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Had the honour to know Alfred Anderson in the last years of his life. I took his portrait up to his 105th year, he lived only a few miles from me. He was sharp as a razor to the last, always immaculately dressed.
I really wish that I had met Alfred as my own Grandfather William Whelan was with the Black Watch at the Boer War and the Great War at the time Alfred was speaking about so there's every chance that he could have known my Grandfather but much like many who came home from these conflicts my auld Grandfather kept it all to himself so it is amazing to hear these men and thank God we had men of such stature, we will remember them.
That's incredible. Truly incredible. I also had the honour of knowing another Alfred. A dear friend of mine who had fought in Iwo Jima. He passed recently and I miss him.
Great men sacrificed for what? The human race needs wiping from the face of the Earth, we are insult and and a aberration to nature. Upmost respect for the men sacrificed in the name of what?
@@AlexForsyth My grandfather on my mums side died shortly after I was born. My mum said he never, ever talked about the war (WW1) to his family. The only time he did, was to a bloke from a nearby village that saved his life. He had been badly wounded, and like many, would have died because there were too many wounded to treat. Luckily for him (and his future family), a copper from a nearby village recognised him and got him help. He occasionally used to take my mum with him on his, maybe once a year, visits to this bloke, and they would chat and probably reminisce, although my mum was sent out to play with the other children as it would not have been deemed suitable for children to hear, in any case, children were to be seen and not heard back then!😂🤣.
@4:25 "I need a volunteer. Do you mind volunteering?" Soldier's answer "What for?" Even 80 years on he still remembers not to volunteer for *anything*.
Dr Alan Brown Yeah. "Volunteer" in army-speak could mean anything from digging latrines to being a sacrificial decoy. How else did he manage to stay alive?
I had the honour and privilege of meeting Harry Patch a few years ago in 2008 I think it was on HMS Somerset. We were in Wells near Bristol launching the Poppy appeal for that year and he was invited on board. A great man. He took a great delight in flirting with the female crew.
I't might be a bit harsh to say, but yes it's sad they are all dissapearing but i kinda feel glad for them also. they no longer have to see what the world became of, inspite what they fought for and they can finally sleep in peace without being woken up by nightmares of the horrers they have seen or either commited
The Germans called up the Hitler youth in the last months of the war the youngest being supposedly 12 , but the American's captured one child of 8 - I think that the last veterans are certain to be German
His response of "what for?" When asked to volunteer made me laugh. The last time he volunteered it was a devastating war. I hope all these men rest in peace
More than 80 years later, and these men still remember the small details. Dogs fighting about a biscuit. The last words of a dying stranger. A door closed in his face when trying to comfort the family of a comrade. Entire snatches of dialogue. The details of what they drank. It never goes away. We were briefly taught about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the political reasons behind the war in school when I was 13 years old. We had no idea what it meant. We just memorized the facts and passed the grade. Nobody taught us the emotions of war. Nobody added the sound effects and the images to the sterile theory that we were being fed. Nobody tried to teach my generation not to start the next war by the time that it becomes our turn to rule the world. My generation is starting to be in charge now. And we're already starting the next big one. We're continuing where our fathers have left off. They positioned the chisel, and now we're holding the hammer to split the planet in two. Thank you for this profound documentary. It adds the dimension to history that is missing. The human element. The one that we can identify with the most.
Herman Labuschagne same, while I was in school, we glossed over ww1 quite fast to learn about ww2 in more detail. Don't get me wrong, ww2 was a shit show too but somehow, the "lions led by donkeys" style of warfare (and gas) makes ww1 so brutally gruesome
@@unusualbydefault I hold the view that the teachers themselves, never really understood what they were teaching. If they had, they would have taught us differently.
The best movie to truly understand the nightmare of war is the Soviet movie Come and See directed by Elem Klimov released in 1985. It starts of with two boys who dig up a old rifle and a German Plane spots it and sends in Nazi soldiers. And we see through this boy the horrors and crimes on citizens and the madness of war. The real horror watching the movie isn’t pop scares it’s the fact that this stuff really did happen. The horror of mans action against our fellow humans is terrifying. The movie brings you into the film so you are not watching the movie but instead you are living it and after the movie you will suffer from a mild form of ptsd if you have empathy for humans. It’s the greatest anti war film ever made on a level that you really can’t explain but just understand if you watch the movie. I’ve seen plenty of movies some are great and bring you in but I have yet to see a movie that pulls you out of your seat and shoves you into the film and forces you to live and expirence the film alongside the actors and actresses and force you to live with the memory in clear detail the world you where brought into. And after leaves you emotionally wrecked and screaming at night in a flurry of emotions remembering the horrors of war you experienced as clear as day but yet it was a film about how the Nazis came to your village and your survival story of the madness of war.
@@Watcher413 thank you for your valuable comment. Come and See is absolutely cinematic art at its best. And yet, practically nobody I know, knows about it.
I remember as a boy walking with my friend and his granddad in South Africa. It must have been around 1973’ish. His granddad was visiting from the UK. My friend asked him what it was like in the First World War. His Granddad started telling us how bad it was. We asked so many questions and detailed ones - and he tried to answer them. Then at some point to the end of the long discussion and walk, my friend explained to him that my mother was German - and I remember feeling suddenly most very ashamed about that then. I wanted to shrivel up. It must have shown. The old gentleman noticed immediately and was very upset that he had explained so much about the war and fighting Germans. He asked me for his forgiveness and was so upset - that I thought he might cry. He kept on repeating ‘oh please forgive me’ and the war was terrible and never let it happen again, etc. He also told me never to be ashamed about having a German Mum, as the Germans were like us, great people and a most respected and courageous foe. I felt he was the kindest and nicest man I had ever met. He built me back up again and for the first time ever, I remember not minding being half-German. I never forgot him and that walk together. These men remind me of that old long gone generation of gentlemen from another time - who were so good but suffered so much to fight off brutal militarism, autocracy and tyranny.
read Storm of Steel, A great account from the german pov, better than All quiet on the Western Front in my opinion but it doesnt have the same such obvious anti war message
Bless these men. My grand uncle Bernard Kirkman was a vet too, though American. He was born in North Carolina in 1895, drafted in 1917. In a skirmish during the Meuse-Argonne offensive he inhaled mustard gas, and it damaged his breathing his entire life. He was sent to the a military hospital in France away from the front to recover, and he didn't get home until 1920. I never met him, but I've heard he was a lovely, kind man. Never talked about the war though. He did not want to glorify it. He died in 1991 at 96, despite the damaged lungs.
