which were unheard of in

:32:16. > :32:23.The colony - for that is what it was - had its own police force.

:32:24. > :32:26.It had its own hospital, it had its own school.

:32:27. > :32:30.It was an entirely self-contained community.

:32:31. > :32:32.It was a phenomenon, really, in the midst of completely

:32:33. > :32:41.When Armistice was declared, the majority of Belgians returned home.

:32:42. > :32:44.Going home was not easy - the villages

:32:45. > :32:48.and towns they had left behind were ravaged by the four years of war.

:32:49. > :32:52.In Birtley, only a handful of Elisabethville residents

:32:53. > :33:00.Edmund Le Dune had suffered a fatal accident in the munitions factory,

:33:01. > :33:09.My grandfather said, "England is our home,

:33:10. > :33:16.Besides, Edmund is here, and that was the thing that finally

:33:17. > :33:29.decided them to make England their home.

:33:30. > :33:37.the story we are telling tonight and a story of Belgian refugees there.

:33:38. > :33:43.The Belgium problem - if I can put it like that. When there was the

:33:44. > :33:49.ultimatum after Belgium had been invaded - how did it resonate with

:33:50. > :33:56.people? I think the German invasion of Belgium was one of the things

:33:57. > :34:00.that tilted British opinion. Belgium was neutral.

:34:01. > :34:06.And those pictures and there were many of refugees, of this poor

:34:07. > :34:12.little country, enveloped by this huge army shifted British favour

:34:13. > :34:17.into intervention. The film told a story of a community which had moved

:34:18. > :34:21.on block - its own little town, which was separate from local

:34:22. > :34:25.communities, and yet, you know, what we had there was someone talking

:34:26. > :34:29.about it in very constructive and positive terms because they had been

:34:30. > :34:33.rescued, in effect. What was it about the story that tells us

:34:34. > :34:38.something about people's wider experience? I think that Belgium was

:34:39. > :34:42.helpful to the average British man and woman in the street. People who

:34:43. > :34:46.would soon be caught up in this war. It gave them a focus. It was

:34:47. > :34:50.difficult for people to understand the completing claims of Austria,

:34:51. > :34:56.Hungary over the Balkans, for instance. Politicians had foreseen

:34:57. > :35:00.Belgium being a problem. Germany planning for many years through

:35:01. > :35:04.Belgium and the British Cabinet was evasive about all. This they thought

:35:05. > :35:08.if the Germans went through the south of Belgium they could finesse

:35:09. > :35:13.that. If they use it as a transit, that would be OK. They found many

:35:14. > :35:17.ways in which they might not have to go to war if Belgium were invaded by

:35:18. > :35:22.Germany. For the average person, here was an outrage, even the German

:35:23. > :35:25.Chancellor said, we think we have breached international law. I think

:35:26. > :35:29.it was important, therefore, for the man and woman, who was to be

:35:30. > :35:33.involved - the British person in the war - here was something they could

:35:34. > :35:38.identify with. That identification, was it, how powerful was it? Did it

:35:39. > :35:42.happen straight away, David? There are two elements. There's the

:35:43. > :35:48.breaching of international war and the nature of the invasion. Very

:35:49. > :35:53.quickly the German army begins to display a brutality which plays into

:35:54. > :35:56.the hands of propagandas and loses control of itself. There's the

:35:57. > :36:00.element that the British and other countries admired the fact that the

:36:01. > :36:06.Belgium defence, by the Belgium army, of their homeland, was pretty

:36:07. > :36:11.brave and impressive, up against weapons of which the world had not

:36:12. > :36:15.seen before. Let's talk more about the events in St Symphorien, because

:36:16. > :36:20.that is where this evening's first major event is taking place. We have

:36:21. > :36:24.the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and the Prime Minister

:36:25. > :36:28.- they have arrived. There's the official welcoming party. The event

:36:29. > :36:33.will start in about 15-20 minutes' time. Earlier this afternoon, the

:36:34. > :36:38.Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made their private visit to the cemetery,

:36:39. > :36:41.away from the cameras and they were able to appreciate its unique

:36:42. > :36:49.history. Really it does have a special story. They were able to

:36:50. > :36:54.reflect quietly on the lives of the young men from both sides, British

:36:55. > :37:03.and Commonwealth and German, buried in this cemetery.

:37:04. > :37:06.Almost a century after the Battle of Mons,

:37:07. > :37:09.the cemetery of St Symphorien in Belgium is a unique reminder of

:37:10. > :37:16.Built in 1917, while war was still raging in Europe,

:37:17. > :37:20.this tranquil space is the result of the Germans, the Belgians

:37:21. > :37:23.and the British working together in a spirit of common humanity.

:37:24. > :37:27.This great obelisk designed by the Germans stands

:37:28. > :37:30.at the heart of the cemetery and it reads "in memory to

:37:31. > :37:34.the German and English soldiers who died at the Battle of Mons."

:37:35. > :37:38.And from the very beginning, there was an understanding that

:37:39. > :37:43.the graves of both nations would be treated with equal respect.

:37:44. > :37:48.In 1916, the German army approached a local landowner,

:37:49. > :37:54.German and British casualties had been buried

:37:55. > :37:57.in makeshift graveyards, and the Germans wanted to give them

:37:58. > :38:00.their own official military cemetery.

:38:01. > :38:04.Houzeau De Lehaie agreed to offer the land for free.

:38:05. > :38:08.The German designers combined British and German influences.

:38:09. > :38:12.The trees echo the Teutonic tradition of woodland cemeteries.

:38:13. > :38:17.The flowers follow the English custom of gardens of remembrance.

:38:18. > :38:24.284 German and 229 British and Commonwealth soldiers are

:38:25. > :38:29.commemorated here, including Captain Kenneth James Roy

:38:30. > :38:33.of the 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment.

:38:34. > :38:38.Captain Roy was 37 when he died just a few miles away from here,

:38:39. > :38:41.in hand-to-hand combat on the road to Mons. And like so many who

:38:42. > :38:48.died in the Great War, we know very little about the kind of man he was.

:38:49. > :38:53.And now Captain Kenneth Roy, killed at the very start of the

:38:54. > :38:58.Great War, lies here in this cemetery side by side with a German,

:38:59. > :39:03.Reinhold Dietrich, who died in October 1918,

:39:04. > :39:11.This place of memory and remembrance,

:39:12. > :39:15.made possible by Belgian generosity, created by the Germans

:39:16. > :39:20.and cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, shows that

:39:21. > :39:42.joined here by two people who will be performing here later on this

:39:43. > :39:47.evening, Gareth Malone, the choirmaster and Molly, who is 12.

:39:48. > :39:54.What have you been doing? Why are you here? We have written a song to

:39:55. > :40:00.commemorate World War I. It is called "Stand up, Be Proud." You

:40:01. > :40:05.wrote it. You have written this amazing song. You came one the

:40:06. > :40:09.lyrics and before today you only performed in front of your mum and

:40:10. > :40:13.some friends, haven't you? Yes. It has been an amazing experience. It

:40:14. > :40:21.is not just you. Who are you performing with? I am performing

:40:22. > :40:27.with five other verial leapted singer-songwriters. -- very Talented

:40:28. > :40:32.singer-songwriters. It is a wonderful song. The thinking was

:40:33. > :40:38.linking the younger generations with this history 100 years ago. It is

:40:39. > :40:43.about reconciliation and having young people at the heart of today

:40:44. > :40:50.is very important. Molly, I am very proud of her - she has written a

:40:51. > :40:54.beautiful song and will sing a solo. When we started they knew nothing

:40:55. > :41:04.about World War I. We took them to Folkestone where the troops went off

:41:05. > :41:05.to cross the Channel from Britain and

:41:06. > :41:11.to cross the Channel from Britain about World War I. You found out

:41:12. > :41:16.some history? I found out my great, great granddad was a dispatch rider.

:41:17. > :41:20.I felt proud and want to commemorate this song to him. It is an amazing

:41:21. > :41:24.evening for you. You have been in the tent, meeting the Duke and

:41:25. > :41:27.Duchess of Cambridge and the Prime Minister was there. And you will

:41:28. > :41:33.perform in front of them. Are you nervous? I am very nervous, but very

:41:34. > :41:38.excited. I cannot wait to do it. I know it is wonderful because I have

:41:39. > :41:43.heard it. Congratulations! Very good luck tonight. Thank you very much.

:41:44. > :41:46.Let's look at the scenes which are going on outside here. The

:41:47. > :41:50.beginnings of the welcoming party there. You can see the Duke and

:41:51. > :41:54.Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Prime Minister and the Culture

:41:55. > :42:02.Secretary welcoming the first of the guests who will be arriving. We have

:42:03. > :42:08.representatives from Canada, from France, we have the Canadian

:42:09. > :42:13.minister of veterans' affairs of Canada.

