Our true, age-old enemies knew exactly what they were doing when they turned Britain and Germany against one another, not once but twice. Now look what the true enemy is doing to us all. Nie Wieder Bruderkrieg!
The distance between the grave of the first commonwealth man to lose his life on the western front in 1914 and the grave of the last to lose his life in 1918 are only 7 yards apart. They are facing each other. There’s a saying: “the distance measured in 10 steps and a million lives”, and it makes my heart sink.
These interviews are an absolute treasure for the preservation of the human experience for future generations. What incredible men to have such a razor sharp recollection of even the smallest details of such an unimaginably horrific experience almost 100 years later. I am not the most religious of people, but I can't help but think these men were protected so that they could tell these stories to so many future generations and eventually be immortalized via film and the internet.
How fortunate that this series was made, these interviews are precious and of course completely irreplaceable. George Littlefair will live in my mind forever, his memories were intensely moving and I would loved to meet him.
@@dudeybagz I quite agree...been there, done that, on quite a few occasions actually, with collected several "souvenirs" collected... In the countries where I operated, literally nothing has changed, in fact worse now; the egotistical and narcissistic politicians need to be put on the frontlines, not the "common" folk.
They never talk about those who initiated the war. Those who benefited from the war, those who promoted the war. Just the human suffering of naive human beings who were sucked into the venture. It sickens me and makes my blood boil.
A lot of my generation are so disrespectful to these legends even in the minute silence at college kids were laughing I’m so privileged to be able to hear them speak about the horrors of this war
Yeah, this is really messed up, if this continues history will repeat it self. Sad of course, those kids will fight in a war like this if not only to lear the lesson of it. Sad very sad.
Also, I absolutely LOVE the stories of the wounded soldiers who fell in love with their nurses and married them, often leading to dozens of descendants today! That one couple had 62 years together! Those are such great and wonderful stories.
I had a paper route in the middle 60s and there was this man the to me was rather odd and on the mean side. I started talking to him now and then and he warmed up to me and told me that he was in world war 1. Told me that there was no water and the men were drinking there piss water. Told me the mud was up to their knees and the rats were terr. ible. I could see why he was a little on the mean side but he was cool with me. You get respect when you give respect. The 60's were great for me - my parents were living, saw the beatles in augest 1966and saw the rolling stones in june of 1966 and saw Bob Dylan in november of 1965. In 1960 jfk came to cleveland and i met him. He was running for president in 1960 and won. Great days. Finally met Bob Dylan in 1991 in cleveland, ohio. He was walking down by lake erie the day of his concert. He was very nice to me. Wish everyone peace and love .
They didn't have freedom and they didn't give it to us by dying. Freedom doesn't exist on this planet. You will always be under the influence of another human, no matter where you go, or who you are. There is no escape, and some would even try to reach into your last bastion, your own mind, by using psychological manipulation, religion and armed forces for example.
What a horrible manner of fighting; Going up and out of those trenches in the face of machine gunfire. The British Empire killed off a major part of their male population in that war. RIP! So Many Young People. 🙏🏿
i love this so much feels like im talking to my grampas about their war stories. people from that point in time are so interesting and valuable, we really have lost our way as a society.
Judging by your education that you think the word "today" is 2 words... Not very much. Imagine telling one of these dead guys that you died for a future people that can't even spell today.
They fought and died for the future you are living. You aren't enslaved, locked up, or dead. You take the good with the bad and be grateful that you get to see the younger generation act stupid.
@@lakitceps4177They fought a meaningless war that they should've never been apart of. All because one Serbian shot and ended an archduke means 20 million lives must be taken? They never fought to not be enslaved either. Who would be enslaving who? You act like losing the war would've been the end of it all.
The comment made by one of those soldiers about the reason he joined and the general attitude of the men, “ we did it for the people who would come after us “ so sad that the people who have come after them are not even from this country, and are the least deserving of any sacrifice from our brave lads , rest in peace
Terrible attitude to have. The British Empire spanned continents-- full of various cultures, ethnicities and races. A White British soldier would fight for the safety of his fellow Indian Servicemen. They were fighting for Empire.