I always find it very, let's say interesting, when people with damaged organs get that old. Some people are born with a weak heart and were ill during their whole childhood and still manage to become a centenarian. If found many cases on Wikipedia. The german Wikipedia has a "recently died" section on it's homepage and I often go threw the vita of +90yo men.
my grandad was a muslim from india and fought alongside the british in burma, after many feats of bravery he was awarded medals (long lost) and a farm by the british army. He is gone long ago but he is not forgotten.
you will be able to get his medals agin if you have a few details. Burmas was crazy, voted the most important and biggest british victory of all time by history academics, thats over agincourt, Normany, the 100 days, Waterloo etc etc
Both parts of this are easily the most moving TV I have ever watched when it was originally broadcast. Now all the veterans of WW1 are gone, taking the war out of living memory, I think it’s vital to have the words of these men, to know what they lived through and endured. We owe these men and the men who fought for us in WW2 as my late beloved father did, a debt of gratitude we can never even begin to pay. May they all rest in peace.
I have two tours of Iraq and three of Afghanistan under my belt, like Harry said you never volunteer which I did for my first tour of Iraq and at the time my grandad a WWII vet went mental when he found out. I'm a veteran myself now and on a war pension at the age of 37 as the old me is well and truly gone due to severe damage mentally. This documentary reduced me to tears but in ways I cannot explain has also picked me back up slightly after watching Claude at 102 going for daily walks and getting on with life. Rest easy in the green fields.
Thank goodness the BBC created this documentary. My grandfather fought in some of the last great battles of this war but never talked about it - it was so difficult. In a way, these men help me see his experience through their eyes. So powerful.
So did two of my great grandfathers. They both fought for the Empire, one (maternal grandfather) in the British Merchant Navy, the other (paternal grandfather) in the Australian Army (I'm Australian). My father has his military issue sword, which I have never seen. I'm not sure where my great grandfather served. My maternal grandfather was a seafarer, achieving the rank of Captain. The story goes that he took command of a ship with damaged steering. He certainly earned his stripes on that occasion.
My maternal grandmother's had 5 uncles. The two eldest served in the U.S. Military during WW1, and the other 3 in WW2. Her father, however, couldn't serve due to some hearing issue.
Who are the 58 sad people who clicked dislike? It is shocking to see! Only a huge thank you to a generation who gave us a future in freedman and peace. God bless them!
grastproductions that was the time where doctors weren't very "organized" I should say, they probably had no knockout potions. So you won't feel any pain while in surgery.
Likely because PTSD or other post war symptoms wouldn't have been dreamt of being accepted. Even the first man said he kept it all in until it was triggered by the flashing bulb light. They had to be men and men didn't show weakness :(
@@nuckingfuts811 I tell you what, if you thought the Great War was something. We will show you blood when we need to defend our land for you foreigners. I’ll tell you that
Dignified and humble to the point he seems innocent. And then you realise what he must have saw during his service and just how his innocence was probably left in Flanders a long time ago.
Never ever to be forgotten these men, those that lived, and those that died. The sacrifice they made for all of us in a war full of the most horrendous slaughter and privations that cannot be believed. My great grandfather was there in Ypres, on the Passchendaele front. It was hell. The debt we owe these men cannot be calculated.
My late grandfather Joseph Lawson 1894-1973 served in the tank regiment and later the RAMC from 1914 until he left the army in 1919,my grand parents wed on June 19th 1919 in Bradford, My grandmother died May 1986 at the age of 95!!...my grandfather"s medals are now in my posession!!
My dad didn't go into the military until after the end of the Korean War and he was initially enlisted in the Marine Corps for 6 years and hated it and went back to school and after he got his bachelors he went into officer training school for the Air Force. He was in Thailand during Vietnam and even though he wasn't on the front lines he still saw the horrors of war. He lost one of his best friends when their helicopter crashed and my dad had to take the photos of all of the bodies including his best friend who had his head decapitated. He can barley talk about it and I think it haunts him. He can't handle any medical discussions (I worked as a medic and RT). I asked my father to please put in his will to allow me to have his ribbons and medals. My sister agreed as long as her son got them after I am gone. He won the silver star I believe even though he was in a non combat role. It was either silver or bronze. He even has some WW2 stuff that I asked for that is part of his collection. My parents are aging and my father who has always been very sharp is becoming forgetful but he is almost 85. No one is left from WW1 and WW2 is right behind. There is no one left that was born in the 1800's. I believe the last one died in 2017. Next it will be the Korean War, then Vietnam, and then our current one. Changes a lot in perspective and my fathers medals mean more to me than anything.
My history class is learning about this war. God bless the people who went through this horrible time. Thank you to the families of these warriors. And thank you to the men who served then and now. God bless you all. I will do my best to write the best possible essay about this war in honor of the lives lost. I’m sending my love to all the people of war.
RIP to all those brave men who gave everything for their country. Including my great uncle Albert Bransby 1900-1918 who was killed at the battle of the Somme. Edit: To the morons on here saying the battle of the somme was in 1916, there was a second battle of the somme in 1918. Do abit of research it's not that hard
+Alexander Bransby God rest his soul. My great-uncle Robert McCallum was killed at Ypres in 1916 aged 19. May we never forget their sacrifice, and their courage. Such a tragic waste of young lives.
+Alexander Bransby My two great great uncles were killed in the war. Sergeant James Somerton (1889-1916) of the New Zealand Army Wellington Regiment and Company Sergeant Major Frank Russell (1896-1918) of the British Army Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. All those boys on both sides dying for a few miles of French and Belgian mud.
+Wessex90 Excuse me if I'm being disrestpectfull but isnt the full name of the battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light infantry and not Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry?
Wow, this just put in perspective as to how blessed I am. My grandfather is a WW II vet and is 96 years old. I feel so blessed to have him in my life these last 20+ years.