:42:14. > :42:17.Julian Fantino and there are two Canadian soldiers who are buried

:42:18. > :42:25.here in this cemetery. The Canadians who were not involved in the early

:42:26. > :42:30.battles, but were very much here at end of the war, when the Canadians

:42:31. > :42:35.were responsible for taking back Mons from the Germans. Two Canadian

:42:36. > :42:39.soldiers lost their lives here. One of the Canadian soldiers who are

:42:40. > :42:47.buried here is said to have died just a few minutes before armistice.

:42:48. > :42:55.There you can see, in front of the royal welcoming party, the big white

:42:56. > :42:58.stone. That is a stone that says, "Lest we forget." It is a paving

:42:59. > :43:03.stone, placed here for this event today. It is the first of several

:43:04. > :43:06.stones, commemorative stones, that the Government and the Commonwealth

:43:07. > :43:12.War Graves Commission have come up with together and that will be laid

:43:13. > :43:17.at various sites across Europe over the next few years. As these

:43:18. > :43:25.commemorations continue. And arriving shortly, there he is, is

:43:26. > :43:31.the Prime Minister of Belgium. A man who knows it very well. He started

:43:32. > :43:36.his political career here and he was the Mayor of Mons as well. Belgium,

:43:37. > :43:42.as you heard suffering very heavily during the war. Invaded 100 years

:43:43. > :43:50.ago today and so many civilians who lost their lives. More civilians, in

:43:51. > :43:56.fact, than soldiers were killed. 6,000 were executed by the Germans.

:43:57. > :44:00.After him, we will have Jose Manuel Barroso and then the President of

:44:01. > :44:04.Germany, who will be arriving shortly as well. Here in the studio

:44:05. > :44:11.with me I have two people who know all about this cemetery. Well one

:44:12. > :44:14.who knows an awful lot about it. You have studied this very hard, haven't

:44:15. > :44:19.you? You have worked very hard over the last year to find out the

:44:20. > :44:24.history of St Symphorien. What a history you have come up with. Yes,

:44:25. > :44:29.indeed. There are many things about this cemetery we didn't know this

:44:30. > :44:33.time last year. In the process of preparing we have uncovered some

:44:34. > :44:37.interesting things about the formation of this cemetery. There

:44:38. > :44:43.was a plan A. There was an alternative site which the Germans

:44:44. > :44:49.earmarked for the site for the men who were buried at Mons. That fell

:44:50. > :44:53.through because of difficulties. They chanced upon a man one day,

:44:54. > :45:00.walking across his land. A man from the German army. He said he liked

:45:01. > :45:05.the look of that spot and could they build a cemetery here. The rest is

:45:06. > :45:11.history. It was very much a German idea. A German officer came up with

:45:12. > :45:16.this idea in 1916. This land was given to him on the basis that both

:45:17. > :45:22.the British and the German dead were treated we qual dignity and respect.

:45:23. > :45:29.-- treated we qual dignity and respect? That is right.

:45:30. > :45:32.We have talked about Belgium and the occupation. It was very important it

:45:33. > :45:35.was a donation rather than being sold. We can see the President of

:45:36. > :45:47.Germany who is arriving. He was with the French President

:45:48. > :45:51.yesterday in France. And, it is an extraordinary event that is taking

:45:52. > :45:55.place here in this cemetery and a real, I suppose, a tribute to the

:45:56. > :45:59.work that you have done. Absolutely. It is also an expression of the

:46:00. > :46:04.cemetery itself. The cemetery is really a symbol of reconciliation

:46:05. > :46:09.and the event has very much been inspired by this place. Very

:46:10. > :46:15.special, very unique am biance here. The combination of the influences

:46:16. > :46:21.expresses the spirit with which tonight's events will unfold. There

:46:22. > :46:25.are about 100 relatives of the men here, but a lot of these people had

:46:26. > :46:29.no idea their relatives were here until they were contacted by

:46:30. > :46:33.researchers working with you, who told them with their dead relatives

:46:34. > :46:37.were. It is incredible. We are finding it more and more. Over this

:46:38. > :46:42.period people are discovering what their ancestors did. It is a special

:46:43. > :46:47.moment being able to bring a family to a graveside of a relative they

:46:48. > :46:55.never knew. Maybe they have a photo and maybe knew some details of their

:46:56. > :46:59.lives. It is a connection felt. You are a historian and you have spent

:47:00. > :47:04.some time here. You walk around the graves and the ages are so young -

:47:05. > :47:09.so many young men who died. A lot of these men, they were part of the

:47:10. > :47:13.British force. They were the first to come out here and they part of

:47:14. > :47:18.the trained units that later on, actually, they were younger. Yes, it

:47:19. > :47:22.is incredible to look at the ages. When consciption came in. The upper

:47:23. > :47:27.age was 41. When you read the accounts of the young soldiers. They

:47:28. > :47:32.think over 30 you cannot cut it. They were saying, old men, falling

:47:33. > :47:39.down. It is really a young man's game. It is incredible to see the

:47:40. > :47:43.ages. We have the grave of the first man we believe to have died on the

:47:44. > :47:47.Western Front and he's not the age he was that uth to be. He was only

:47:48. > :47:51.just 17 and it is incredible to think these young men lied about

:47:52. > :47:58.their age. They signed up and they were so eager to go to war. The BEF

:47:59. > :48:02.was our professional army. It was tiny compared to Germany and France.

:48:03. > :48:08.They had one million each. We had about 80,000. War was declared by

:48:09. > :48:12.9th August they were here. What an incredible battle at Mons, holding

:48:13. > :48:18.the line against the Germans when there were so much less of them. It

:48:19. > :48:22.took place on 23rd, 24th August and very different to the subsequent

:48:23. > :48:27.fighting that we are all sofa mill yar with that happened in the -- so

:48:28. > :48:31.Familiar with with what happened in the years to come. It has been

:48:32. > :48:38.forgotten now. We know more about the battle of the soms and the

:48:39. > :48:39.famous of battles. It was after the news of the battle

:48:40. > :48:43.famous of battles. It was after the news of came through that

:48:44. > :48:49.recruitment surged. When people saw what a difficulty it was in, they

:48:50. > :48:56.wanted to enlist and help out. If I go back to the Marne, where the

:48:57. > :49:01.British and French held back... Incredible. It is amaze togs go in

:49:02. > :49:07.here and go to the -- it is amazing to go in here and 46 men from the

:49:08. > :49:11.Middlesex Regiment who fell and there is an amazing stone carving

:49:12. > :49:16.which the men in charge of the site made. It is simply incredible they

:49:17. > :49:22.were the enemy buried by the Germans. You are right about the

:49:23. > :49:26.recruitment. We think there was a surge at the outbreak of war. Many

:49:27. > :49:30.thought that they would not have to go along and it was Mons and the

:49:31. > :49:34.news of the atrocities committed on the Belgiums, the occupation that

:49:35. > :49:38.really spurred the British recruitment to surge, particularly

:49:39. > :49:44.around young men. Obviously in the middle it says the Royal Middlesex

:49:45. > :49:50.Regiment - incorrectly. It is often said because the Germans were so

:49:51. > :49:54.impressed with the ferocity that the Middlesex fought. They thought they

:49:55. > :49:59.had to be royal. It is more likely to be an error. The others are the

:50:00. > :50:04.Royal Fusilierses and if it is an error it is respectful. And there

:50:05. > :50:06.was a dedication ceremony here - the idea to create the

:50:07. > :50:11.was a dedication ceremony here - the idea to create cemetery was in 1916,

:50:12. > :50:12.but it was not inaugurated until September 1917. An amazing event.

:50:13. > :50:16.but it was not inaugurated until September 1917. An Tell us about

:50:17. > :50:21.that. The cemetery looked different. It

:50:22. > :50:25.was more heavily wooded. The forest cemetery. And when you look at the

:50:26. > :50:28.German graves in the area, just behind us, the pattern seemed

:50:29. > :50:37.unusual. That is because it would have been rather like walking tloo u

:50:38. > :50:48.a woodland -- walking through a woodland glad. They cleared away

:50:49. > :50:53.some trees and planted more trees and gardens. That moment in 1917 is

:50:54. > :50:59.significant. You had Germans fighting the British and then their

:51:00. > :51:05.Allies, not far from here, about 60 miles away, pushing away slowly. At

:51:06. > :51:08.that same time, they are here honouring the British and

:51:09. > :51:12.Commonwealth fallen along side their own. The style of the fighting

:51:13. > :51:26.changed so much between 1914 and 1918. They came here The French were

:51:27. > :51:27.in their colours, with marching bands, going into battle.

