29/09/2014 Inside Out East Midlands

Hello from Chatsworth House in Derbyshire,

home to Deborah Duchess of Devonshire for more than 70 years.

Tonight we look back at her remarkable life.

Isn't it funny how you forgdt the painful things and remelber

the things which were enjoy`ble or that you took for granted?

She called herself a housewhfe but she helped save a stately home.

Also tonight, is a degree really worth all that debt?

In total, I think, including my undergrad and my master's ddgree,

it's going to be about ?50,000.

And the casualties of war beyond the battlefield.

These lads have fought for their country.

Our boys went to war, got mddals, come out with a different b`ttle

that nobody seems to care about

The stories that matter, closer to home.

This is Inside Out East Midlands.

The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire helped to restore Chatsworth

and turn it into one of the best loved country houses in Britain

The last of the renowned Mitford Sisters, she also hdlped to

mastermind the successful btsiness the estate is today.

Known as Debo to her family and closest friends,

she had an extraordinary life.

It is a life whose story re`ds like a who's who of the 20th century

She mixed with royalty, presidents, prime ministers and on a single

notorious occasion with her sister Unity, she took tea with Hitler

But here she'll be rememberdd for her role in saving one

of the nation's favourite places, turning Chatsworth back

into a stately home to visit.

It?s a place she, with reluctantly expressed pride, was able to share

with the millions who come.

I get heaps of letters from people saying,

I have had a terrible illness or a terrible tragedy in my life and

I've come to walk in the park at Chatsworth and I feel much better.

That's a privilege isn't it?

Debo Mitford was the youngest of six sisters and one brother.

A family which became notorhous in the '30s.

Jessica became a communist, Nancy a successful author.

Diana married the fascist leader Oswald Mosely.

Unity was the nazi who took her youngdst

sister to tea with the fuhrdr.

Months later Debo was dancing with the son of Joseph Kennedy,

the US ambassador to Britain.

She wrote in her diary that night that Jack Kennedy, JFK,

was rather boring but nice.

Isn?t it strange?

But that's the sort of thing that did happen.

The thing was, my sister Unhty knew Hitler very well, pretty well and he

seemed to be very fond of hdr.

When our cameraman went to leet the cross channel steamer,

they found extraordinary precautions being taken.

Troops and police guarding every entrance to the docks.

It was the occasion of the arrival from Germany

of the daughter of Lord Reddsdale, Unity Mitford, friend of Hitler

Unity was demonised at home.

When war broke out she shot herself in the head with a pistol.

By Christmas 1939, with Hitler's help, Deborah and her mother managed

to get Unity home via Switzdrland.

But the cameras were in wait at Folkestone where

the press had been tipped off.

Unity never fully recovered and died in 1948.

Debo said she could not help loving her sister whatever the polhtics.

I was never in the least bit interested in politics of any sort.

So it just went over my head.

I didn't bother with it.

I was the person I loved.

Debo married her love in 1941.

Andrew Cavendish, an officer in the Coldstream Guards, was the second

son of the Duke of Devonshire.

While the build up to war tore apart the Mitford family the consdquences

of war were hard to bear.

Debo's brother Tom was killdd.

My brother`in`law, killed in the war.

Billy Cavendish married Jack Kennedy's sister, Kathleen

His death meant Andrew and Debo were heirs to the dukedom.

Awful.

So then Andrew was his father's heir and then `nother

big surprise was my father`hn`law died when he was on 55 in 1850.

The rich estates like Chatsworth had become tnpopular

after the First World War.

After the Second the mood of the country seemed to be tear them down.

The feeling against houses like this was absolutely 100% ag`inst.

Knock them down.

Get rid of them Nobody wants them.

Death duties for the new Devonshires were severe, The Duke had to sell

and give away properties to pay them off until 1974.

It was he who made all the decisions about the death dtties.

80% of everything.

Pictures, works of art, stocks and shares, land.

The lot.

The magnificence designed for one noble family is, in 195 ,

seen and partly share by ordinary people making themselves at home.

People think they belong here.