Absolutely stunning legends. The burden of the evolution of human politics crushed everything they had. Everything. But..they just fixed bayonets and pressed on. Humans take a lot to learn their lessons. These men and their sweethearts paid for the lesson with everything, everything they had.
2021 marks the 107th year Anniversary of the start of WW1. Let us respect all of them veterans that have died for the war that have changed human history. I salute and honor this brave men that suffered in the trenches.
It's Hayfeaver, I'm not crying honest. These men were absolute heroes! One wishes they could live forever. I hope their with all their pals again in heaven looking after one another!
The smile when he talks about the fight in the blacksmiths shop, we used to be able to settle differences with a little scrap but now people are being stabbed and attacked with acid.. were living in dark times
Just found this site which is fantastic. The joy & pain these men show is humbling. I think it's incredible that not only did they spend 4 years of never knowing if they'll live or die that moment. Then to come back home to a world that they struggled in. Living with the memories of loss, carnage & utter sadness. WOW thank you WW1 veterans.
I met a few of these honored gentlemen, I was taking part in the 04 celebration. The march through the Menin gate, the hallowed ground, the poppies falling from the roof. Memories I will remember for a life time.
It amazes me that these gentle and kind souls had to endure one of the most horrific wars. These men will never be forgotten and I am happy that people still care and share their stories.
Massive respect to the men and boys who fought in this conflict on both sides. Even without any fighting going on, the conditions were horrific. They've all passed on now, they have earned their rest. We will remember them!
From a 27 year old US citizen with no real problems in this day and age, I give my respect to the British in all regards. These men were so courageous and strong. If there ever comes another conflict, I would be honored to fight side by side with your country. My perspective is completely changed
Thank you for posting such a tasteful documentary of how we really need to take heed of an elderly persons wisdom and allow them the peace and time to express their view of war on a humanitarian point of not giving in to judgement of world leaders to pick up arms again and battle against other countries . I'm of the opinion that if the world leaders of all wars were faced to take over countries and peoples minds on their own instead of the so many deaths on the fields that we wouldn't have out of control behaviour in this generation . I'm still in awe of the men who were able to contribute at their ages a story that needs to be reminded of so future generations can lead in peace . Well done program .
Amazing how they was born in the Victorian times, lived through 2 world wars and a millennium and have to see what our country has become. Brave men (and boys) that thought fighting for King and country was worth it at that time period. Little did they know that their superiors hadn't a clue and were moronic. Sent millions of innocent men to their deaths for their outdated tactics against WMD's. At the going down of the sun, we will remember them. 1914-1918.
How could they have had a clue? No war like that had ever been fought. No commanders on either side knew how to deal with industrialised warfare. At the beginning of the war, all sides were relying on cavalry to be their eyes, and to provide the punch to break the enemy lines; four years later they were using aircraft! The 'donkeys' you refer to, and the 'lions', had to learn an entirely new type of warfare, nothing like the colonial policing operations they had been trained for, and by 1918 they had done it. In five years they had progressed from forming squares against cavalry to combined ops involving armies of a size they could never have dreamed of in 1914.
Tom Kirby, they saw 3 centuries. Born in the very late 1800's, saw the next century of the 1900's, and then amazingly the 2000's. Can you imagine what they have seen. I'm sure they remember nothing of the 1800's but they remember the 1900's and 2000's. All the inventions that were made. Computers were unthinkable back then with WIFI and UA-cam. iPhones and IPads. I can't imagine what went through their minds. Even when rock n roll came around. They were used to classical music. Wow!
I just want to reach through the screen and give these men a hug and a handshake! I would happily sit a listen to these men for hours. Then when they had finished I would ask them to tell me about the day war was declared and listen to them go through it all over again! :')
And I hope it can stay up, Humstrux. None of my uploads are monetised, so I run the channel as an archive for students across the globe. I have had hundreds of messages over the years from people who have limited access to books or high quality documentaries, and the films have clearly helped them with their studies. Thanks for your post - regards, Alan.
Many thanks for this documentary and your channel. My grand father was killed on October 1914 in Belgium and my grand uncle on December 1914. I knew several veterans in my family, they never spoke...During WWII my father was interned at the Rawa Ruska camp and after managed to escape. My uncle, resistant, after being caught and tortured by the Gestapo, was sent to Buchewald. The two survived and never spoke. Not a single word about the war... So hearing these British veterans is precious.
Thank you for that, Ilan. My own father was in WWII and he too always focused on the good times they had, never the bad. I can only presume that the dark memories were locked away, and to bring them into the light breathed fresh life into something they all preferred to forget. Regards - Alan.
O my god. That poor man refused entry into his friends house like that is just beyond belief, those girls should have been bloody ashamed of themselves, as if he had been the cause of his friends death. That must have cut him like a knife the poor man, went through hell and then treated like that. It's unbelievable. So sad.
This is exactly why i love the internet. These soldiers helps to understand important history for younger people. this documentary would have been impossible to make today, but because of the internet, knowledge about this important history is easily available. Thank you again, and may all the soldiers be forever honoured.
Great grandfather fought with the Dublin Fuseliers in ww1. He was a machine gunner then proceeded to the tank core. I can't imagine what horrors he saw or faced. I never met him but I was told he never talked about it. He never drank a drop of alchohol either. May he rest in peace.
Imagine growing up around horse-drawn carriages, the earliest film cameras and petticoats, then living your last years around blockbuster HD films, digital cameras, and computers. Absolutely mind blowing.
I want to give them a hug and tell them, don’t hate yourself your are hero’s to many young people, thank you for telling your stories it must have not been easy to talk about your experience.
We should be so grateful and proud that our country managed to present two very special generations to face the most traumatic times in our history. Thank you.
The comedic timing of these guys and the editing is perfection. They add a lightness to the horror. I like to think this is how they all lived so long, their humor, in addition to excellent luck.
Love how all of these guys are still able to remember in such detail and vocalize there tales of a story most people nowadays skim over but should be remembered.
Thank you, Alan. People outside the UK forget what they went through, then WWII hit after they’d barely gotten on their feet. They suffered a lot, but of course everyone in the war suffered so much. Britain’s rations were so strict those years and the population had only to throw themselves into whatever was necessary to endure. These guys spent years in trenches that we can’t come close to imagining.