:51:28. > :51:35.We should remember that only the day before, 27,000 French soldiers had

:51:36. > :51:38.been killed. These first few weeks of the war are incredibly

:51:39. > :51:49.destructive. this time. I think it's the first

:51:50. > :51:54.time that the British in particular understood what war was br. That,

:51:55. > :51:58.they'd been Victoria's wars. The Queen had great empire wars. By the

:51:59. > :52:01.end of her reign, we ruled a quarter of the world. A quarter of the

:52:02. > :52:06.world's population was under the Queen. She was such a huge force and

:52:07. > :52:11.there were these massive wars in Africa and they didn't impact on the

:52:12. > :52:15.British population in the same way. They had a romanticised idea of war.

:52:16. > :52:21.It was these marvellous pictures they saw. It was the marching bands

:52:22. > :52:25.and music. I think there was a naivety about what war was when

:52:26. > :52:29.people signed up for it. Trench warfare was proposed as a new place

:52:30. > :52:32.in which it would be a modern war. But that wasn't the case at all. I

:52:33. > :52:36.don't think anyone had any idea that it would be such an entrenched set

:52:37. > :52:40.up. It's very important to remember that this was not, by no means,

:52:41. > :52:47.British and German and Commonwealth, I mean, there were Indian soldiers

:52:48. > :52:51.here, huge numbers of Indian soldiers sent to the Western Front

:52:52. > :52:55.in time for the battle of Ypres. Yes the Western Front was one of the

:52:56. > :53:00.most culturally diverse places in the world at that time. One million

:53:01. > :53:05.men and women from across the British Empire, from Canada,

:53:06. > :53:12.Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, west Indians too. A real

:53:13. > :53:16.selection of different classes and creeds but they are commemorated in

:53:17. > :53:22.the same way, regardless of race, rank or In the class. Audience there

:53:23. > :53:29.some of the Chelsea Pensioners who are invited this evening. I can see

:53:30. > :53:34.the wife of Michael Holme Smith who is there as well. A lot of relatives

:53:35. > :53:38.here tonight, about a hundred or so. Many dignitaries and German, Belgian

:53:39. > :53:43.locals who have been invited here. It's a very significant moment for

:53:44. > :53:46.me, and actually I think it's an expression of the spirit in which

:53:47. > :53:51.the cemetery was created. There's a close connection between those

:53:52. > :53:55.things. Of course, in 1917, it was only Germans here honouring the

:53:56. > :53:59.fallen. Tonight, we bring together representatives from all of the

:54:00. > :54:03.countries who are represented here. There's the president of Ireland

:54:04. > :54:07.there. There are many Irishmen buried in this cemetery. Ireland at

:54:08. > :54:12.that time was part of the British Empire. Many of the men who are now

:54:13. > :54:16.buried here came from southern Ireland, now the Republic. They

:54:17. > :54:22.played a very important part in the Battle of Mons. Then the king and

:54:23. > :54:29.Queen of the Belgians who are about to arrive shortly, and his great

:54:30. > :54:34.grandfather king Albert I, during the war he didn't leave Belgium did

:54:35. > :54:38.he? No, he told the government to leave. About 95% of Belgium was

:54:39. > :54:43.occupied. The government left. Many businesses were taken over by the

:54:44. > :54:47.Germans, the Belgians refused to work as a way to resist. The

:54:48. > :54:51.occupation constitutionally, the king was required to defend the

:54:52. > :54:56.country and he D he remained, fought. He enlisted his 14-year-old

:54:57. > :55:01.son as a private and his wife was the Queen nurse. She was a nurse on

:55:02. > :55:05.the frontline as well. He led with a great example of bravery and he

:55:06. > :55:10.really refused to give in, though behind-the-scenes, he was trying to

:55:11. > :55:14.negotiate for peace, but simply neither side would agree to this

:55:15. > :55:19.kind of peace because he was the one suffering. He was an incredible

:55:20. > :55:23.character. In the aftermath of the war, he was asking for less punitive

:55:24. > :55:27.treaty against Germany. He thought they might introduce some kind of

:55:28. > :55:35.revenge. No-one listened to We must him. Talk about these wonderful

:55:36. > :55:40.children here. They are coming forward to present the floral

:55:41. > :55:45.bouquet to the Duchess of Cambridge. The courtesy has been practised and

:55:46. > :55:54.the bow. Perfect. A wonderful moment for them.

:55:55. > :56:06.There the floral bouquet beneath the words "lest we forget, August,

:56:07. > :56:11.2014." So now the royal party and the dignitaries will make their way,

:56:12. > :56:17.a short walk through the cemetery here, towards the stands ahead of

:56:18. > :56:23.the event this evening. This event, which is a very Anglo--German

:56:24. > :56:28.affair, isn't it? Absolutely. Again, it reflects the spirit of the

:56:29. > :56:31.cemetery. Here we have Germans, British and Commonwealth and Irish

:56:32. > :56:36.soldiers buried together. I think it's quite fitting that we should

:56:37. > :56:40.bring together the leading figures from both Britain and Germany at

:56:41. > :56:44.this time. They're just walking past some of the German headstones there.

:56:45. > :56:55.Most of those soldiers would have come from the north of Germany, at

:56:56. > :56:59.that time. Many of them came from infantry regiments 75 and 76. They

:57:00. > :57:04.are collected alongside men from their local It's touching areas. To

:57:05. > :57:07.see the unknown soldiers, on both sides, the German soldier, the

:57:08. > :57:13.British soldier and that's all that was known about them. Absolutely.

:57:14. > :57:17.More than 100 of the 513 men who are buried or commemorated here are

:57:18. > :57:25.unidentified. For the British, the names are on the memorial near Le

:57:26. > :57:30.Mans which commemorates those with no known grave. They're walking

:57:31. > :57:34.through, past some of the German headstones. But they are at such

:57:35. > :57:39.close proximity to the British, Commonwealth headstones. There are

:57:40. > :57:42.two soldiers buried side by side, a German and Englishman. Absolutely,

:57:43. > :57:45.that's a very important part of the cemetery, very symbol ebb. --

:57:46. > :57:58.symbolic. The German was buried by the

:57:59. > :58:02.British, after the The German was buried by the

:58:03. > :58:08.British, end of the war. So each of them buried by the enemy side, but

:58:09. > :58:12.buried alongside each other, united in death. You gave the Duke and

:58:13. > :58:16.Duchess a tour of the cemetery, a private tour this afternoon. What

:58:17. > :58:21.was their reaction? I think like every visitor here, they were very

:58:22. > :58:25.struck by the beauty of the site, by the history behind it. In some ways

:58:26. > :58:29.the cemetery speaks for itself. Can you see the care with which the

:58:30. > :58:36.Germans commemorated the fallen of the British and Commonwealth forces.

:58:37. > :58:40.They did comment on how splendid it looked. And that's down to the

:58:41. > :58:44.gardening team, who work here, every day of the year, morning, noon and

:58:45. > :58:47.night to keep it looking in this condition. Of course, they've had a

:58:48. > :58:51.job on their hands with these preparations. But certainly their

:58:52. > :58:55.efforts haven't gone unnoticed. Symbolic that it's the younger

:58:56. > :59:00.Royals here tonight, taking on the mantle for future generations. Yes,

:59:01. > :59:04.in London we have the Duchess of Cornwall at Westminster Abbey

:59:05. > :59:09.ceremony. She will snuff out the last remaining light. This evening,

:59:10. > :59:13.we have lights out across the United Kingdom and across Europe. The Queen

:59:14. > :59:17.was at the ceremony this morning. The younger Royals are really doing

:59:18. > :59:20.some of the hard work, the travelling. I think it's touching.

:59:21. > :59:25.What I find so touching is seeing so many young people here. There's a

:59:26. > :59:28.group here, Boy Scouts, so many young people coming along, the

:59:29. > :59:31.choirs. That's been quite a wonderful thing, for me, as a

:59:32. > :59:34.historian, to see in the commemorations, is how interested

:59:35. > :59:38.the young people are and the children. Because it's so important

:59:39. > :59:41.that we never forget. These school children are doing big projects.

:59:42. > :59:46.This is appealing to them as well, the young Royals too. The royal

:59:47. > :00:10.party have now taken their seats. The event will now begin.

:00:11. > :00:14.Welcome to the military cemetery. In the fields around us, German and

:00:15. > :00:18.allied soldiers fought and died for their countries in the Great War.