The salt of the earth these men were. They were prepared to sacrifice everything including their lives for the defense of the country. My great grandfather was one of them, having fought in the 1st and 3rd Battles of Ypres, on The Somme, and at Neuve Chapelle with the 4th Territorial Battalion Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. As a lad I knew many of these men, being towed by great grandad down to the British Legion Club every Sunday for pop and crisps. I looked on every single one of these men as hero's, true hero's. What they had seen and suffered in putting their lives on the line was beyond horrific. The accounts of these men could not be believed by mere civilians of the time. Broaching any subject of the war was taboo at home. Even a mention would be met with, 'Shut up, we are not interested.' But for these men the war never left them. At the Legion they could release themselves to an audience who did understand, because they had been there too. Many conversations of battles, of staff, of tactics, of those who never returned, heard and remembered. Even tears too. Men with legs and arms missing. I remember all of them to this day. They should never be forgotten. Theirs was gallantry beyond brave.
This story reports he horrors of the World War 1, and also the trauma & life's challenges the Lost Generation (1883-1900) went through where they witnessed two global wars, a recession, and a pandemic. Much respect to all of them!
I watched this program many many years ago when I was still very young and naive, it really touched me then and surely it does now more than ever. It makes me think that indeed everything the humankind does here is just toil and trouble. How can these men's souls rest in peace when everything they fought is corrupted?
I’m Australian, and had two great-uncles who fought in The Great War, one of whom was gassed in France. I never knew them, merely through pictures. Being 23, I am about the age they were when they served. It provides me focus and grounding to think about how I can live my life and what I can do with the freedom they played a part in providing me. Living honourably with the seriousness they possessed at my age. There’s a reason their generation (including the later-born men who fought in the Second World War) is called the Greatest Generation. This video is a beautiful historical document and testament to all those who served, died, or were affected by the war.
My Great great great grandfather Fought in American civil war (1861-1864) . My great grandma told me firsthand about conversation she had with him when I was growing up.. Her husband fought WW1 and 2 brothers WW2 daughter in the Korean war I ended up with service documents pictures etc. Now that I'm older I regret not asking more questions about them.. most people don't care but we have honor our ancestors and preserve history accurately ..
Unbelievable footage . What a privilege to hear the men who were actually there . Heartbreaking at the same time . May the fallen of all sides rest in peace .
Great uncle was commissioned into the regular army in 1913. In 1914, he knew nothing, a youngster commanding a platoon of hardened old sweats. He was wounded for the first time during the initial retreat. He was wounded again in 1915 and was returned to the UK to be a company 2IC in one of the service battalions raised by his regiment. He returned to France in 1916 and was wounded yet again on the Somme, serving as a company commander at the time. Attrition was murder. His final wounding occurred in 1917. It was so bad he was left badly disfigured. He ended up commanding a small depot in Scotland comprised of soldiers deemed no longer fit for service. According to my uncle, he ended his days in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt around 1941.
My great grandfather was a Canadian Veteran from both World Wars. His brother was a Sapper with the 3rd Canadian Tunnel co. He fought mostly in Ypres, was gassed and shot. He died not long after from complications. My great grandfather was a very quite man, never was angry, my grandmother told me the only time she seen him get angry was when he was asked about his brothers death, he snapped, “Oliver died a horrible death and never bring it up again!”
I grew up just next to a WW1 cemetery where several hundreds, if not thousands of French, British and German soldiers are buried. I walked by these graves countless times and everytime i couldn't help but think of all these wasted lives, most of the men who lie there were just in their 20s. The bravest generation of european men has been slaughtered in the trenches ww1 was truly a mass hysteria that should have never happened.
Thank god these men were given the attention, respect, and value... To hear their stories one final time, preserved. The public, chooses which wars are heroic, which are evil, and judge the exact same men, differently and unfairly. They also forget the old warriors as soon as they can. But soldiers remember soldiers and never forget.
Those men and their sons were the greatest generations our island has ever produced and our so called government betrayed them in the worst way possible and they are still doing it today . We will never see anything like these guys again . 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
And NOW LOOK AT WHAT LABOUR AND THE CONSERVATIVES HAS DONE TO OUR GREAT NATION, IN THEIR NAME, GOD LOVE THEM AND MAY GOD PUNISH THOSE WHO DESECRATE THIRR MEMORIES......R.I.P WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
A totally different mindset back then. Pride in britain at its maximum. They are too soft nowadays fighting amongst themselves. These films should be shown as part of schooling, not to show the horrors, but to show what pride means. It's only mentioned with gay parades now.