Was On The Titanic, Fought In The Great War. Saw The Fall of Hitler And The Fall of the Soviet Union. And Yet, The Fall of the 20th century. Fucking Legend.
Lived to see the fall of his country too. To see London finally fall, the English become a minority in their own country despite of his and his brothers sacrifices
Olmsted, Harry Patch and many men I've come to know feel the same way. And until I got out I was a blind patriot. Always trying to do what I was told. It's incredible nothing has changed in over 100+ years. We're got when we're young and naive so we do not question why? The more and more you learn about this war the more leadership is at fault. Even at first we're always taught to remember the Japanese and Germans were always the enemy. But it was leadership that made the calls to the men that would follow. I know better now the world we live in. As long there is the ability to control a population in some way there will always be someone to abuse that power and people to die.
I wonder if Alfred Anderson encountered my great uncle,Serjeant James Laird,Service No:240218,Date of Death:03/09/1916 of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) 5th Bn. who died at the Somme.Just makes me wonder,he was one of the Old Contemptibles also.
So Harry Patch was 107 or 108 when he did this interview in 2005? Amazing he lived to this age, much less gave interviews! What amazes me is that they still have that spark of life, that twinkle in their eyes when not directly recalling a painful memory.
All these gentlemen were extremely comical sence of humor..I have upmost respect for them..so much is learned from them..the time period they lived in and tell about is incredible..I could listen to all of them all day
These poor men faced hell on earth at such a young age. At least now they’re at peace. I’m grateful their stories are preserved in this video, so future generations can hear what it was like fighting in “the Great War”
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No more war .please.
InstaBlaster...
rECENT hISTORY???!?!?!?!? WTF lol
Had the honour to know Alfred Anderson in the last years of his life. I took his portrait up to his 105th year, he lived only a few miles from me. He was sharp as a razor to the last, always immaculately dressed.
I really wish that I had met Alfred as my own Grandfather William Whelan was with the Black Watch at the Boer War and the Great War at the time Alfred was speaking about so there's every chance that he could have known my Grandfather but much like many who came home from these conflicts my auld Grandfather kept it all to himself so it is amazing to hear these men and thank God we had men of such stature, we will remember them.
That's incredible. Truly incredible. I also had the honour of knowing another Alfred. A dear friend of mine who had fought in Iwo Jima. He passed recently and I miss him.
Great men sacrificed for what? The human race needs wiping from the face of the Earth, we are insult and and a aberration to nature. Upmost respect for the men sacrificed in the name of what?
@@AlexForsyth My grandfather on my mums side died shortly after I was born. My mum said he never, ever talked about the war (WW1) to his family. The only time he did, was to a bloke from a nearby village that saved his life. He had been badly wounded, and like many, would have died because there were too many wounded to treat. Luckily for him (and his future family), a copper from a nearby village recognised him and got him help. He occasionally used to take my mum with him on his, maybe once a year, visits to this bloke, and they would chat and probably reminisce, although my mum was sent out to play with the other children as it would not have been deemed suitable for children to hear, in any case, children were to be seen and not heard back then!😂🤣.
Brings a tear to the eye to think none of these men are still alive.
They are with there fellow m8s from the war now and living good
Matthew Roberts Well sometimes you wonder, just how *do* you get of here? They've served their time.
They're forever resting in peace. Along with their fellow comrades. They're not in any pain anymore. God bless them.
Very much does, can’t believe there’s no one left, but I’m happy their memories live on through this.
Nobody lives forever.
I can't believe Claude was 102 and still had such clear speech, as well as took daily walks. That's so incredible!
He lived to be 111 I believe
Craig Park brilliant. Love to hear that :)
Aye, they deserved every minute
Craig Park they do indeed.
The greatest generations!
@4:25
"I need a volunteer. Do you mind volunteering?"
Soldier's answer "What for?" Even 80 years on he still remembers not to volunteer for *anything*.
TheGunrunn3r I know, it's lovely isn't it? And he gets a laugh!
Dr Alan Brown Yeah. "Volunteer" in army-speak could mean anything from digging latrines to being a sacrificial decoy. How else did he manage to stay alive?
Dont speak unless spoken to and never volunteer for anything.
Anyone who has served in the military anywhere, knows to be wary of the word ‘ volunteer’ 🙂
Never be first, never be last, never wear the wrong uniform, never forget to shave, and NEVER VOLUNTEER!
I had the honour and privilege of meeting Harry Patch a few years ago in 2008 I think it was on HMS Somerset. We were in Wells near Bristol launching the Poppy appeal for that year and he was invited on board. A great man. He took a great delight in flirting with the female crew.
I would've loved to have met him. He seems like he was a great guy
lol a great soldier he really was.💯
A character, that’s for sure.
It's sad that all the WW1 vets died 10 years ago. WW2 vets are dying now too.
Very sad indeed
John Smith well some vets may have joined up underage or been in the home guard or ATS or other equivalents and there are some aged 88-89
I't might be a bit harsh to say, but yes it's sad they are all dissapearing but i kinda feel glad for them also. they no longer have to see what the world became of, inspite what they fought for and they can finally sleep in peace without being woken up by nightmares of the horrers they have seen or either commited
The Germans called up the Hitler youth in the last months of the war the youngest being supposedly 12 , but the American's captured one child of 8 - I think that the last veterans are certain to be German
west brit true but then the home guard accepted boys of a similar age so who knows.
His response of "what for?" When asked to volunteer made me laugh. The last time he volunteered it was a devastating war. I hope all these men rest in peace
Yes, that was awesome!
More than 80 years later, and these men still remember the small details. Dogs fighting about a biscuit. The last words of a dying stranger. A door closed in his face when trying to comfort the family of a comrade. Entire snatches of dialogue. The details of what they drank. It never goes away.
We were briefly taught about the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the political reasons behind the war in school when I was 13 years old. We had no idea what it meant. We just memorized the facts and passed the grade. Nobody taught us the emotions of war. Nobody added the sound effects and the images to the sterile theory that we were being fed.