:00:19. > :00:22.The bodies of friend and foe alike were brought here and buried in this

:00:23. > :00:26.cemetery, during the war, by the German Army, which was then

:00:27. > :00:32.occupying this part of Belgium. We're here today with the families

:00:33. > :00:41.of those men, to remember all those their lives in the First World War.

:00:42. > :00:46.This war had an impact like no other. The emotional shock waves

:00:47. > :00:52.would be felt in all corners of the globe. It left no family untouched.

:00:53. > :01:00.It continues to shape our lives today. 100 years ago, on the 4th

:01:01. > :01:05.August, 1914, Britain and Germany were at war.

:01:06. > :01:08.Now, a century later, we gather in peace to commemorate this

:01:09. > :01:31.anniversary and remember the cost of war.

:01:32. > :01:45.On the idle hill of summer, Sleepy with the flow of streams,

:01:46. > :01:48.Far I hear the steady drummer Drumming like a noise in dreams.

:01:49. > :01:51.Far and near and low and louder On the roads of earth go by,

:01:52. > :01:54.Dear to friends and food for powder, Soldiers marching, all to die.

:01:55. > :02:01.East and West on fields forgotten Bleach the Bones of comrades slain

:02:02. > :02:11.Lovely Lads and dead and rotten None that return again

:02:12. > :02:16.Far the calling bugles hollo, High the screaming fife replies,

:02:17. > :02:29.Gay the files of scarlet follow: Woman bore me, I will rise.

:02:30. > :02:44.# They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old

:02:45. > :02:59.# Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn

:03:00. > :03:14.# At the going down of the sun and in the morning

:03:15. > :03:48.# Ladies and gentleman, the right

:03:49. > :04:20.honourable, David Cameron, the Prime Minister.

:04:21. > :04:25.unlike any other. The unspeakable karnage, the

:04:26. > :04:31.unbearable loss, the almost unbelievable bravery. 100 years on,

:04:32. > :04:37.it is right that we meet here and around the world to remember.

:04:38. > :04:41.We remember the sheer scale of the First World War. A conflict that

:04:42. > :04:47.stretched from the Western Front to the deserts of the Middle East, from

:04:48. > :04:53.the plains of Poland to the frozen mountains of Austria. Touching and

:04:54. > :04:59.ending millions, upon millions of lives. We remember the reasons

:05:00. > :05:03.behind this conflict. Too often it has been dismissed as a pointless

:05:04. > :05:09.war, fought by people who didn't know why they were fighting, be u

:05:10. > :05:14.that is wrong. These men -- but that is wrong. These men preserved the

:05:15. > :05:20.principals of freedom and sovereignty that we cherish today.

:05:21. > :05:24.Perhaps, above all, in this, the centenary of the First World War, we

:05:25. > :05:29.must remember the human stories, conveyed in the poems, the

:05:30. > :05:34.literature and the pictures that still entrance us.

:05:35. > :05:40.History is not shaped by invisible forces, but by millions of

:05:41. > :05:45.individuals, who plan and work and love and fight and destroy things

:05:46. > :05:49.and build them again. History is human stories. And so we remember

:05:50. > :05:53.them. The teenagers who fought in the

:05:54. > :05:57.fields around here, some of them terrified and missing home.

:05:58. > :06:02.The men who laid down their lives for their friends.

:06:03. > :06:09.The veterans who were never the same again. The families who bore those

:06:10. > :06:13.silent wounds. The place at table that was never filled, the marriages

:06:14. > :06:19.that never happened, the babies that were never born. This was a war with

:06:20. > :06:24.an immense human cost and we must always, always remember that. No

:06:25. > :06:30.matter how busy things are. So much of modern life is a race to what

:06:31. > :06:36.comes next, a race to the future. But we are all in a long chain of

:06:37. > :06:41.events. The inheriters of the fights won before us, the stewards of the

:06:42. > :06:47.world that the next generation will inherit. In shaping that future, it

:06:48. > :06:53.is vital that we look to the past. Here on the continent of Europe we

:06:54. > :06:58.saw not the war to end all wars, but the precursor to another desperate

:06:59. > :07:03.and violent conflict just two decades later. We should never fail

:07:04. > :07:08.to cherish the peace between these nations and never underestimate the

:07:09. > :07:16.patient work that it has taken to build that peace.

:07:17. > :07:21.So, 100 years on, it is right that collectively we stop, we pause and

:07:22. > :07:24.repledge this for the next 100 years - we will never forget, we will

:07:25. > :07:39.always remember them. Thank you, Prime Minister. This

:07:40. > :07:44.cemetery stands on the outskirts of Mons, where the first major battle

:07:45. > :07:48.was fought between the British and German forces in The Great War. This

:07:49. > :07:55.old quarry, now a place of tranquillity and peace, was the

:07:56. > :08:01.generous gift of a local Belgian man. The land could be used as a

:08:02. > :08:07.cemetery to bury both sides, so long as they were shown equal respect. On

:08:08. > :08:13.6th September, 1917, a dedication ceremony was held by German army

:08:14. > :08:19.officials and dignitaries t at the end of the service, the chaplain

:08:20. > :08:23.said, "let there be light." This commemoration follows in that

:08:24. > :08:26.tradition. Today St Symphorien Cemetery is maintained by the

:08:27. > :08:32.Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Who continue this ethos - no matter

:08:33. > :08:36.which side a soldier fought on, no matter their rank, race, creed or

:08:37. > :08:43.class, they will be commemorated with dignity, respect and equality.

:08:44. > :08:49.In the weeks before the start of August 1914, few could have imagined

:08:50. > :08:51.the events were leading to a conflict of such catastrophic

:08:52. > :08:59.proportions. Many who went to war were excited by

:09:00. > :09:05.the prospect of adventure. Some were worried this would be a short war,

:09:06. > :09:09.that they might miss. In Britain, a huge recruitment drive

:09:10. > :09:17.bolstered its small standing army, by the end of September, more than

:09:18. > :09:23.750,000 men had volunteered. Men came from every walk of life to

:09:24. > :09:28.join the Warminster's new armies. -- the war Minister's new armies.

:09:29. > :09:33.Many joined up with friends. Whole units were raised in one place, or

:09:34. > :09:40.from the same club or professional - known as the Pals.

:09:41. > :09:44.There were the Grimsby chums, the Cardiff Commercials. The Post Office

:09:45. > :10:00.Rifles, the Stock brokers. In Germany too soldiers often came

:10:01. > :10:10.from the same town Oregon. They were waved off with the -- -- town or

:10:11. > :10:15.Region. They were waved off. In 1914, hundreds of thousands of

:10:16. > :10:29.men marched to war with a sense of anticipation.

:10:30. > :10:31.22-year-old Private Charles Heare of the 2nd Battalion,

:10:32. > :10:34.Monmouthshire Regiment, was one of the young men caught up

:10:35. > :10:40.Major Nathan Hale from the Royal Navy reads an extract

:10:41. > :10:49.This life is grand, marching and singing.

:10:50. > :10:53.I have a fairly loud voice and let it go.

:10:54. > :10:55.How fond we all are of marching and singing!

:10:56. > :10:57."Tipperary" is sung, as is "A Soldier Man" and

:10:58. > :11:00."Who's Your Lady Friend?" and a host of others.

:11:01. > :11:03.All who had volunteered for foreign service are given a silver brooch

:11:04. > :11:16.with "Imperial Service" on it, with a crown on top - our first medal.

:11:17. > :11:22.We all laugh and say we won't see a clothes line

:11:23. > :11:26.in France, never mind the front line, and if we go and the Germans

:11:27. > :11:29.knew the 2nd Mons were coming out, they would give it up as a bad job.

:11:30. > :11:32.A new lot joined my company on a Saturday route march

:11:33. > :11:35.of 20 miles. I am behind a bandy-legged man.

:11:36. > :11:39.I can't take my eyes off his legs, and I'm always out of step.

:11:40. > :11:46.What a great holiday, all the boys say.

:11:47. > :11:51.It's the best war we've ever been in.

:11:52. > :12:28.# Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

:12:29. > :12:37.# While you've a lucifer to light your fag

:12:38. > :12:53.# So pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

:12:54. > :13:06.# Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

:13:07. > :13:12.# While you've a lucifer to light your fag

:13:13. > :13:28.# So pack up your troubles in your old kit bag

:13:29. > :14:18.writer, a small boy in 1914, who later recalled the optimism of the

:14:19. > :15:22.early days of the war. # Zum St?dtele hinaus

:15:23. > :15:25.St?dtele hinaus # Kann I glei net allweil

:15:26. > :15:37.bei dir sein # Wie wenn d'Lieb?