Pride gets a month, they get a day and we can’t even show respect without the far left and migrants trying to interrupt it, the bough is going to break someday
Of course bro, yeah we really should awake the spirit and pride, not show whst that pride leads to , to generations getting berried in trenches, to pointless fighting. Yeah we really should show our youth what it really feels like dying for abstract honor of even more abstract patriotism, yeah we really should forgeting the most improtant lesson of ww1 👍
The word Hero has been made worthless in our society today we have compleatly lost the meaning Lady's and gentlemen, you're looking at the true definition,
Yank here. My Great Uncle was a member of the Canadian contingent to the UK forces, he was from Ontario. He was wounded and gassed at Passchendaele, but lived to return home. I met him in 1967, 50 years after the battle and his vocal chords were still scarred from the Mustard Gas. He wouldn't talk much about the war, other than to say 'We must never have another war like that, it would be the end of all of us.'.
It’s amazing hearing these accounts. It’s crazy leaders were so careless with lives. The Coalition forces lost 4,825 soldiers in the War of Iraq from 2003-2011, the British lost 4 times as many in the first day of the war of The Somme.
I'm old enough to remember when some of the US WW1 veterans were still alive. American Legion in the 1970's My Grandpa was post commander, WW2 Veteran. Some of these old boys were still around.
I’m 39 and had an interest in the history from a very young age. I’ve always been acutely aware these gentlemen wouldn’t be around for much longer and would constantly do the maths as to how old the youngest survivor of the Great War would likely be. Now there’s barely a living WW2 vet.
I'm 14. If a soldier joined at age 17 around 1918 and survived, he would’ve likely died around my birthyear at the latest. It's pretty sad, I never got the chance to see or hear any of them alive.
The last British Tommy to die was called Harry Patch , he lived through all that and lived to be 109 years old 😥 if any one deserved a knighthood it was this gentlemen, RIP Harry Patch .
The last British Tommy to die was called Harry Patch , he lived through all that and lived to be 109 years old 😥 if any one deserved a knighthood it was this gentlemen, RIP Harry Patch .
@1:05:50 Notice the way that this worn face of a brave man gasps. Time may carve away our youth and so many memories may fade. That terror, however, was an undying shock that still rises to the topmost of a scarred souls mind. A burden that could only be lifted in death. PTSD is when the memory stays forever just yesterday. God Speed Mr. Richards. While we will remain from different times, wars, and countries, this former soldier will respect and remember the cost of your great sacrifice. So should we all in a world seeking peace. War is hell and you should NEVER be pro war. Don't idolize or pity the soldier. Support them. War breaks men.
At 42:36 to be able to remember something from 70+ years previous and relive it like it was yesterday, you can feel the decades of pain and regret he must have still felt - compare that to the officer who said that he 'rather enjoyed' the war
I ended up watching this through the night. Transfixed by these amazing people and their stories. I veered from pride at their resilience and fortitude to horror at the scale of suffering to blind fury at those in power who led them to such senseless slaughter. I’m going to watch this again with my teenage son and daughter so they can appreciate the sacrifices of the past generations as well as an insight into how the ordinary citizens of a country are really (de)valued by the powers that be…tax base and cannon fodder..
Wish you could all come back for a few hours to see how it all worked out lads, the country you laid down your lives for is being given away , so sorry for your sacrifice, 2024.
To the men that gave the ultimate sacrifice to those who faced pure brutality no man after can begin to imagine what you have done for all of us we’ll never be able to thank you. Though your names may be faded but know you will never be forgotten
These people were incredible, when they came back there was no help for them, they just had to get on with their lives as best they could! Then in 1920 the flu/covid epidemic wiped out even more people throughout Europe than died in the First World War. Truly remarkable people!!
A family member who survived WW 1 told the story of a huge guy who won medals for boxing,,he was shot at dawn by fellow soldiers for cowardice, but they said he was rambling, hadn't slept for weeks ,and had what is now known as shell shock.