Nobody tried to teach my generation not to start the next war by the time that it becomes our turn to rule the world. My generation is starting to be in charge now. And we're already starting the next big one. We're continuing where our fathers have left off. They positioned the chisel, and now we're holding the hammer to split the planet in two.
Thank you for this profound documentary. It adds the dimension to history that is missing. The human element. The one that we can identify with the most.
Herman Labuschagne same, while I was in school, we glossed over ww1 quite fast to learn about ww2 in more detail. Don't get me wrong, ww2 was a shit show too but somehow, the "lions led by donkeys" style of warfare (and gas) makes ww1 so brutally gruesome
Come on, son, and join the Army. For honour and valour. Your country needs you. Be a man.
@@unusualbydefault I hold the view that the teachers themselves, never really understood what they were teaching. If they had, they would have taught us differently.
The best movie to truly understand the nightmare of war is the Soviet movie Come and See directed by Elem Klimov released in 1985. It starts of with two boys who dig up a old rifle and a German Plane spots it and sends in Nazi soldiers. And we see through this boy the horrors and crimes on citizens and the madness of war. The real horror watching the movie isn’t pop scares it’s the fact that this stuff really did happen. The horror of mans action against our fellow humans is terrifying. The movie brings you into the film so you are not watching the movie but instead you are living it and after the movie you will suffer from a mild form of ptsd if you have empathy for humans. It’s the greatest anti war film ever made on a level that you really can’t explain but just understand if you watch the movie. I’ve seen plenty of movies some are great and bring you in but I have yet to see a movie that pulls you out of your seat and shoves you into the film and forces you to live and expirence the film alongside the actors and actresses and force you to live with the memory in clear detail the world you where brought into. And after leaves you emotionally wrecked and screaming at night in a flurry of emotions remembering the horrors of war you experienced as clear as day but yet it was a film about how the Nazis came to your village and your survival story of the madness of war.
@@Watcher413 thank you for your valuable comment. Come and See is absolutely cinematic art at its best. And yet, practically nobody I know, knows about it.
I remember as a boy walking with my friend and his granddad in South Africa. It must have been around 1973’ish. His granddad was visiting from the UK. My friend asked him what it was like in the First World War. His Granddad started telling us how bad it was. We asked so many questions and detailed ones - and he tried to answer them. Then at some point to the end of the long discussion and walk, my friend explained to him that my mother was German - and I remember feeling suddenly most very ashamed about that then. I wanted to shrivel up. It must have shown. The old gentleman noticed immediately and was very upset that he had explained so much about the war and fighting Germans. He asked me for his forgiveness and was so upset - that I thought he might cry. He kept on repeating ‘oh please forgive me’ and the war was terrible and never let it happen again, etc. He also told me never to be ashamed about having a German Mum, as the Germans were like us, great people and a most respected and courageous foe. I felt he was the kindest and nicest man I had ever met. He built me back up again and for the first time ever, I remember not minding being half-German. I never forgot him and that walk together. These men remind me of that old long gone generation of gentlemen from another time - who were so good but suffered so much to fight off brutal militarism, autocracy and tyranny.
yes the germans were ok in ww1 but what happened in ww2 takes the shine off the apple dont you think and ww2 was a lot closer then ww1
read Storm of Steel, A great account from the german pov, better than All quiet on the Western Front in my opinion but it doesnt have the same such obvious anti war message
Bless these men. My grand uncle Bernard Kirkman was a vet too, though American. He was born in North Carolina in 1895, drafted in 1917. In a skirmish during the Meuse-Argonne offensive he inhaled mustard gas, and it damaged his breathing his entire life. He was sent to the a military hospital in France away from the front to recover, and he didn't get home until 1920.
I never met him, but I've heard he was a lovely, kind man. Never talked about the war though. He did not want to glorify it.
He died in 1991 at 96, despite the damaged lungs.
Jobey the Americans always had their image tainted as they joined the war 3 years late
Bless your family
I always find it very, let's say interesting, when people with damaged organs get that old. Some people are born with a weak heart and were ill during their whole childhood and still manage to become a centenarian. If found many cases on Wikipedia.
The german Wikipedia has a "recently died" section on it's homepage and I often go threw the vita of +90yo men.
my grandad was a muslim from india and fought alongside the british in burma, after many feats of bravery he was awarded medals (long lost) and a farm by the british army. He is gone long ago but he is not forgotten.
you will be able to get his medals agin if you have a few details. Burmas was crazy, voted the most important and biggest british victory of all time by history academics, thats over agincourt, Normany, the 100 days, Waterloo etc etc
Hey, I'm 26. My grandad was in the all of the northafrica campaign. He would have fought with sikhs and Muslims. Respect.
Both parts of this are easily the most moving TV I have ever watched when it was originally broadcast. Now all the veterans of WW1 are gone, taking the war out of living memory, I think it’s vital to have the words of these men, to know what they lived through and endured. We owe these men and the men who fought for us in WW2 as my late beloved father did, a debt of gratitude we can never even begin to pay. May they all rest in peace.
Reminds me of that opening in Lord of the Rings.
"But they were, all of them, deceived..."
I have two tours of Iraq and three of Afghanistan under my belt, like Harry said you never volunteer which I did for my first tour of Iraq and at the time my grandad a WWII vet went mental when he found out.
I'm a veteran myself now and on a war pension at the age of 37 as the old me is well and truly gone due to severe damage mentally.
This documentary reduced me to tears but in ways I cannot explain has also picked me back up slightly after watching Claude at 102 going for daily walks and getting on with life.
Rest easy in the green fields.
Gone but never forgotten, thank you for your sacrifice
Thank goodness the BBC created this documentary. My grandfather fought in some of the last great battles of this war but never talked about it - it was so difficult. In a way, these men help me see his experience through their eyes. So powerful.
Michael Barnhart Excellent comment, thank you Michael.
So did two of my great grandfathers. They both fought for the Empire, one (maternal grandfather) in the British Merchant Navy, the other (paternal grandfather) in the Australian Army (I'm Australian).
My father has his military issue sword, which I have never seen. I'm not sure where my great grandfather served.
My maternal grandfather was a seafarer, achieving the rank of Captain. The story goes that he took command of a ship with damaged steering.