:15:38. > :16:26.Jetzt w?r vorbei # Der M?dele viel

:16:27. > :16:34.M?dele viel # Lieber Schatz

:16:35. > :16:38.I bleib dir treu # Denk du net wenn I

:16:39. > :16:44.ein Andre seh? # Der M?dele viel

:16:45. > :17:17.M?dele viel # Lieber Schatz

:17:18. > :17:58.I bleib dir treu regiment, he left Southampton on the

:17:59. > :18:04.13th August, 1914, arriving in France the next day. A week later

:18:05. > :18:09.John Parr, aged 17 was one of the very first British soldiers killed

:18:10. > :18:13.in the war. Back in London, his mother was desperate to know her

:18:14. > :18:17.son's fate. She asked a simple question that millions of mothers

:18:18. > :18:29.would ask in years to come. She wrote to the war office. Iris,

:18:30. > :18:36.John's niece now reads the letter. Sir, I have been to the War Office

:18:37. > :18:39.today, October 26th, concerning my son,

:18:40. > :18:43.Private John Parr, 14196, D Company, 4th Battalion

:18:44. > :18:46.Middlesex Regiment, 8th Infantry, who went on active service

:18:47. > :18:49.in August. I have not heard from him at all and

:18:50. > :18:53.the War Office can tell me nothing. The War Office seems to think

:18:54. > :18:59.this is rather a long time. I am very anxious

:19:00. > :19:03.as it is now ten weeks. If anything has happened to him

:19:04. > :19:06.by this time, I have heard from Berlin,

:19:07. > :19:15.the address is from a prisoner of war to say that

:19:16. > :19:19.my son was shot down at Mons. That is the reason

:19:20. > :19:22.I went to the War Office. Yours Truly,

:19:23. > :20:01.Mrs Parr. On the eve of the battle of Mons,

:20:02. > :20:04.soldiers from the British expeditionary force gathered,

:20:05. > :20:09.unaware of the horror they were about to face.

:20:10. > :20:15.The mood was jolly. It was the 22nd August, 1914.

:20:16. > :20:18.The following morning, the German first army marched towards Mons.

:20:19. > :20:22.There had been a number of skirmishes in the days before, but

:20:23. > :20:30.this would be the first large-scale clash between the two nations.

:20:31. > :20:38.They faced each other along the line of the Mons canal.

:20:39. > :20:43.Despite being outnumbered, the British repulsed the first attacks

:20:44. > :20:49.with machine gunfire. Eventually though the German assault proved too

:20:50. > :20:53.much. A desperate retreat ensued. One of

:20:54. > :20:58.the longest in British military history.

:20:59. > :21:02.After an exhausting 200 mile withdrawal, the British and French

:21:03. > :21:09.finally halted the Germans just outside Paris.

:21:10. > :21:13.Mons was to remain under German occupation until November 1918, when

:21:14. > :21:23.the Allies advanced back into Belgium.

:21:24. > :21:26.The harsh reality of this war reverberated across the globe, and

:21:27. > :21:36.We hear first from Fusilier Beckett reading an extract from an interview

:21:37. > :21:39.with Private William Holbrook conducted after the end of the war.

:21:40. > :21:43.William was a private with the 4th Battalion Fusiliers,

:21:44. > :21:46.who fought at the Battle of Mons, and then Fusilier Charles Wollacombe

:21:47. > :21:52.who will read an extract from Walter Bloem, a Grenadier Officer.

:21:53. > :21:54.I could see the Germans coming down in waves.

:21:55. > :21:59.I don't think I was nervous when the action started,

:22:00. > :22:06.But it was all new to me - it was new to all of us.

:22:07. > :22:10.Shells seemed to worry me a bit, the bursting of shells.

:22:11. > :22:12.When I returned after the first message, I had

:22:13. > :22:18.When I got back to where we were before, they had gone!

:22:19. > :22:21.The Germans were just over the bridge,

:22:22. > :22:24.so I cleared off as quick as I could.

:22:25. > :22:27.Of course, I was behind the troops retiring

:22:28. > :22:33.As we went towards Mons, I saw a man with a pack mule

:22:34. > :22:37.who showed us how close we were to the line.

:22:38. > :22:40.Then just as he put his head to one side,

:22:41. > :22:42.he was suddenly shot clean through the head.

:22:43. > :22:47.The thing that upset me most was the refugees,

:22:48. > :22:50.thousands of refugees coming from Mons.

:22:51. > :22:53.They were pushing all sorts of things.

:22:54. > :26:21.At Mons there were acts of great courage on both sides, as

:26:22. > :26:26.Lt Maurice Dease of the Royal Fusiliers, who is buried here,

:26:27. > :26:29.won the Victoria Cross on the bridge at nearby Nimy.

:26:30. > :26:34.German Musketier Oskar Niemeyer, laid to rest not far away,

:26:35. > :26:36.swam across the canal in the face of gunfire, to help

:26:37. > :26:45.The soldiers of the Middlesex Regiment

:26:46. > :26:50.Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. They

:26:51. > :26:52.were among the first to die and they were

:26:53. > :26:55.buried here by the Germans. Such was their

:26:56. > :26:57.fearless reputation, that the Germans gave

:26:58. > :27:00.them a Royal prefix to their Regimental Title.

:27:01. > :27:03.Before the Battle of Mons, Corporal Frank

:27:04. > :27:05.Agger wrote home to his sister Kate, like

:27:06. > :27:08.soldiers then and now, to put his affairs in

:27:09. > :27:12.order. Frank Edward Agger, his second

:27:13. > :27:15.cousin, who was named after his relative,

:27:16. > :27:22.reads Agger?s letter home.

:27:23. > :27:27.My dear Kate, We are mobilising for War, we expect to move to the

:27:28. > :27:34.Well, I have made my will out, in case I should be numbered

:27:35. > :27:39.among the unlucky ones, but still, I don't hope to be.

:27:40. > :27:43.I do not mind going in the least, and nearly everybody

:27:44. > :27:49.among us is looking quite bright, and eagerly anticipates the idea

:27:50. > :27:55.I don't think I should get married while I am still serving.

:27:56. > :28:05.I am quite happy and in the best of health, and feel as

:28:06. > :28:09.if I can with truth say, that I am as fit to fight for my country

:28:10. > :28:16.So I must close now, trusting you will keep a stout heart and look

:28:17. > :28:20.on the bright side of things, and the honour and glory of saying

:28:21. > :28:27.my brother is doing what every able-bodied Englishman should do.

:28:28. > :28:58.Cheer up, I remain, Your ever-loving brother, Frank.

:28:59. > :29:09.In the aftermath of the Battle of Mons, volunteers came from all walks

:29:10. > :29:16.of live. Many musicians, writers, poets and artists volunteered for

:29:17. > :29:22.service. Amongst them was the young George Butterworth. A contemporary

:29:23. > :29:27.of Holst. Like many of that generation he was never able to

:29:28. > :29:35.realise his enormous potential. He lost his life at the battle Battle

:29:36. > :29:41.of the Somme in 1916. Two of the world's leading orchestras have come

:29:42. > :29:51.together. Members of the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin

:29:52. > :36:45.orchestra will perform the. the war that people had hoped would

:36:46. > :36:55.be over by Christmas would be a lot longer. Millions of men faced each

:36:56. > :37:02.other along a 400 mile front from the North Sea to Switzerland. Both

:37:03. > :37:06.sides created an elaborate trench system, nearly impossible to

:37:07. > :37:10.penetrate. Trenches offered defenders have some protection from

:37:11. > :37:17.bullets, bombs and shells, whilst attackers were cut down in the open.