It's amazing those survivors didn't all become alcoholics, or drug addicts from what they experienced as young men. No support given to them for the remainder of their long lives.
As a full screw Sherwood Forester (3WFR, B Coy Ilkeston Platoon) Im wondering why cockney Jack was in my mob. Good on yer Jack. Glad you made it through fellah,
Pictures of my grandfather from the Argonne sector show that they didn't have leggings, they had that wrapping around their lower leg that they called Spatz. They got new fatigues every time they could because they had no way to wash their clothes. They got a week on the line and a week off. He got extra time off because he had trench foot.
German here
No more brother wars. The state of our European countries is a disgrace to the fallen.
Our true, age-old enemies knew exactly what they were doing when they turned Britain and Germany against one another, not once but twice. Now look what the true enemy is doing to us all. Nie Wieder Bruderkrieg!
Every time I see a cenotaph the blood boils. We betray our forefathers for permitting those Davos traitors to hold office.
You lot are disgusting as it were
agreed
100% Europe for Europeans! “All wars are banker wars” though. Good watch!
The distance between the grave of the first commonwealth man to lose his life on the western front in 1914 and the grave of the last to lose his life in 1918 are only 7 yards apart. They are facing each other.
There’s a saying: “the distance measured in 10 steps and a million lives”, and it makes my heart sink.
Have been reading/watching WW1 history for over 45 years. This series has made me truly realize the obscenety of this conflict.
These interviews are an absolute treasure for the preservation of the human experience for future generations. What incredible men to have such a razor sharp recollection of even the smallest details of such an unimaginably horrific experience almost 100 years later. I am not the most religious of people, but I can't help but think these men were protected so that they could tell these stories to so many future generations and eventually be immortalized via film and the internet.
Common theme. Couldn’t wait for war war. And then understood how horrible it was. Should be avoided at all cost. Human condition. Youth
Honestly think the Ukraine 🇺🇦 war is worse yet than this without mustard Gas
Twas luck, not some "god" that saved them from the slaughter.
@@Ramboniias it stands the ukraine war is not even somewhat comparable
@Rambonii Worse how? Comparing WW1 to the war in Ukraine is absurd in any context.
When Mr Barron said "back then England meant something" i couldn't hold the tears in any longer. How true he was and how much worse it has gotten.
It's absolutely heartbreaking people need to wake up fast
Lol. Harden up cupcake
I mean it’s you losers letting it happen.
I absolutely agree with you.@DinoWaffen
Meant nothing good that's for sure
These men are owed so much by all of us. Their whole generation gave up everything and millions were killed. The bravest ever.
How fortunate that this series was made, these interviews are precious and of course completely irreplaceable. George Littlefair will live in my mind forever, his memories were intensely moving and I would loved to meet him.
Me too. He’s left a lasting impression on the soul
Yeah tose men are worthless those men are just impressive.
This type of warfare was insane.. absolutely incredible what these men did… and the fact that they survived.. just wow
I started to type your comment it’s a couple times but I couldn’t even express it into words. Insane. That’s the word
It was pure luck if you survived that type of warfare
All war is insane
@@dudeybagz I quite agree...been there, done that, on quite a few occasions actually, with collected several "souvenirs" collected... In the countries where I operated, literally nothing has changed, in fact worse now; the egotistical and narcissistic politicians need to be put on the frontlines, not the "common" folk.
That'd defeat the purpose xanthus
They never talk about those who initiated the war. Those who benefited from the war, those who promoted the war. Just the human suffering of naive human beings who were sucked into the venture. It sickens me and makes my blood boil.
The biggest human sacrifice in history.
No, the biggest human waste
Zionists
Deep 😂
Putin wants you to fight for him 🫡
A timeless generation, the world is lesser now they are gone, so privileged to view their experiences though!
I realise now how weak we have all become
How ungrateful how heartless and soft we now are
Such a big change in 100 years
Nothing weak in not wanting to go too hell for rich traitorous politicians and bankers.
Speak for yourself
All by design.
@@arrBuhspeaking of soft weaklings
A lot of my generation are so disrespectful to these legends even in the minute silence at college kids were laughing I’m so privileged to be able to hear them speak about the horrors of this war
Mate at least you know. One day it could be them facing this situation.