He certainly earned his stripes on that occasion.
All the men and women who went to the front in any capacity were incredibly brave.
Ben Summers My great grandfather was Irish, he traded cap badges with Australian’s and Canadian’s.
My maternal grandmother's had 5 uncles. The two eldest served in the U.S. Military during WW1, and the other 3 in WW2. Her father, however, couldn't serve due to some hearing issue.
Who are the 58 sad people who clicked dislike? It is shocking to see! Only a huge thank you to a generation who gave us a future in freedman and peace. God bless them!
God bless them all🙏❤️
Harry Patch... you can tell the war changed him forever. He's seen some shit no one should see.
grastproductions that was the time where doctors weren't very "organized" I should say, they probably had no knockout potions. So you won't feel any pain while in surgery.
Nightlife Vegas ?
His eyes when he tells the story about the dying soldier.. That´s real pain right there.
He lived the longest of all of them too, damn.
I read his book , The last Tommy, legend of a fellow...lime them all
These guys are so.. normal. And very special at the same time. God bless them!
Likely because PTSD or other post war symptoms wouldn't have been dreamt of being accepted. Even the first man said he kept it all in until it was triggered by the flashing bulb light. They had to be men and men didn't show weakness :(
Its so sad when their eyes glaze, as if theyre back in the trenches at war.
+Rachel Pack beautiful comment, moved me to reply and add that we are fortunate that they are also so eloquent.
"That little prayer put me exactly where I am now in this little chair!"
Says a lot. Doesn't it?
“They call it a black fella” 😂😂😂 as a black person I love it. Times have changed indeed sir... rest easy..
Your name..
@@Anglisc1682 i mean he IS a black fella...
The black people have suffered for 500 years and now it's time to realign that through back massages.
@@nuckingfuts811 I tell you what, if you thought the Great War was something. We will show you blood when we need to defend our land for you foreigners. I’ll tell you that
the lives sacrificed for the comfortable life and freedoms you now enjoy.
There are no words to describe the respect and gratitude I have towards those heroes... those individuals are genuine heroes.
Amazing! These gentlemen are very precious to us, the younger generations
I agree, Mel, thank you.
inspirational men, truly the last of millions of British men who served in the war
Alfred Anderson really seemed like a gentleman,such a gentleman the world shall probably never see again.
I thought that as well, Mateo. May he rest in eternal peace and comfort. Lest we forget.
Dignified and humble to the point he seems innocent. And then you realise what he must have saw during his service and just how his innocence was probably left in Flanders a long time ago.
Every child in a British school should be made to watch this. No exceptions. What being British is all about. Wonderful heroes, never to be forgotten.
My school watched this but I have bad eyes so I can't see so I'm rewatching it
Never ever to be forgotten these men, those that lived, and those that died. The sacrifice they made for all of us in a war full of the most horrendous slaughter and privations that cannot be believed. My great grandfather was there in Ypres, on the Passchendaele front. It was hell. The debt we owe these men cannot be calculated.
They will only learn about islam and no gender pc crap now, real shame
They shouldn’t have had to die
@Underrated UA-camr just stfu
My late grandfather Joseph Lawson 1894-1973 served in the tank regiment and later the RAMC from 1914 until he left the army in 1919,my grand parents wed on June 19th 1919 in Bradford, My grandmother died May 1986 at the age of 95!!...my grandfather"s medals are now in my posession!!
wow
david lawson so close...
deep man💯
Bless them all.
Their likes will NEVER come again.
I was honour for me to visit.
Ypres.
Thank you all for your sacrifice.
My dad didn't go into the military until after the end of the Korean War and he was initially enlisted in the Marine Corps for 6 years and hated it and went back to school and after he got his bachelors he went into officer training school for the Air Force. He was in Thailand during Vietnam and even though he wasn't on the front lines he still saw the horrors of war. He lost one of his best friends when their helicopter crashed and my dad had to take the photos of all of the bodies including his best friend who had his head decapitated. He can barley talk about it and I think it haunts him. He can't handle any medical discussions (I worked as a medic and RT). I asked my father to please put in his will to allow me to have his ribbons and medals. My sister agreed as long as her son got them after I am gone. He won the silver star I believe even though he was in a non combat role. It was either silver or bronze. He even has some WW2 stuff that I asked for that is part of his collection. My parents are aging and my father who has always been very sharp is becoming forgetful but he is almost 85. No one is left from WW1 and WW2 is right behind. There is no one left that was born in the 1800's. I believe the last one died in 2017. Next it will be the Korean War, then Vietnam, and then our current one. Changes a lot in perspective and my fathers medals mean more to me than anything.
The story that he tells at 44:30 is the most powerful part of the documentary.
Cant tell u how much I admire these humble men . The futility of war is clear from this excellent documentry , God bless em
My history class is learning about this war. God bless the people who went through this horrible time. Thank you to the families of these warriors. And thank you to the men who served then and now. God bless you all. I will do my best to write the best possible essay about this war in honor of the lives lost. I’m sending my love to all the people of war.
Its amazing how much these men would have seen. Insane that they remember the boer war aswell. Abosolutely incredible.
Such great men, full respect to those brave heroes that gave their life so that we may be free, I salute you all.
Heerio
RIP to all those brave men who gave everything for their country. Including my great uncle Albert Bransby 1900-1918 who was killed at the battle of the Somme.
Edit: To the morons on here saying the battle of the somme was in 1916, there was a second battle of the somme in 1918. Do abit of research it's not that hard
+Alexander Bransby God rest his soul. My great-uncle Robert McCallum was killed at Ypres in 1916 aged 19. May we never forget their sacrifice, and their courage. Such a tragic waste of young lives.
My geat great uncle was killed in World War I
+Golem_ Gameing My Clan lost many boys in the Great war.
+Alexander Bransby My two great great uncles were killed in the war. Sergeant James Somerton (1889-1916) of the New Zealand Army Wellington Regiment and Company Sergeant Major Frank Russell (1896-1918) of the British Army Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry. All those boys on both sides dying for a few miles of French and Belgian mud.
+Wessex90 Excuse me if I'm being disrestpectfull but isnt the full name of the battalion Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light infantry and not Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry?