That's the nice thing.

No, put it the other way around

They think that this belongs to them.

And that's always been he c`se because it's always been opdn to

the public.

Not just post`war.

It's been open ever since it was built.

The present Chatsworth Housd, dating from 1688 stands where

a former mansion held Mary Pueen of Scots in custody for several years.

Today no haughty lords and ladies tread the splendhd

stairway to the painted hall, for the present Duke of Devonshire

is unwilling t bear the burden of living at Chatsworth House.

He is content with the modest house nearby.

But they were soon advised to live in Chatsworth,

to put a family in there ag`in.

It seemed very natural for @ndrew and his family to come back

and live here.

We?d lived at the other house for 12 years so we knew it intilately.

We used to drive across and I used to say to Andrew, This is a nice

house, I wonder who lives there

And he used to say, Oh do bd quiet.

And then, in the end, we cale.

The visitors were far from ordinary.

President Jack Kennedy is an hour late arriving at Gatwick Airport.

He?d been making an unscheduled visit to the grave of

his sister Kathleen in Derbxshire.

It was 1963, the year he was assassinated.

Here he is at Chatsworth.

This is a letter I wrote to my sister.

So he is coming here tomorrow.

A proper mystery trip.

Two helicopters arrived yesterday afternoon.

I was sent to meet them and out tumbled ten super G`men

of a film`ish variety plus a foreign office brigadier.

It was a well planned visit, far from unscheduled.

His helicopter landed up thdre by the graveyard

and his secret service men said you can't go to Chatsworth.

It's open to the public.

Out of the question.

But, of course, he came.

Took no notice, walked up the west stairs and there

were just a very few visitors.

It wasn't a very nice day.

And they looked at this man coming up the stairs.

And then they looked at each other.

It was a real double`take for a few of them

and they just couldn't belidve it.

Debo never met Elvis but shd had his memorabilia and his mushc.

Alas, I never saw him in the flesh because he was dead

before I realised what he w`s.

But I've been twice to Gracdland.

He was so beautiful when he was young.

And his voice is better than any of the singers that I've ever heard.

Elvis's Graceland is second only to the Whitehouse

for visitor numbers in the States.

Chatsworth remains one of Britain's biggest attractions.

Life here was made absolutely wonderful by the support

of the staff.

The luck of living with all those people and working with thel is

something that's not given to many.

And that, I suppose, is really the thing I take away with le.

From the garden, to the farls, to the inside of the house, evdrything.

She liked to quote her friend, JFK.

Ask not what your country c`n do for you.

Ask what you can do for your country.

And as a mark of respect here at Chatsworth House, the fl`g has

been flying at half`mast.

In England, going to university has never been more expensive.

Some estimates put the pricd of a three year degree

at more than ?50,000 and it?s not just tuition fdes.

Students have to take into account living expenses and the

loss of earnings while studxing

So, as the new term begins, are degrees really worth thd money?

Business guru Geoff Burch investigates.

When I was a student I got a grant that was

so big I could afford to run a car.

But recently students have had to borrow so much money to fin`nce

their education that it would pay for a brand new car

and the next batch coming up, the money they have to borrow,

is enough to pay for a housd.

I am sure a lot of students are not aware when they

start that they could be ladening themselves with a lifetime of debt.

So, I?m exploring if a degree is a wise investment.

And are there ways to cut the cost of higher education.

I want to talk to you about the scintillating subject

of student finances.

OK, well there?s a lot to t`lk about isn't there?

First I am meeting some students who are coming to the end

of their courses.

Along with her housemate, Becky Cotteril

from Derby has completed a degree in English and a master's in Media.

I always swore I would never set foot in student digs again

but here I am because I havd to do some very serious investigating

Becky, how much do you owe?

Was it worth borrowing it and are you going to get a job

at the end of this?

In total, I think, including my undergrad and my master's ddgree,

it's going to be about ?50,000.

I know that a lot of my fridnds who finished their undergrads lhke we

did last year, they are so shocked that they have not found jobs.

Everyone's got a degree.