Yeah, this is really messed up, if this continues history will repeat it self. Sad of course, those kids will fight in a war like this if not only to lear the lesson of it. Sad very sad.
Also, I absolutely LOVE the stories of the wounded soldiers who fell in love with their nurses and married them, often leading to dozens of descendants today! That one couple had 62 years together! Those are such great and wonderful stories.
I had a paper route in the middle 60s and there was this man the to me was rather odd and on the mean side. I started talking to him now and then and he warmed up to me and told me that he was in world war 1. Told me that there was no water and the men were drinking there piss water. Told me the mud was up to their knees and the rats were terr. ible. I could see why he was a little on the mean side but he was cool with me. You get respect when you give respect. The 60's were great for me - my parents were living, saw the beatles in augest 1966and saw the rolling stones in june of 1966 and saw Bob Dylan in november of 1965. In 1960 jfk came to cleveland and i met him. He was running for president in 1960 and won. Great days. Finally met Bob Dylan in 1991 in cleveland, ohio. He was walking down by lake erie the day of his concert. He was very nice to me. Wish everyone peace and love .
I love the score. I could listen to it all day.
“You’ll be with her in a few minutes, don’t worry” that’s brutal, poor chap
The freedoms for which they fought and died for, is not ours to give away. The government need to take note of that.
This government has zero respect for that freedom.
The government isn’t your friend
❤
They didn't have freedom and they didn't give it to us by dying.
Freedom doesn't exist on this planet.
You will always be under the influence of another human, no matter where you go, or who you are.
There is no escape, and some would even try to reach into your last bastion, your own mind, by using psychological manipulation, religion and armed forces for example.
You go first tough guy
What a horrible manner of fighting; Going up and out of those trenches in the face of machine gunfire. The British Empire killed off a major part of their male population in that war. RIP! So Many Young People. 🙏🏿
What makes this generation sooo eerier is the fact it literally just passed on, an soon the same will be said of the Second World War
i love this so much feels like im talking to my grampas about their war stories. people from that point in time are so interesting and valuable, we really have lost our way as a society.
What would they think of their country to day .
Judging by your education that you think the word "today" is 2 words... Not very much. Imagine telling one of these dead guys that you died for a future people that can't even spell today.
🤬🤮🫣😭🥵😥🤧
Shame too see there great sacrifice forgotten and spit on so fast
They fought and died for the future you are living. You aren't enslaved, locked up, or dead. You take the good with the bad and be grateful that you get to see the younger generation act stupid.
@@lakitceps4177They fought a meaningless war that they should've never been apart of. All because one Serbian shot and ended an archduke means 20 million lives must be taken? They never fought to not be enslaved either. Who would be enslaving who? You act like losing the war would've been the end of it all.
Defending our country for the people coming after us, I cried at that point.
Yea the people that can't even spell and sit watching Sky TV all day. It's good they'll never know the future people they died for. It's too painful.
Given away to so many immigrants who did no fighting for it
They were lied to
This is absolutely heartbreaking to watch. Never ever forget.
The gentleman says Ey. Priceless
Mr. Littlefare.
The comment made by one of those soldiers about the reason he joined and the general attitude of the men, “ we did it for the people who would come after us “ so sad that the people who have come after them are not even from this country, and are the least deserving of any sacrifice from our brave lads , rest in peace
Terrible attitude to have. The British Empire spanned continents-- full of various cultures, ethnicities and races. A White British soldier would fight for the safety of his fellow Indian Servicemen. They were fighting for Empire.
They were not fighting for empire, who told you that
@@houseofdelights9568 they absolutely were fighting for EMPIRE
twas a commercial empire, everybody benefited.
@@GothamiteYTop is correct. Have you taken a look around? Europe is the third world in the next ten years.
The honorable die. The cowards that send them to die live, and prosper. And we forget. And they count on exactly that.
The best documentary I've seen in a long time...thank you for posting.
I live in America. I love these men and their stories. So brave and fearless.