:37:18. > :37:25.Movement was almost impossible. The war became one of attrition. Front

:37:26. > :37:27.line soldiers injured often terrible conditions in the trenches, were

:37:28. > :37:33.even trying to keep clean and dry was a challenge. The noise from

:37:34. > :37:40.artillery fire was relentless. The threat from enemy snipers was ever

:37:41. > :37:47.present. Sleep was snatched on wooden boards or dugouts. Food was

:37:48. > :37:52.bully beef and biscuits. Hot soup, from the kitchen to the rear, if

:37:53. > :38:01.possible. Men could not wash or shave for days and slept in dirty,

:38:02. > :38:06.lice infested clothes, offending off rats and often surrounded by the

:38:07. > :38:11.stench of rotting bodies. Time and again, the frontal assaults pitted

:38:12. > :38:16.human flesh against high explosives, poison gas, shrapnel, bullets and

:38:17. > :38:21.barbed wire. Technological advances created a new kind of war, in which

:38:22. > :38:30.entire industries and societies were mobilised. Going over the top

:38:31. > :38:33.exposed soldiers to weapons that were far more accurate and more

:38:34. > :38:42.destructive than any that had gone before. Attacks on enemy trenches

:38:43. > :38:42.were costly and rarely able to convert initial success into

:38:43. > :38:52.breakthrough. On 30th May 1915 Private Michael

:38:53. > :38:55.Lennon of the 1st Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers wrote to

:38:56. > :38:57.his brother Frank, the day before he Lennon was killed, in action,

:38:58. > :39:05.on 28th June 1915, exactly one year after the assassination of

:39:06. > :39:08.Archduke Franz Ferdinand His Royal Highness Prince Henry of

:39:09. > :39:17.Wales reads Private Lennon's letter. Well, Frank,

:39:18. > :39:22.I suppose we are for it tomorrow, I can only hope that we have all

:39:23. > :39:35.the luck to come through the night, and if I should get

:39:36. > :39:38.bowled out - I shall pack up to the place "Where

:39:39. > :39:43.falls not rain, not hail, nor any snow, and where the wind

:39:44. > :39:48.never blows loudly", but as I have said before,

:39:49. > :39:52.I am looking for something better than that and I shall see you again

:39:53. > :40:12.when the job is done. The tragic loss

:40:13. > :40:15.of life was felt deeply by many. Dreams of the future were

:40:16. > :40:19.destroyed when so many men died. The British writer Vera Brittain

:40:20. > :40:22.gave voice to her grief She interrupted her plans to go to

:40:23. > :40:29.Oxford University to train as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse

:40:30. > :40:32.and witnessed at first hand the She shared a love of poetry with her

:40:33. > :40:38.fiance Roland Leighton, a school Both young men had been desperate to

:40:39. > :40:46.fight for their country Vera and Roland wrote to each other

:40:47. > :40:52.often when Roland went to the front. Roland was gravely injured

:40:53. > :40:54.by a sniper's bullet and later died Two other close friends

:40:55. > :41:01.and her brother Edward were also This personal tragedy would stay

:41:02. > :41:17.with her for the rest of her life. She wrote this poem shortly

:41:18. > :41:20.after hearing of Roland's death. Perhaps some day the

:41:21. > :41:24.sun will shine again, And I shall see that still

:41:25. > :41:28.the skies are blue, And feel once more

:41:29. > :41:33.I do not live in vain, Perhaps the golden meadows

:41:34. > :41:41.at my feet Will make the sunny hours

:41:42. > :41:49.of spring seem gay, And I shall find the May-blossoms

:41:50. > :41:51.sweet, Perhaps the summer woods

:41:52. > :41:56.will shimmer bright, And crimson roses

:41:57. > :42:01.once again be fair, And autumn harvest fields

:42:02. > :42:05.a rich delight, Perhaps some day

:42:06. > :42:15.I shall not shrink in pain To see the passing

:42:16. > :42:18.of the dying year, But though kind time

:42:19. > :42:31.may many joys renew, There is one greatest joy

:42:32. > :42:35.I shall not know Again, because my heart

:42:36. > :42:39.for loss of you There is no-one left alive who

:42:40. > :42:59.fought in the First World War. Harry Patch, known as the

:43:00. > :43:02.Last Fighting Tommy, died aged 111, But we still we have their diaries,

:43:03. > :43:05.letters, music We pass the baton of remembrance to

:43:06. > :43:09.the next generation, and we ask them to keep their

:43:10. > :43:14.memories alive and not forgotten. In a unique project six of Britain's

:43:15. > :43:17.most talented young singer-songwriters have come

:43:18. > :43:19.together to write and perform a song that marks the

:43:20. > :43:23.centenary of the First Wold War. Along the way they have discovered

:43:24. > :43:27.what their ancestors did in the war, learnt about the terrible conditions

:43:28. > :43:31.young soldiers had to suffer, The chosen song, written by 12 year

:43:32. > :43:41.old Molly from Huddersfield, expresses their hopes for the future

:43:42. > :43:49.and is called Stand Up Be Proud. We heard earlier about John Parr,

:43:50. > :46:33.the young soldier who lost his life in the early days

:46:34. > :46:38.of the war and is buried here. Just a few steps away

:46:39. > :46:40.from his grave we are now at the final resting place of one

:46:41. > :46:44.of the very last soldiers to be The frontline had returned to Mons

:46:45. > :46:50.in November 1918, and it was here where the fighting

:46:51. > :47:03.stoppped when the Armistice came. Private George Ellison was a family

:47:04. > :47:06.man from Leeds, married to Hannah. He had a four year son, James.

:47:07. > :47:08.For many years George was a regular soldier

:47:09. > :47:10.but had left the army believing his fighting days were over.

:47:11. > :47:13.On the outbreak of war he was recalled as part

:47:14. > :47:16.He fought many campaigns only to die on 11th November 1918,

:47:17. > :47:23.the day the war ended on the Western Front, he was 40 years old.

:47:24. > :47:26.Tragically he was not the only casualty so close to

:47:27. > :47:33.Nearby is the grave of a 25 year old Canadian

:47:34. > :47:49.Killed just minutes before 11 o'clock on the 11th of the 11th.

:47:50. > :48:00.Our specially assembled Orchestra performs the final movement of the

:48:01. > :48:15.German Requiem. MUSIC: "Ein Deutsches Requiem"

:48:16. > :50:52.by Brahms Now the Royals and dignitaries

:50:53. > :51:01.making their way to the seats from the cemetery. Their pathway is lined

:51:02. > :51:09.by candles. They are heading towards The Obelisk, in the centre of St

:51:10. > :51:16.Symphorien Cemetery, the highest point here. There, they will lay

:51:17. > :51:18.flowers, for a minute's silence in honour of all those who lost their

:51:19. > :54:22.lives. Yesterday I visited

:54:23. > :54:24.the battlefield of last year. Instead of a wilderness

:54:25. > :54:30.of ground torn up by shell, the ground was a garden of

:54:31. > :54:35.wild flowers and tall grasses... I was specially struck by a cross

:54:36. > :54:38.to an unknown British warrior which stood like a sentinel over

:54:39. > :54:42.the vast cemetery of the fallen... Most remarkable of all was the

:54:43. > :54:47.appearance of many thousands of white butterflies which fluttered

:54:48. > :54:50.round this solitary grave. It was as if the souls

:54:51. > :54:53.of the dead soldiers had come to It was so still that it seemed

:54:54. > :55:04.as if one could almost hear Indeed, there was nothing to disturb

:55:05. > :55:09.the eternal slumber of this unknown who was sleeping

:55:10. > :55:27.his last sleep where he fell. Reflections from an anonymous

:55:28. > :56:02.British officer, written a year after the war ended.

:56:03. > :56:08.the Belgians, David Cameron and the German and Irish Presidents will lay

:56:09. > :56:20.their floral wreaths at the foot of the on blix.

:56:21. > :56:51.-- obelisk. THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY WILL

:56:52. > :59:39.GIVE BLESSING. God of peace and justice, who in

:59:40. > :59:47.compassion for a world, broken by our sins of pride, desire,

:59:48. > :59:53.selfishness brought reconciliation to all who seek you. Strengthen us

:59:54. > :00:01.to seek peace and pursue it. To forgive, as we are forgiven.

:00:02. > :00:06.And the blessing of God almighty the father, the son and the holy spirit

:00:07. > :00:07.be amongst you and remain with you always.

:00:08. > :02:29.Amen. The floral bouquets which were laid.

:02:30. > :02:37.They choose not to use wreaths or poppies on this occasion. Instead

:02:38. > :02:44.formal flowers found locally, roses. The tradition a laying wreaths only

:02:45. > :02:49.began after World War I had ended. Let there be light - they were the

:02:50. > :02:54.words of a German can chaplain in September 1917.

:02:55. > :03:56.These lanterns are a reminder of those words, almost 100 years later.

:03:57. > :04:05.War cemeteries and memorials around the world commemorate those who did

:04:06. > :04:08.not survive this conflict. Over 9.5 million sailors, soldiers and airmen

:04:09. > :04:15.died in the First World War. Together with millions of civilians.

:04:16. > :04:20.Tonight, we have certainly witnessed something very special in this

:04:21. > :04:25.beautiful St Symphorien Cemetery. And honoured the men who lie here.

:04:26. > :05:44.Now, let's remember all who died and the families that were left behind.

:05:45. > :05:50.dignitaries make their way slowly out of St Symphorien Military

:05:51. > :05:57.Cemetery. They will pass the new paving stone

:05:58. > :09:06.which has been laid here and the words "Lest We Forget."