Especially with a degree in Humanities, it doesn't ptt you

in a better position than someone who doesn't have a degree.

I suppose when you are making a lifelong debt for yourself you

have to have some kind of plan.

That is something that isn't instilled enough at school level.

For me it has been a good investment but it might not

be the case for everybody and there are other options to be explored

before you make that decision.

Hmm, so now it's crunch timd.

These guys are suggesting you need to think hard about the course you

choose and the employment prospects when you leave university.

Well, it's all very well gohng to university and borrowing ?50,00 .

But what happens if you are bright enough to go and you choose

to do something different?

As the old saying goes, Joel Goddard has an old head on young shoulders.

While he waved goodbye to some of his pals, he stayed closdr to

home in Nottingham.

Joel is halfway through an apprenticeship to become

a master butcher.

A lot of your mates went to uni and yet you've chosen this.

You can go to uni and get a degree but I wantdd to do

an apprenticeship and get a trade.

Some trades never die and pdople are always going to need me`t.

All your mates who went to tni, You mix with them, you go out whth them.

Did they have any idea wherd there future was

after they had their degrees?

A few of them do have their minds set on jobs.

Some want to be teachers, some want to be doctors.

Some of them are taking degrees just because they need to take a degree.

That is one of the main things.

People coming out with degrdes and not having anything to go to.

For an 18`year`old, Joel seems pretty switched on.

He's already won an award as National Apprentice of the Lonth.

And I have a sneaky feeling he's got big plans for his futurd.

I think it will be a couple of years before I take that step

into management.

But, yeah, I'm looking forw`rd to doing it though.

Do you think somebody who h`s a proper apprenticeship with

a successful businessman has a better future than somebody who

has been to university?

I think it is equal.

You know, you are into debt before you even leave, whereas what we do

here, we give you an apprenticeship so that you earn as you learn.

Now, I am not knocking univdrsity education,

or the doors that it can opdn, I am just exploring some alternatives.

I have been told that at Boots it is not a problel

if you do not have a degree.

I'm meeting one of the big bosses.

So, on my route to the top with this august organisation, how many

of the current board have ddgrees?

I would say probably about half of them.

There are 10 people in that group, half of them have had

a university education.

The recently`appointed managing director of the company camd

straight from school through a retail route, including the last

few years at Boots, so it is a mix.

So, I could get all the way to the top without a degree?

You could, in fact, it has happened, you definitely could, yes!

Clearly specialist jobs like pharmacy require

the relevant qualifications and that means knuckling down at university.

However, Stephen is seeing a shift in

the way that people want to learn.

Certainly, we find that people rather than take on the burden of

the additional cost of a degree are making a choice to say, "Wh`t about

if I join Boots at the age of 1 instead of going to univershty, what

education or support could xou provide to me to allow me to benefit

from furthering my studies, but at the same time earning a salary

as an employee of our company?"

and we do offer that route.

This isn't the only local elployer to offer earn while you learn

schemes, as I like to call them

Some businesses offer sponsored degrees ` the company pays xou to

work and covers the cost of your course, sounds like a great deal!

I'm heading to Experian, a company that provides credit reports

on people like you and me, `mongst a whole load of other stuff.

I'm meeting two bright young things not long out of school.

I have a feeling these guys are more

Young Apprentice than the Young Ones.

So, where's the student lifd, where's the drunkenness, whdre's

the fun, where's the running around with your pants on your head?

Where is it?

Well, I guess you could say we do miss out on the student lifd,

but we've kind of got used to it and we definitely work harddr than

a normal student, yeah, nine to five, Monday to Friday.

So, this is really exciting, you've got all the benefits.

You've got the career, the degree, and you are really excited `bout it.

The one thing you haven't mdntioned to me is you haven't got

a ?50,000 student debt.

Does that matter?

I think that's definitely a really positive point

of this opportunity and the ?50 000 debt wouldn't have put me off

of university, but the fact that we do not have that is obviously

a massive plus point for me.

Yes, you can put that money aside and buy your first hotse.

Yes, maybe!

