Wartime Farm Christmas Special
Вставка
- Опубліковано 3 тра 2016
- Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologist Peter Ginn are returning to Manor Farm in Hampshire to recreate the conditions of Christmas 1944.
1944 saw the sixth Christmas at war, and shortages were biting deeper than ever. Added to this, Britain's cities were in the grip of the worst German attacks since the Blitz of 1940. Unmanned flying bombs - the dreaded V1 'Doodlebugs' and V2 rockets - rained down, stretching morale and services to breaking point.
Having been set the target of doubling home-grown food production by the government, Britain's farmers had already ploughed up six and a half million additional acres in the drive for additional crops (an area equivalent in size to the whole of Wales). Now, in addition to maintaining food production, it fell to Britain's farmers to come to the aid of the nation's urban dispossessed in their hour of need. Many rural women joined the one million-strong Women's Voluntary Service to provide food, drink and gifts to lift the spirits - especially at Christmas. Ruth finds out how the WVS operated the government's National Pie Scheme.
Beer was seen as so essential to the nation's morale that it was never rationed - but a vital ingredient, barley, was in short supply, so substitutes were needed. Peter calls upon rural crafts expert, Colin Richards, to brew some improvised potato beer for Christmas. Meanwhile, Ruth comes up with innovative presents for children, and ingenious festive decorations made from scraps.
After enjoying a Christmas church service for the community at Manor Farm, including German prisoners-of-war who, along with Italian POWs, accounted for one in five of the farming labour force in Britain by Christmas 1944, and had become surprisingly well-integrated into some rural communities. Following in the footsteps of many wartime rural farmers, Peter and Ruth transport their gifts, food and beer on a vintage wartime steam train to Chislehurst Caves - 10 miles outside London - where they discover what Christmas was like for some of the 15,000 people who sheltered in the caves.
Following recipes and guidelines issued by the government and the WVS, Ruth cooks an improvised Christmas meal, relying chiefly on rabbit and a glut of carrots from the farm. And the Salvation Army bring musical cheer to the occasion as the team reflect on the impact of what was to be the last Christmas of the Second World War.
These are life segments you won't learn in school are their history books. I love Ruth Goodman! She is a Professor I would have enjoyed and maybe learned something!
Do Ruth, Alex, and Peter have anymore farm series to watch? I don't want it to end lol
WOW...brings a sense of Pride does this. Lost relatives in both wars. The strength of the British (4TH Generation Newfoundlander here)People, as a whole... ingenuity, willingness to sacrifice & fight for the common cause...Finest Generation indeed! Beyond all of the literature avail on the topic, a real sense of the History imbues you here, with Ruth, Peter and Alex's re-creations(Colin is an unsung Hero as well). They all were. God Bless em and yes, it does produce a dramatic reaction. At least in Me. Cheers from Newfoundland. And Thank you for this.
TreeTrout I couldn't agree more ! As the granddaughter of Brits, with a maternal Grandfather who fought at the Somme and Vimy your comments really hit the mark. I still have recipes that came from my Mom's home, written on the back of used envelopes. You want to talk about re-use, re-cycle and sustainability - talk to someone who grew up in the depression or lived in England during the War. Absolutely nothing was wasted, and anything that could be reused, was. And though not without his faults, it was a damn good thing Winston was Johnny on the spot, to keep morale from fading, which was a huge piece of the puzzle. And absolutely...the Greatest Generation!. From Ontario to The Rock - thanks TreeTrout.
thank you so much taking the time to have these available to us! these are treasure!
So wish these were avaible on USA compatible DVDS. Thank you so much for posting these. I miss Alex in this episode and the other series.
Love the documentary as well as the dog.
my family from my fathers side is from London ...and my grandfather fought in ww2 . They sure pulled together and farming is what saved them....if not they would of had to surrender from famine.It is such an eye opener to where we are today and just how much we waste and don't appreciate. I don't think many of us would survive as so many of us don't have the skills or even know how to can foods or grow food or raise animals etc. Pin the mustache on Hitler was very surprising but most of all and some thing that really hits my heart is how they didn't lose hope or fall down and they still celebrated Christmas in such a way ..... making the best out of EVERYTHING .... it's a real eye opener to hear the stories ...not just in this episode but as I watched the entire series. Thank you for taking the time to post them. All the best to you.:)
Great program ! I love the spirit they had back then.
I would love to get some of those booklets
Thanks for uploading this documentary.
DVDS would be perfect. As far as I know, Alex has returned to his old job. But I really miss him.
Another thank you for posting this.
oh, hello Henry!
This period in the US, the newsreels and indeed, cartoons asked the question, "Is this trip REALLY necessary?" Rationing was everywhere.
Very nice
I still cook rabbit all my family love it
Duddlebug's didn't have a set target. Where the engine cut out, The area below it became the target.
they had a rough target spoil sport
Work ethic.
this must have been filmed while Alex was working on his PHD
Woah, Ruth actually has a shovel in her hand! Way to go!
The first little bit of the train segment I can't help but hear"Harry Potter" in the music. This had to be intentional. Kind of distracting, but....old-fashioned train into the fog at Christmas...I suppose it was an inescapable temptation to the composer.
Colin's tunnel? Looks familiar??
I am wondering why didn't they just shred the potatoes??
Because men are doing it. =D
Shredding the potatoes would have made them more like soup.. a consistency that would not have been conducive to making beer... I am thinking.. Hence the crushing them under the tires of the ambulance...
PABadger13 yeah but with grating them, you get more surface area for cooking them up into a beer mash.
Because 1. That would have immediately released all the starch and liquids inside a potato and 2. it would have taken way too long. Remember, they had to do that beside the daily chores which alredy took most of the day to do on a farm like this. No one had the time to sit there and shred 4-5 bags of potatos.
I don't think you were forced in to the SS. I think the SS was completely voluntary as it represented the cream of the crop, but could be wrong?
Fascinating documentary series. Although rabbit became a staple for the diet toward the end of the war, there's no way I could ever eat it. I am a domestic bunny parent, and would rather eat a dog or cat before eating rabbits.
I'm so glad that youtube doesn't have smell-a-vision, because I don't believe Pete ever bathes and just looks grubbier and grubbier as each of these shows goes on.
I DID NOT KNOW YOU COOK WITH A HAT ON...............SOMETHING MY MOTHER DID NOT DO ?? INTERESTING ..?