:09:07. > :09:12.??FORCEWHITE STUDIO: Now the sun has set over the fields

:09:13. > :09:16.surrounding the cemetery we are left to reflect on the stories of the

:09:17. > :09:20.German and Commonwealth soldiers buried here. Their bravery, their

:09:21. > :09:28.fears, their families, their descendants. Here a German saying of

:09:29. > :09:31.the time still holds true. In life, these men were enemies. In

:09:32. > :09:46.death, they are united. Yes, nightfall in Belgium at the St

:09:47. > :09:50.Symphorien Cemetery. You have enjoyed a rich mix of German and

:09:51. > :09:55.British voices singing and a wonderful blend of music,

:09:56. > :09:59.recollections and tributes in that special commemorative event in

:10:00. > :10:04.Belgium. Here, in London, well, final preparations have been made.

:10:05. > :10:09.People are starting to arrive at Westminster Abbey for the special

:10:10. > :10:14.candle-lit service. Throughout that service, the candles will be

:10:15. > :10:20.gradually extinguished until one candle remains - a single candle, at

:10:21. > :10:26.the The Grave of the Unknown Warrior. That is the high point of

:10:27. > :10:30.the service in the Abbey. Beneath that black marble tombstone is a

:10:31. > :10:38.soldier of The Great War, name and rank unknown, representing all those

:10:39. > :10:44.who lost their lives in war. That last candle of 2000 will be

:10:45. > :10:49.extinguished by the Duchess of Cornwall at 11pm - the precise

:10:50. > :10:53.moment that the British Government declared war on Germany, a century

:10:54. > :11:03.ago. Well, it was early morning on the

:11:04. > :11:09.4th August, 1914, when German forces invaded Belgium. Britain sent an

:11:10. > :11:13.ultimatum to withdraw or face a declaration of war. It was midnight

:11:14. > :11:18.Central European Time. 11pm in London. The last few hours of peace

:11:19. > :11:23.were recalled by David Lloyd George at the time. It was like a waiting,

:11:24. > :11:28.he said, the waiting for the signal of a lever which would send millions

:11:29. > :11:32.to their doom, with the chance that a reprieve might arrive in time. As

:11:33. > :11:37.we know that did not arrive. Over the next four years, millions of

:11:38. > :11:42.men, sons, husbands, brothers, fathers, uncles, friends - women too

:11:43. > :11:49.- would die in that conflict. Hooer to discusses a -- here to discuss

:11:50. > :11:55.aspects, I am delighted to say Baroness Shirley Williams is here.

:11:56. > :12:01.Daughter of Vera Williams, who described her experiences as a in

:12:02. > :12:08.the war. So, it is lovely to have you here with us. Thank you very

:12:09. > :12:10.much. And the author Sebastian Faulks and Margaret MacMillan with

:12:11. > :12:15.us too. Thank you for staying with us. Reflections on what we have seen

:12:16. > :12:21.in Belgium. The poem which of course resonates with all of us, but for

:12:22. > :12:29.you especially - what did that mean? It summed up the sense of, in a way,

:12:30. > :12:36.never being able to recover the sense of joy that had existed in the

:12:37. > :12:40.ten years before the First World War. Not joy for everybody,

:12:41. > :12:44.ten years before the First World honest. Those from prosperous

:12:45. > :12:51.families were enjoying a wonderful time. Those from not such prosperous

:12:52. > :12:56.families not so. A grieve that would never complete itself. I think a lot

:12:57. > :13:00.of the stories from the poets of the First World War reflects that. I

:13:01. > :13:05.also think the First World War, in an extraordinary way, threw up a

:13:06. > :13:10.level of poetry and prose that no other war before or since has done

:13:11. > :13:17.and it may be because the horror of leaping from what was a fairly

:13:18. > :13:20.stable, though for some people a poor one, into something like the

:13:21. > :13:25.trenches, when especially those who became officers, the young men in

:13:26. > :13:32.public schools had read the story of King Arthur and the knights of the

:13:33. > :13:38.round table and saw as it was suggested, a gallant escape from the

:13:39. > :13:41.time. Then finding themselves with parts of bodies, with lice and rats

:13:42. > :13:47.in the trenches. It must have been one of the most astonishingly awful

:13:48. > :13:51.transformations anybody could imagine. As for women, my mother was

:13:52. > :13:57.one of the few that volunteers not of to become a nurse, but also to

:13:58. > :14:02.serve in the hospitals outside Britain, where she could no longer

:14:03. > :14:06.be protected and France and Malta and so forth. One thing she found is

:14:07. > :14:11.they were all rejected. They were not wanted. It was made quite clear

:14:12. > :14:16.that is not what women should do, especially middle class women. So

:14:17. > :14:19.she, when she first suggested that she had volunteered to become a

:14:20. > :14:25.nurse, because she couldn't stand being divorced from her brother, her

:14:26. > :14:30.fiancee, her best friends by being in the home front, it was divorced

:14:31. > :14:34.from the war because there was no television and radio. People lived

:14:35. > :14:39.an unreal life about what they knew about the war. When she first came

:14:40. > :14:41.forward with most other who volunteered they were rejected by

:14:42. > :14:44.the Army. You probably know that the British Army would not have middle

:14:45. > :14:48.class young women because they didn't think they should be

:14:49. > :14:54.associated with naked human bodies, where as the French embraced them.

:14:55. > :15:02.The first women who volunteered from Britain served in French wartime

:15:03. > :15:06.hospitals. The other thing is, well, in my view, the big leap forward in

:15:07. > :15:10.terms of women's opportunities came after the Second World War, no t the

:15:11. > :15:14.first one. It is true it was harder and harder for men to say that women

:15:15. > :15:18.were not capable of taking part in some of the most of awful aspects. I

:15:19. > :15:25.remember my mother telling me what it was like to hold the leg of a man

:15:26. > :15:29.that was being sawn off because he was suffering from gangrene. Most

:15:30. > :15:35.women and men had some sense of the awfulness of the war.

:15:36. > :15:57.It is how their place in society changed as well.

:15:58. > :16:04.realised that their perceptions of women had to change. Women played a

:16:05. > :16:12.vital role that we have been told about in that war effort. Women

:16:13. > :16:15.stepped into jobs as bus conductors, fire wardens, jobs in munitions

:16:16. > :16:23.factories and building boats and planes. So, let's have a little more

:16:24. > :16:27.about their role. It wasn't restricted to home. About 7000 women

:16:28. > :16:28.served on the front line in great danger and some of them never came

:16:29. > :16:35.back. In York Minster, a memorial

:16:36. > :16:37.commemorates around 1400 women Among them is Una Duncanson who

:16:38. > :16:41.volunteered as a nurse alongside Una volunteered for the VAD

:16:42. > :16:53.hospital in Maidstone in 1915. She was a very lowly person there I

:16:54. > :16:56.think, assistant cook and bottle washer, but she applied for nursing

:16:57. > :17:02.training and went up to York in 1917 with her best friend Doris Carpenter

:17:03. > :17:05.and then they applied to go overseas,

:17:06. > :17:15.which they did in late 1917. My grandmother was

:17:16. > :17:16.Doris Carpenter. Doris decided to become a nurse I

:17:17. > :17:19.think quite early on. Una was in the red cross already

:17:20. > :17:21.in service and I think was what possibly what

:17:22. > :17:24.led her into it as well. They boarded a troop ship, the

:17:25. > :17:42.Osmanieh, and sailed for Alexandria. They arrived

:17:43. > :17:44.on 31st December 1917 and while they were taking a pilot on board outside

:17:45. > :17:47.the harbour the ship hit a mine. It sank very quickly in about

:17:48. > :17:50.one and a half to two minutes. Hundreds of soldiers

:17:51. > :17:53.and eight nurses. My grandmother

:17:54. > :17:55.kept various diaries. My grandmother's entry for the date

:17:56. > :17:58.of the 31st December was that the Osmanieh sank in three and half

:17:59. > :18:00.minutes. "All boats capsized, in water

:18:01. > :18:03.about one and a quarter hours. "Picked up by destroyer Jackall

:18:04. > :18:07.and got alongside 2.30. "Una, Rogers, Brown, Ball, sister

:18:08. > :18:20.Roberts, Hawley and others missing." Una and her colleagues are all

:18:21. > :18:24.buried in Hadra military cemetery in Alexandria and she's

:18:25. > :18:29.commemorated here in York Minster. Una and all

:18:30. > :18:33.the others are passing into history and I think it's very important we

:18:34. > :18:37.try and prevent that happening My grandmother went through the

:18:38. > :18:47.war until April 1919 in service. It was generally

:18:48. > :18:52.and always had been a man's thing. For a woman at that time to have

:18:53. > :18:55.been pulled into war, to have seen the bloodshed during

:18:56. > :19:01.that time must have been absolutely horrific. But, again, the diary

:19:02. > :19:22.shows that they just coped with it One of the powerful themes we are

:19:23. > :19:29.exploring on the BBC, as we think about what happened a century ago.