The salt of the earth these men were. They were prepared to sacrifice everything including their lives for the defense of the country. My great grandfather was one of them, having fought in the 1st and 3rd Battles of Ypres, on The Somme, and at Neuve Chapelle with the 4th Territorial Battalion Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. As a lad I knew many of these men, being towed by great grandad down to the British Legion Club every Sunday for pop and crisps. I looked on every single one of these men as hero's, true hero's. What they had seen and suffered in putting their lives on the line was beyond horrific. The accounts of these men could not be believed by mere civilians of the time. Broaching any subject of the war was taboo at home. Even a mention would be met with, 'Shut up, we are not interested.' But for these men the war never left them. At the Legion they could release themselves to an audience who did understand, because they had been there too. Many conversations of battles, of staff, of tactics, of those who never returned, heard and remembered. Even tears too. Men with legs and arms missing. I remember all of them to this day. They should never be forgotten. Theirs was gallantry beyond brave.
This story reports he horrors of the World War 1, and also the trauma & life's challenges the Lost Generation (1883-1900) went through where they witnessed two global wars, a recession, and a pandemic. Much respect to all of them!
I watched this program many many years ago when I was still very young and naive, it really touched me then and surely it does now more than ever. It makes me think that indeed everything the humankind does here is just toil and trouble. How can these men's souls rest in peace when everything they fought is corrupted?
Absolutely gold...
Richard Hawkins’ cheeky smirk talking about going over the top smoking a certain brand of cigarette cracked me up.
I’m Australian, and had two great-uncles who fought in The Great War, one of whom was gassed in France. I never knew them, merely through pictures. Being 23, I am about the age they were when they served. It provides me focus and grounding to think about how I can live my life and what I can do with the freedom they played a part in providing me. Living honourably with the seriousness they possessed at my age. There’s a reason their generation (including the later-born men who fought in the Second World War) is called the Greatest Generation. This video is a beautiful historical document and testament to all those who served, died, or were affected by the war.
My Great great great grandfather Fought in American civil war (1861-1864) . My great grandma told me firsthand about conversation she had with him when I was growing up.. Her husband fought WW1 and 2 brothers WW2 daughter in the Korean war I ended up with service documents pictures etc. Now that I'm older I regret not asking more questions about them.. most people don't care but we have honor our ancestors and preserve history accurately ..
Unbelievable footage . What a privilege to hear the men who were actually there . Heartbreaking at the same time . May the fallen of all sides rest in peace .
The wasted lives of British and German young men for what? Inch a terrible loss
Great uncle was commissioned into the regular army in 1913. In 1914, he knew nothing, a youngster commanding a platoon of hardened old sweats. He was wounded for the first time during the initial retreat. He was wounded again in 1915 and was returned to the UK to be a company 2IC in one of the service battalions raised by his regiment. He returned to France in 1916 and was wounded yet again on the Somme, serving as a company commander at the time. Attrition was murder. His final wounding occurred in 1917. It was so bad he was left badly disfigured. He ended up commanding a small depot in Scotland comprised of soldiers deemed no longer fit for service. According to my uncle, he ended his days in a mental hospital after a suicide attempt around 1941.
What gentlemen with gentle damaged souls.
My great grandpa was a sniper on the American side during ww1. The old breed is something else. Hard times make strong men easy times make weak men
My great grandfather was a Canadian Veteran from both World Wars. His brother was a Sapper with the 3rd Canadian Tunnel co. He fought mostly in Ypres, was gassed and shot. He died not long after from complications. My great grandfather was a very quite man, never was angry, my grandmother told me the only time she seen him get angry was when he was asked about his brothers death, he snapped, “Oliver died a horrible death and never bring it up again!”
I grew up just next to a WW1 cemetery where several hundreds, if not thousands of French, British and German soldiers are buried.
I walked by these graves countless times and everytime i couldn't help but think of all these wasted lives, most of the men who lie there were just in their 20s. The bravest generation of european men has been slaughtered in the trenches
ww1 was truly a mass hysteria that should have never happened.
The terrible conditions these brave men endured during this war has never been lost on me.
Thank god these men were given the attention, respect, and value... To hear their stories one final time, preserved. The public, chooses which wars are heroic, which are evil, and judge the exact same men, differently and unfairly. They also forget the old warriors as soon as they can. But soldiers remember soldiers and never forget.