To end my day, I'm letting the world of academia have the last s`y.

Are degrees good value for loney and the right choice for ne`rly half

a million students in 2014?

First question, tough one, shall I take an apprenticeship or

shall I go to university, what would you tell them to do?

I think they need to understand what it is that they want to

achieve after university.

Some degrees are going to bd very important to get

into specific areas, medicine is the best example of that.

But actually, there are huge options for graduates

in all sorts of different sdctors.

So what you are saying is that the modern student needs to know

what they are doing and have done a bit of rese`rch

I think to get the most of the university experiencd and

investment that people are going to put into it, research into the

course and institution that you will apply to will make a big difference.

So is it degree or no degred?

What is for sure is that it is down to hard work, self belhef

and having an eye on the future and knowing what you want from it.

Oh, thank goodness that's over.

Is that student bar still open?

At the end of the year, British troops will pull out of Afghanistan.

During the conflict many soldiers have lost

their lives, others their lhmbs

Well, now families with lovdd ones returning are being warned to look

out for less visible signs of the traumas of war

before it is too late.

Sarah Sturdy reports from Nottinghamshire.

Cheers!

We are hoping to raise loads and loads and loads of monex

for SSAFA, so dig deep, ple`se!

Mary and Karen are united through their loss.

Lee died a week before Ashldy and that is what brought us together

and we are now very good frhends and we try to raise money together.

If I could please ask everybody for a minute's silence.

Mary and Karen's sons were war veterans but they were only 23

and 24 when they died.

They are remembered here at Mansfield's memorial to

their fallen heroes.

But the two young men, well, they weren't killed in Afgh`nistan

or Iraq, they had left the @rmy but they could not leave

behind the emotional trauma of war.

Lee and Ashley took their own lives just a week apart.

He was such a lovely, lovely young boy.

And in his late teenage years he was always...

Life was all a party.

He just absolutely loved thd Army and eventually this was going to be

the career he would choose.

I noticed that as soon as wd fetched Ashley from Brize Norton...

when his tour had finished, the look on his face, he looked so v`cant.

It wasn't Ashley any more, it wasn't the fun`loving, h`ppy

little son who I had.

Lee was really happy`go`lucky.

He was a prankster and kept everybody entertained.

He joined the Army just before he was 18.

He was doing really well and enjoying it.

After Afghanistan, that's when you noticed the change.

He'd got moody, quiet.

His friends said that he wasn't the same lad when he came ott.

We used to say, "Tell us about it,"

and he would say it's a need`to`know basis, you don't need to know.

It just says here, look, in black and white,

"Ashley is at risk of suicide."

That was a couple of weeks before he was released.

And you didn't know anything about that?

Nothing.

That is exactly the same with Lee.

The systems have failed, yot know, there needs to be a better link

between the MoD and the GPs, but there also needs to be more help.

The Ministry of Defence told me that mental health is a top priority

To ensure better continuity of care, when a veteran reghsters

with a GP, the doctor now rdceives a letter stating they have received

military medical services.

But it's not the whole answdr.

A veteran still has to admit that they have a problem and ask

for help.

They can wait years.

Phil Bond was a nurse in the Territorial Army.

He had been an A nurse in Nottingham but nothing prepared

him for the nine months that he spent in Iraq and Afghanist`n.

Children coming in having been bombed, shot at. .

Men and women, again, limbs missing, life`threatening injuries.

The worst thing that I saw was a man whose body I had to gtard

over, he had had his head blown off with an IED, literally,

there was nothing...straight across like a clean line.

On his return, Phil's wife noticed a big difference.

He had never really shown any sort of aggression or anger beforehand.

When I was very heavily pregnant, it came to a point in

a car park where he just colpletely lost it with somebody else over what

seemed to be nothing.

When we got home I said, "You either go and get help or you

have to leave,"

cos I wasn't prepared to brhng up a baby with someone who was lhke that.

After four years of suffering and ten weeks of NHS counselling,

he was referred to the veterans mental health charity Combat Stress

and one of its residential centres.

It took me a good half an hour just to get out of the car, just to

go through the doors.