Wow, this just put in perspective as to how blessed I am. My grandfather is a WW II vet and is 96 years old. I feel so blessed to have him in my life these last 20+ years.
Absolutely stunning legends. The burden of the evolution of human politics crushed everything they had. Everything. But..they just fixed bayonets and pressed on. Humans take a lot to learn their lessons. These men and their sweethearts paid for the lesson with everything, everything they had.
2021 marks the 107th year Anniversary of the start of WW1. Let us respect all of them veterans that have died for the war that have changed human history. I salute and honor this brave men that suffered in the trenches.
It's Hayfeaver, I'm not crying honest.
These men were absolute heroes! One wishes they could live forever. I hope their with all their pals again in heaven looking after one another!
Nice thoughts, Lee, thank you.
lived long enough , need the rest from it all
i feel strange knowing I'm seventeen and the soldiers were my age when they died in this war.
Same M8
Truly sad.
I would have join 18 now but I'm black so I'll be with the black soldiers ✊
Ikr bless them inocent teens watching horror in front of them
The youngest soldier in the Great War was 12 years old. He lied about his age to join the army for some reason.
Lest we forget. God bless them all for all I have today.
Greetings from America. Thanks for posting this.
Grettings from the UK. How's the USA.
@@Blackout-px7sh We're doing OK. Weather is cool right now. A season of hand egg (football) is nearly upon us. How are you guys doing over there?
@@SS-kz7td good thanks today it's very warm in the uk
@@Blackout-px7sh Cooling down yet?
@@t1e6x12 yes only rain
The smile when he talks about the fight in the blacksmiths shop, we used to be able to settle differences with a little scrap but now people are being stabbed and attacked with acid.. were living in dark times
we still do that on site to be fair. You can fight but its settled then and never talked of again.
Just found this site which is fantastic. The joy & pain these men show is humbling. I think it's incredible that not only did they spend 4 years of never knowing if they'll live or die that moment. Then to come back home to a world that they struggled in. Living with the memories of loss, carnage & utter sadness. WOW thank you WW1 veterans.
5:12
Smart man. Even 90 years after the war, he remembered: you NEVER volunteer. Hehe
All these cable news armchair warriors who clamor for boots on the ground should watch this program. These are the men in those boots.
OOOOO - SPOT ON !
I met a few of these honored gentlemen, I was taking part in the 04 celebration. The march through the Menin gate, the hallowed ground, the poppies falling from the roof. Memories I will remember for a life time.
It amazes me that these gentle and kind souls had to endure one of the most horrific wars. These men will never be forgotten and I am happy that people still care and share their stories.
102 and taking daily walks wow!
BLESS YOU MUCH !
Gotta stay *S T R O N K*
Yeah, that's pretty awesome!
Massive respect to the men and boys who fought in this conflict on both sides. Even without any fighting going on, the conditions were horrific. They've all passed on now, they have earned their rest. We will remember them!
Got me right in the feels this. Unbelievable stories that none of us will ever comprehend. RIP 100 years on.
I have so much respect for those men who surved in ww1 and ww2 and all of the wars after
From a 27 year old US citizen with no real problems in this day and age, I give my respect to the British in all regards. These men were so courageous and strong. If there ever comes another conflict, I would be honored to fight side by side with your country. My perspective is completely changed
Thank you for posting such a tasteful documentary of how we really need to take heed of an elderly persons wisdom and allow them the peace and time to express their view of war on a humanitarian point of not giving in to judgement of world leaders to pick up arms again and battle against other countries . I'm of the opinion that if the world leaders of all wars were faced to take over countries and peoples minds on their own instead of the so many deaths on the fields that we wouldn't have out of control behaviour in this generation . I'm still in awe of the men who were able to contribute at their ages a story that needs to be reminded of so future generations can lead in peace . Well done program .
sad to know there is no more of them left anymore
Amazing how they was born in the Victorian times, lived through 2 world wars and a millennium and have to see what our country has become. Brave men (and boys) that thought fighting for King and country was worth it at that time period. Little did they know that their superiors hadn't a clue and were moronic. Sent millions of innocent men to their deaths for their outdated tactics against WMD's. At the going down of the sun, we will remember them. 1914-1918.
How could they have had a clue? No war like that had ever been fought. No commanders on either side knew how to deal with industrialised warfare. At the beginning of the war, all sides were relying on cavalry to be their eyes, and to provide the punch to break the enemy lines; four years later they were using aircraft! The 'donkeys' you refer to, and the 'lions', had to learn an entirely new type of warfare, nothing like the colonial policing operations they had been trained for, and by 1918 they had done it. In five years they had progressed from forming squares against cavalry to combined ops involving armies of a size they could never have dreamed of in 1914.
Did they see what today's snowflakes look like?
Tom Kirby, they saw 3 centuries. Born in the very late 1800's, saw the next century of the 1900's, and then amazingly the 2000's. Can you imagine what they have seen. I'm sure they remember nothing of the 1800's but they remember the 1900's and 2000's. All the inventions that were made. Computers were unthinkable back then with WIFI and UA-cam. iPhones and IPads. I can't imagine what went through their minds. Even when rock n roll came around. They were used to classical music. Wow!
Part 2 to this series is now available on my channel through the First World War playlist.
Thank you I used to watch this years ago and was just shocked at the whole 4 years of this "pointless politically Correct War"
Thank you for telling their story.
I just want to reach through the screen and give these men a hug and a handshake! I would happily sit a listen to these men for hours. Then when they had finished I would ask them to tell me about the day war was declared and listen to them go through it all over again! :')
Thnx Alan for keeping this documentary alive on UA-cam
And I hope it can stay up, Humstrux. None of my uploads are monetised, so I run the channel as an archive for students across the globe. I have had hundreds of messages over the years from people who have limited access to books or high quality documentaries, and the films have clearly helped them with their studies. Thanks for your post - regards, Alan.
The History Room I really enjoyed it thanks.
Many thanks for this documentary and your channel. My grand father was killed on October 1914 in Belgium and my grand uncle on December 1914. I knew several veterans in my family, they never spoke...During WWII my father was interned at the Rawa Ruska camp and after managed to escape. My uncle, resistant, after being caught and tortured by the Gestapo, was sent to Buchewald. The two survived and never spoke. Not a single word about the war...