Those men and their sons were the greatest generations our island has ever produced and our so called government betrayed them in the worst way possible and they are still doing it today . We will never see anything like these guys again . 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
13:20 I love this guy's story. You can see the ferocity in his eye's.
This was an excellent depiction of what the WW1 troops went through...
To imagine over fifty thousand casualties in just one day of fighting is mind boggling. It was a very tragic war but aren’t they all.
No more brother wars.
And NOW LOOK AT WHAT LABOUR AND THE CONSERVATIVES HAS DONE TO OUR GREAT NATION, IN THEIR NAME, GOD LOVE THEM AND MAY GOD PUNISH THOSE WHO DESECRATE THIRR MEMORIES......R.I.P WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Would have been a great documentary without adverts every 5 minutes
Paddy keep up the good work mate.
Such brave brave men! My great grandfather JOHN HENRY BROCK from bude in Cornwall was killed in the Somme
Poor buggers if they could see Britain now 😢 would they of thought
Remembering 2nd Lieutenant Edward Archibald Beauchamp, killed at Iepers, December 1914.
You know your a bad ass when your a former fusilier
You're command of the English language is uhmayzing
A different, horrifying type of warfare. So much pain endured for all of these men for remainder of their lives.
the "blind bravery" of those that volunteered to fight in WW1,
is wholly incomprehensible to me.
they had no idea how bad it would be...nobody did...just industrialised murder
They were told the Germans wanted England of course they were going to defend England meant something back then
Total respect to them…
Without a doubt the saddest thing ive ever watched in ma life .
Even more so when you see how far we have allowed our wee island to deteriorate .
The music that plays through out is a very fitting haunting melody
Amazing! Please more WW1 content!
Great recital of the poem Sir. Top-notch
I listen to at least 4 or 5 times sooo good!
Brought me a few tears
What year were these interviews filmed? The quality is very good. Almost too good for the 1970’s and 80’s. Was the film extensively cleaned up?
The early 1990s. See the Wikipedia article for the series “The Last Voices of World War 1”
I was just thinking the same thing. Video quality is great for the time period.
What a sad but beautifull words spoken by Florence Billington at 3:46:20. …
I will forever love all of you
A totally different mindset back then. Pride in britain at its maximum. They are too soft nowadays fighting amongst themselves. These films should be shown as part of schooling, not to show the horrors, but to show what pride means. It's only mentioned with gay parades now.
Pride gets a month, they get a day and we can’t even show respect without the far left and migrants trying to interrupt it, the bough is going to break someday
Of course bro, yeah we really should awake the spirit and pride, not show whst that pride leads to
, to generations getting berried in trenches, to pointless fighting. Yeah we really should show our youth what it really feels like dying for abstract honor of even more abstract patriotism, yeah we really should forgeting the most improtant lesson of ww1 👍
The word Hero has been made worthless in our society today we have compleatly lost the meaning Lady's and gentlemen, you're looking at the true definition,
Watching this serious is heartbreaking 💔😢
Yank here. My Great Uncle was a member of the Canadian contingent to the UK forces, he was from Ontario. He was wounded and gassed at Passchendaele, but lived to return home. I met him in 1967, 50 years after the battle and his vocal chords were still scarred from the Mustard Gas. He wouldn't talk much about the war, other than to say 'We must never have another war like that, it would be the end of all of us.'.
Brilliant nothing blurred out either
It’s amazing hearing these accounts. It’s crazy leaders were so careless with lives. The Coalition forces lost 4,825 soldiers in the War of Iraq from 2003-2011, the British lost 4 times as many in the first day of the war of The Somme.
My Uncle fought on the Somme he never spoke one word about that hellhole
I'm old enough to remember when some of the US WW1 veterans were still alive. American Legion in the 1970's My Grandpa was post commander, WW2 Veteran. Some of these old boys were still around.
I’m 39 and had an interest in the history from a very young age. I’ve always been acutely aware these gentlemen wouldn’t be around for much longer and would constantly do the maths as to how old the youngest survivor of the Great War would likely be. Now there’s barely a living WW2 vet.
I'm 14. If a soldier joined at age 17 around 1918 and survived, he would’ve likely died around my birthyear at the latest. It's pretty sad, I never got the chance to see or hear any of them alive.