:19:30. > :19:32.There is a lot more on the BBC website about the role of women.

:19:33. > :19:38.Shirley Williams has presented a guide, and how artists responded to

:19:39. > :19:42.the trauma of the war. Tonight, people all over Britain are finding

:19:43. > :19:49.their own ways of marking the centenary, often by adopting

:19:50. > :19:53.familiar symbols and rituals of remembrance which emerge from the

:19:54. > :20:00.First World War. None has more resonance than the poppy, which

:20:01. > :20:07.managed to balloon even in the excellence and... Desolate area of

:20:08. > :20:14.Flanders. The larks, still bravely singing,

:20:15. > :20:26.fly Among the graves in France

:20:27. > :20:33.and Flanders is one belonging to One of 100 men who enlisted

:20:34. > :20:37.from the village of Northlew in Devon, and one of

:20:38. > :20:41.at least 22 who never came back. In commemoration, the villagers

:20:42. > :20:47.have planted millions of poppy seeds along the route the men would

:20:48. > :20:55.have taken when they left for war. Northlew was not

:20:56. > :20:57.the only village to suffer. Across Devon over 11,000 men

:20:58. > :21:04.and women were killed in the war. And in nearby Chudleigh,

:21:05. > :21:06.their names are being remembered on a huge banner which has been

:21:07. > :21:10.travelling all over the county. We're asking people to donate

:21:11. > :21:16.a poppy. On the poppy, they write the name of

:21:17. > :21:20.a family member who served in the war, and if they don't have anybody

:21:21. > :21:25.they can write a group of people. We have people coming to sign

:21:26. > :21:28.poppies and we have stories My father-in-law, Fred Holliday,

:21:29. > :21:36.was an able seaman but during that battle over 6,000

:21:37. > :21:51.British sailors lost their lives. It's not about the politics,

:21:52. > :21:55.it's about the men who served, and the women,

:21:56. > :21:57.and it's the stories we are getting Events like this are uniting

:21:58. > :22:03.communities all over the country. In Bradford,

:22:04. > :22:06.groups have been learning about the city's role producing textiles

:22:07. > :22:09.for the war effort and the service of the city's

:22:10. > :22:13.Pals Battalions. The Bradford Pals were

:22:14. > :22:16.the men who recruited from groups of friends,

:22:17. > :22:18.so you would go to the factory, to the football ground

:22:19. > :22:20.and to the music hall and groups

:22:21. > :22:26.of friends would all join together. So we had the idea to create

:22:27. > :22:29.a textile poppy field to remember those men and also the contribution

:22:30. > :22:34.the whole community made to the war. My grandfather, Ralph Hodgson,

:22:35. > :22:37.signed up for the First World War before he was called

:22:38. > :22:45.up and he died in September 1918. He wrote quite prolifically to

:22:46. > :22:49.his mother and his sister. before I get my leave and another

:22:50. > :22:58.little drink won't do us any harm". And he signs it bon soir,

:22:59. > :23:00.spelled incorrectly, but that's The textile frieze will

:23:01. > :23:10.contain over 1000 poppies, one for each of the Bradford Pals

:23:11. > :23:14.who fell on the first day We lived, felt dawn,

:23:15. > :23:23.saw sunset glow Loved and were loved,

:23:24. > :23:29.and now we lie The fallen are also being

:23:30. > :23:38.remembered at the Tower of London, where over 800,000 ceramic poppies

:23:39. > :23:41.are being planted in the moat, one for every British and Colonial

:23:42. > :23:47.serviceman who died in the war. By having such

:23:48. > :23:48.a physical demonstration of the total number of British

:23:49. > :23:51.and Colonial soldiers who died, the Tower is trying to focus

:23:52. > :23:55.everyone's attention on the enormity It wasn't just the soldier

:23:56. > :24:00.of course that was affected, it was The Tower

:24:01. > :24:05.of London played a critical role throughout the First World War

:24:06. > :24:10.and particularly at the beginning. On 29th August,

:24:11. > :24:12.one of the first Pals battalions, the Stockbrokers' Battalion,

:24:13. > :24:14.was sworn in, and from here they marched out

:24:15. > :24:16.to start their training. This idea of people coming down

:24:17. > :24:18.in their groups from their city offices, and

:24:19. > :24:23.swearing their allegiance to the I think it's really important

:24:24. > :24:27.to mark this centenary because the First World War was a huge event

:24:28. > :24:31.in international history and it's important that we study it to

:24:32. > :24:33.understand what went wrong. After all, the world remains

:24:34. > :24:35.a pretty uncertain place. We've got to make

:24:36. > :24:38.sure that we don't unwittingly fall We shall not sleep, though

:24:39. > :25:39.poppies grow That is the poppy fields that you

:25:40. > :25:44.saw in the film. It will be staying there until remembrance weekend. It

:25:45. > :26:02.really is a wonderful site. You be leaving us soon. You will go

:26:03. > :26:07.to the Abbey. What should we look forward to. I am the last thing, but

:26:08. > :26:13.there are several excellent readings. Poems read from Poets'

:26:14. > :26:18.Corner, by actresses and abouting tors. There are read -- actors.

:26:19. > :26:21.There are readings, new commissions for this service, in particular.

:26:22. > :26:25.There was a rehearsal this afternoon, it ran to within five

:26:26. > :26:30.seconds because it is very important that it should finish exactly on the

:26:31. > :26:34.stroke of 11pm. The theme of light moving to darkness and all of these

:26:35. > :26:37.candles being extinguished - what is the impression that people will take

:26:38. > :26:42.away from this service tonight at the Abbey, do you think? I hope the

:26:43. > :26:49.impression people will take away is of a world that came to an end and

:26:50. > :26:53.of a world that changed and a war that changed our idea, not only of

:26:54. > :26:59.Europe, but of what human beings are. That is something that I think

:27:00. > :27:02.100 years later we are still grappling with. An immense sadness,

:27:03. > :27:07.but at the same time, there was a lot of debate as to whether the

:27:08. > :27:11.Abbey should be plunged into total darkness, or whether there should be

:27:12. > :27:17.some symbolic light left burning. You will have to wait and see what

:27:18. > :27:23.the Abbey has decided. Margaret, a thought from you. What do you hope

:27:24. > :27:26.it will achieve? I hope it will remember all those who died on both

:27:27. > :27:31.sides and commemorate their lives. I hope it will be in the spirit of

:27:32. > :27:35.reconciliation. It is an important war for Britain and for the empire

:27:36. > :27:39.and all those other sides. It was a catastrophe that hit Europe and the

:27:40. > :27:43.world. I think 100 years on, we should look at it is in a

:27:44. > :27:50.transnational, international way. And the message of reconciliation we

:27:51. > :27:55.have spoken about - again, are we going to put that in a modern

:27:56. > :27:58.context? We should always ask, of course. We have a very uneasy world

:27:59. > :28:03.at the moment. We have places where it is badly needed. I said, what we

:28:04. > :28:07.have to take away from it is we must not give up. It seems difficult.

:28:08. > :28:11.There are situations in the world where it does not look like any

:28:12. > :28:16.reconciliation is possible. But we have to keep trying. Thank you very

:28:17. > :28:21.much. Best of luck to you in the service. We are just a couple of

:28:22. > :28:25.hours away from 11pm. The exact time that Britain declared war on

:28:26. > :28:29.Germany, a century ago tonight. It is very difficult to imagine what

:28:30. > :28:34.Britain's leaders were feeling on that August evening. Back in 1914

:28:35. > :28:38.Winston Churchill was first First Lord of the Admiralty. Later he

:28:39. > :28:45.recalled the atmosphere of that night. It is called "The World

:28:46. > :28:52.Crisis." I will give you a flavour of it.

:28:53. > :28:54.It was 11 o'clock at night, 12 by German time,

:28:55. > :28:57.The windows of the Admiralty were thrown wide

:28:58. > :29:01.Along the Mall, from the direction of the Palace, the sound

:29:02. > :29:04.of an immense concourse singing "God Save the King" floated in.

:29:05. > :29:07.On this deep wave, there broke the chimes of Big Ben.

:29:08. > :29:10.And, as the first stroke of the hour boomed out, a rustle

:29:11. > :29:19.The war telegram, which meant "Commence hostilities

:29:20. > :29:24.against Germany" was flashed to the ships and establishments under the

:29:25. > :29:33.I walked across the Horse Guards Parade to the Cabinet Room, and

:29:34. > :30:20.reported to the Prime Minister and the ministers who were assembled

:30:21. > :30:21.are commemorating the centenary of the outbreak of the First World