So hearing these British veterans is precious.
Thank you for that, Ilan. My own father was in WWII and he too always focused on the good times they had, never the bad. I can only presume that the dark memories were locked away, and to bring them into the light breathed fresh life into something they all preferred to forget. Regards - Alan.
Ilan are you still alive
Watched this a few times now I well up every time thinking what these brave men went through for us. We will remember them.
Claude Choules was the last ww1 veteran worldwide. He lived to 110. he was the youngest then
O my god. That poor man refused entry into his friends house like that is just beyond belief, those girls should have been bloody ashamed of themselves, as if he had been the cause of his friends death. That must have cut him like a knife the poor man, went through hell and then treated like that. It's unbelievable. So sad.
Stephen Howlett
the heart of man is wicked continually
its all tragic , no doubt ever
Brilliant Brilliant Dr Brown thanks for posting
+Colm Spollen Thanks, Colm. I have a new veterans video to upload in the coming weeks, so stay in touch. Regards - Alan.
What a powerful and beautiful tribute to all who lost their life on both sides in such a pointless war 🌹
this documentary is so touching i cry every time i see it
This is exactly why i love the internet. These soldiers helps to understand important history for younger people. this documentary would have been impossible to make today, but because of the internet, knowledge about this important history is easily available. Thank you again, and may all the soldiers be forever honoured.
Great grandfather fought with the Dublin Fuseliers in ww1. He was a machine gunner then proceeded to the tank core. I can't imagine what horrors he saw or faced. I never met him but I was told he never talked about it. He never drank a drop of alchohol either. May he rest in peace.
There's generation being bought up now that knows so little of this horrific war...should never be forgotten, we should do much much more
Nothing but total respect for these brave men.
“Do you mind volunteering?”
“What for?”
Still sharp as a tack with a witty sense of humour after 100 years.
Imagine growing up around horse-drawn carriages, the earliest film cameras and petticoats, then living your last years around blockbuster HD films, digital cameras, and computers. Absolutely mind blowing.
I salute you all and all fallen on either side.
I remember watching this series when it first aired in the UK.Amazing men.
I want to give them a hug and tell them, don’t hate yourself your are hero’s to many young people, thank you for telling your stories it must have not been easy to talk about your experience.
We should be so grateful and proud that our country managed to present two very special generations to face the most traumatic times in our history. Thank you.
The comedic timing of these guys and the editing is perfection. They add a lightness to the horror. I like to think this is how they all lived so long, their humor, in addition to excellent luck.
Love how all of these guys are still able to remember in such detail and vocalize there tales of a story most people nowadays skim over but should be remembered.
Thank you, Alan. People outside the UK forget what they went through, then WWII hit after they’d barely gotten on their feet. They suffered a lot, but of course everyone in the war suffered so much. Britain’s rations were so strict those years and the population had only to throw themselves into whatever was necessary to endure. These guys spent years in trenches that we can’t come close to imagining.
Lest we forget the ANZACS that also served alongside the British. RIP
Quite right.
Wonderful reminder of true heroism. Rest easy
These men deserve so much respect
Was On The Titanic, Fought In The Great War. Saw The Fall of Hitler And The Fall of the Soviet Union. And Yet, The Fall of the 20th century. Fucking Legend.
Lived to see the fall of his country too. To see London finally fall, the English become a minority in their own country despite of his and his brothers sacrifices
Unbelievable!!!
You’re 79 and you Still got a dad!
My great grandad jack cooper was in the marines for this terrible war his ship was sunk but he survived, bless these true gentlemen of Great Britain
+Rickie-Lee 73 Thank you, Rickie-Lee.
Pip pip cheerio
Olmsted, Harry Patch and many men I've come to know feel the same way. And until I got out I was a blind patriot. Always trying to do what I was told. It's incredible nothing has changed in over 100+ years. We're got when we're young and naive so we do not question why? The more and more you learn about this war the more leadership is at fault. Even at first we're always taught to remember the Japanese and Germans were always the enemy. But it was leadership that made the calls to the men that would follow. I know better now the world we live in. As long there is the ability to control a population in some way there will always be someone to abuse that power and people to die.
started out ok , then turned to crap
The British Army... the Army with character and an unconquerable spirit! Our stiff upper lip gets us through all!
+Brit Boy Gaming That's the spirit George! If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.
***** It's worked with us many-a time!
Cheerio
@@chikitabowow cheerio
@@EPICFAILKING1 cheerio
I have watched this so many times. It's so fascinating, hearing the voices of those who fought in the first world war a 100 years ago
Jesus man, they were great guys, makes me sad.
Thank you so much for uploading this.
I thank them for giving there tomorrow for my today
Rhys Powell I agree, Rhys, thank you.
Its sad that these messengers are no longer with us and the ones who fought in the second will no longer be around to tell their stories... RIP lads🇬🇧
I would've loved to have met these guys. They lived through so much...
Thank you so much for uploading this. Very beautiful and moving.
I cant be the only one crying. we are so lucky, 100 years on
This video has made me incredibly moved I just wish to thank you
I wonder if Alfred Anderson encountered my great uncle,Serjeant James Laird,Service No:240218,Date of Death:03/09/1916 of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) 5th Bn. who died at the Somme.Just makes me wonder,he was one of the Old Contemptibles also.
He probably did
Heerio
So Harry Patch was 107 or 108 when he did this interview in 2005? Amazing he lived to this age, much less gave interviews! What amazes me is that they still have that spark of life, that twinkle in their eyes when not directly recalling a painful memory.
All these gentlemen were extremely comical sence of humor..I have upmost respect for them..so much is learned from them..the time period they lived in and tell about is incredible..I could listen to all of them all day
These poor men faced hell on earth at such a young age. At least now they’re at peace. I’m grateful their stories are preserved in this video, so future generations can hear what it was like fighting in “the Great War”
46:54 , what a beautiful story. we owe our very freedom to the courage and bravery of these men.
Time to shed some tears .... god bless these men ... heros all, thank you .. may we never forget .