The last British Tommy to die was called Harry Patch , he lived through all that and lived to be 109 years old 😥 if any one deserved a knighthood it was this gentlemen, RIP Harry Patch .
The last British Tommy to die was called Harry Patch , he lived through all that and lived to be 109 years old 😥 if any one deserved a knighthood it was this gentlemen, RIP Harry Patch .
War is utter madness.
Fascinating
Can someone please tell me what is that string music that keeps playing ? its haunted me for years .
@1:05:50 Notice the way that this worn face of a brave man gasps. Time may carve away our youth and so many memories may fade. That terror, however, was an undying shock that still rises to the topmost of a scarred souls mind. A burden that could only be lifted in death. PTSD is when the memory stays forever just yesterday. God Speed Mr. Richards. While we will remain from different times, wars, and countries, this former soldier will respect and remember the cost of your great sacrifice. So should we all in a world seeking peace. War is hell and you should NEVER be pro war. Don't idolize or pity the soldier. Support them. War breaks men.
Ah, you mean shellshock. The people back then had very little knowledge of emotions and the human psyche.
At 42:36 to be able to remember something from 70+ years previous and relive it like it was yesterday, you can feel the decades of pain and regret he must have still felt - compare that to the officer who said that he 'rather enjoyed' the war
I ended up watching this through the night. Transfixed by these amazing people and their stories. I veered from pride at their resilience and fortitude to horror at the scale of suffering to blind fury at those in power who led them to such senseless slaughter.
I’m going to watch this again with my teenage son and daughter so they can appreciate the sacrifices of the past generations as well as an insight into how the ordinary citizens of a country are really (de)valued by the powers that be…tax base and cannon fodder..
i have two family members served in World War l in the 1918 they both were are great uncle and great grandfather
A survivor tells the story of a top notch
Jts sickening that a veteran who raused millions was allegedly defrauded by family members..
Thank you for this video
To think, that in the year 2124 people will look back at the current conflicts, much the same way as we do about WW1 & 2.
My dad was a ww2 vet. Many stories but not for me. He didn't talk talk of it. I can't get enough first hand stories now.
Wish you could all come back for a few hours to see how it all worked out lads, the country you laid down your lives for is being given away , so sorry for your sacrifice, 2024.
They did a poll now in uk. The younger generation said 89% they wouldn't fight for uk. I don't blame them. Britain is done.
GSTK. 🎒🔫
If there’s another world war we are fucked
Destroyed from the inside out by the zionists who rule the world unfortunately. Austrian painter was correct
When a place or thing is "for everybody", it is in fact, for nobody.
Britain is done because of the people who don't care enough to fight for it.
To the men that gave the ultimate sacrifice to those who faced pure brutality no man after can begin to imagine what you have done for all of us we’ll never be able to thank you. Though your names may be faded but know you will never be forgotten
These people were incredible, when they came back there was no help for them, they just had to get on with their lives as best they could! Then in 1920 the flu/covid epidemic wiped out even more people throughout Europe than died in the First World War. Truly remarkable people!!
A family member who survived WW 1 told the story of a huge guy who won medals for boxing,,he was shot at dawn by fellow soldiers for cowardice, but they said he was rambling, hadn't slept for weeks ,and had what is now known as shell shock.
😮😮Well done🎉
It's amazing those survivors didn't all become alcoholics, or drug addicts from what they experienced as young men. No support given to them for the remainder of their long lives.
I really wish that they had subtitles for some of these guys. I can barely understand them. N I know what they’re saying is important
As a full screw Sherwood Forester (3WFR, B Coy Ilkeston Platoon) Im wondering why cockney Jack was in my mob. Good on yer Jack. Glad you made it through fellah,
Saw a video of Ted Francis recite a poem of the day.. very sad.. hopefully still on UA-cam
Pictures of my grandfather from the Argonne sector show that they didn't have leggings, they had that wrapping around their lower leg that they called Spatz. They got new fatigues every time they could because they had no way to wash their clothes. They got a week on the line and a week off. He got extra time off because he had trench foot.
We had not even said so long to one another ❤ 😢
Wonderful, but sad.
You would think man had learned our lesson from war