He was diagnosed with post`traumatic stress disorder,

but PTSD doesn't go away.

He thought about ending his life.

I caught myself just standing there, staring into traffic, thinkhng,

"It would be very easy to jtmp off right now."

A second residential stay has made the difference.

It has changed my life, saved my life, saved my marriage.

I could definitely say that if it wasn't for Combat Strdss,

I wouldn't be here.

There is a big worry about when we withdraw from Afghanistan

as to how many mental health cases there will actually be, and I think

there will be a tidal wave.

Armed Forces Day in Nottingham.

Even doctors in the forces can fail to recognise their own

post`traumatic stress for ddcades.

Barry Barber is a retired Army doctor who has specialised

in psychiatry.

This is me as a colonel in Germany just before the Gulf War st`rted.

In 1979, following the birth of his son, he

was stationed in Northern Ireland.

Barry attended the Warrenpohnt atrocity after the first bolb,

then a second exploded.

I looked across and...that

well`known pink mist, you know, just ` pwoof!

` five people just totally disappear in front of your dyes

Barry struggled for the next 25 years.

A fellow GP convinced him he had PTSD.

A little light bulb went on and I thought, "No, no, no,

I'm a psychiatrist, I can't go mad," you know?

And using the pejorative term, "mad",

I still don't. "mad",

Myself, I would much rather have lost an eye or a leg

and I would have treated myself as a hero and been proud to sax, "Oh,

yes, I lost that at Warrenpoint "

I'm the veteran liaison chalpion...

Deborah Hill's NHS role ` gdtting help for veterans ` started this

year, but it's just two days a week.

There is help out there but there is still a gap in a way.

There are still veterans finding it very difficult to access.

We do lack funding and so, unfortunately, at the moment,

people, if they come through the veteran liaison champion, wd would

signpost them to the trauma centre, but we do need more funding for

that, there is no doubt abott it.

The Department of Health told me that it w`s

working with Combat Stress to improve access and it has ddveloped

a mental health support network

The National Memorial Arbordtum at Alrewas, in Staffordshird,

where the names of those who have fallen in battle are engravdd.

The names of Lee Bonsall and Ashley Clarkson won't be fotnd here,

but their mothers know several young men who are remembered.

Aw, Andrew, Lee's best friend.

Coming to this place and seeing all the men and women,

you know, engraved on the w`lls it is absolutely beautiful.

But there is not going to be nothing for...

Sorry, for men and women who die through suffering PTSD.

Don't take your own life...

cos it's just devastating.

Just talk to somebody.

If things don't change and they don't give them more help, then they

are going to see more of wh`t happened to our sons, they `re going

to be more suicides, the devastation and the effect on families.

These lads have fought for their country.

Our boys, you know, went to war got medals,

come out with a different b`ttle that nobody seems to care about

And the MoD says that most troops stationed in Afghanistan ard already

home and that combat operathons will finish by the end of the ye`r.

And that's it from Chatsworth.

Oh!

Horrendous.

He looks worse today, there is actually flesh hanging out

of the wound.

Neglected and in pain, why `re so many horses being left to stffer?

I am quite concerned about these ponies.

Hello, I'm Sophie Long with your 90 second update.

A freeze on working-age benefits for two years.

That's among the Chancellor's plans to cut welfare

and the nation's debt if the Tories win next year's general election.

Pensions, disability and maternity pay

wouldn't be affected but Jobseekers Allowance and child benefit would.

The details at 10.00pm.

Ann Maguire was stabbed to death at a Leeds school in April.

Today thousands attended a memorial service for the teacher.

Her family say they've been comforted by the community.

Jailed for sending abusive tweets to an MP.

Peter Nunn targetted Stella Creasy after she campaigned to get the

author Jane Austen on the ?10 note.

He'll serve 18 weeks.

Midwives in England have voted to go on strike for the first time

in their history.

They'll join a four-hour stoppage with other NHS workers next month.

It's a dispute over pay.

Aldi has promised 65 new stores after a huge jump

in its pre-tax profits.