Military Historian, Author, and Battlefield Guide Paul Reed join Sean to discuss a BBC documentary that he took part in, Meet The Ancestors Series 5, Episode 3: The Forgotten Battlefield. The documentary details a group of amateur archaeologists called The Diggers, who discovered a complex trench system over 200 fallen soldiers, in the Ieper (Ypres) and Boesinghe (now Boezinge).

In an act of what Paul describes as "rescue archaeology" the diggers and historians-including Paul himself, race against time to uncover as much as they can before the area is completely covered by the building of an industrial estate. Paul also talks about what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.

From the educational remit of British television in the early 2000's, to the emergence of amateur archaeology, and World War One remembrance and myths, this episode has it all.

Raised Questions:

-Did you know the BBC made a rival programme to Channel Four's Time Team?

-Why weren't professional archaeologists interested in World War One battlefields back in the early 2000's?

-Why wouldn't The Diggers be allowed to do their work today?

-Why does wood survive in Flanders Field?

-Why is it important to show the reality of war in documentaries?

Chapters:

0:06 Welcome to Review It Yourself

1:14 Revisiting The Forgotten Battlefield

2:55 The Evolution of BBC Documentaries

7:31 The Role of 'The Diggers'

9:19 Post-War Reconstruction Challenges

10:48 Discoveries Beneath the Surface

13:53 Amateurs vs. Professionals in Archaeology

15:28 The Significance of Archaeological Finds

21:02 Understanding the Reality of War

23:28 The Human Cost of Conflict

30:15 The Reality of Identification

34:59 Forgotten Events of the Past

38:54 The Fog of War

40:47 Officer Casualties and Leadership

45:44 Findings from the Battlefield Trench

47:45 Unearthing History

56:34 The Weight of Remembrance

1:01:20 Reflections on Loss

1:06:21 The Reality of War

1:08:09 Commemoration vs. Reality

1:16:56 Modern Discoveries

1:23:05 The Role of DNA

1:28:58 The Future of Historical Narratives

1:33:57 Sharing Knowledge and Passion

The Programme on BBC iPlayer (UK Only):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074n0m/meet-the-ancestors-series-5-3-the-forgotten-battlefield

Paul's Podcast:

Further Information can be found in Paul's podcast: The Old Front Line:

-Battlefield Archaeology & Essex Farm Episode (3rd April 2020).

-Forgotten Battlefield: The Reunion Episode (1st April 2023).

The Old Front Line Website:

https://oldfrontline.co.uk/

Thanks for Listening!

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Sean and Fraser McCallum, Imperial War Museum employee and author of Cold War Britain: 50 Years in the Shadow of the Bomb, continue their Cold War discussion.

Our Guest:

https://shop.iwm.org.uk/blogs/news/cold-war-britain -A blog about the book on the Imperial War Museum Website, with a link to the shop. This podcast is not an advertisement, and the link is here for you to do your own research on the book. You can buy it from whatever seller you want, we're not trying to influence you. Sean and Sarah highly recommend the book though!

Chapters:

0:10 The Evolution of Airborne Weapons

1:03 Scotland's Nuclear Dilemma

2:20 Greenham Common and Women's Activism

3:51 The Anxiety of Nuclear Threats

5:20 Eisenhower and Churchill's Perspectives

10:14 The Impact of Cold War Culture

14:09 Remembering Cold War Conflicts

19:38 The Falklands War and Its Legacy

26:01 The Aftermath of Yugoslavia's Conflict

27:29 Short Attention Spans in History

31:14 The Depressing Continuity of Conflict

35:21 Cultural Reflections on Cold War

40:45 The Legacy of 'Threads'

47:58 The Evolution of Cold War Cinema

53:59 The Book as a Gateway to History

55:08 Final Thoughts on Cold War Legacy

Thanks for Listening!

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'Keep a hold of those 99 balloons, tear down this wall Mr Gorbachev and make a shelter of your internal doors, we're diving into the Cold War in Britain'. Sean is joined by Imperial War Museum employee and author of Cold War Britain: 50 Years in the Shadow of the Bomb, Fraser McCallum.

A two-hour exploration of the Cold War from a purely British stand-point, this begins as a discussion of Fraser's book and rapidly becomes an in-depth, humorous and passionate discussion between two lads who love history.

References:

-The parade that Sean was talking about was the "Victory Celebration" Parade in London on 8th June 1946, which omitted the Polish Forces.

-The Channel Four programme Sean was talking about was the 2010 documentary 'Bloody Foreigners: The Untold Battle of Britain'.

Our Guest:

https://shop.iwm.org.uk/blogs/news/cold-war-britain -A blog about the book on the Imperial War Museum Website, with a link to the shop. This podcast is not an advertisement, and the link is here for you to do your own research on the book. You can buy it from whatever seller you want, we're not trying to influence you. Sean and Sarah highly recommend the book though!

Podcast Sting:

Marv from Pods Like Us podcast. Find It Here: https://marvsmooth.podbean.com/

Chapters:

0:05 Welcome to Cold War Britain

0:27 The Role of the NHS

3:13 Labour Government and Idealism versus Reality

5:32 Making History Accessible

6:30 The Lack of books on Britain's role in the Cold War

8:17 The Cold War and British Identity

8:47 The Challenge of Academic History

9.40 A book with Winston Churchill and David Bowie

0:05 Welcome to Cold War Britain

0:27 The Role of the NHS

3:25 Historical Context and Modern Politics

5:32 Making History Accessible

8:17 The Cold War and British Identity

8:47 The Challenge of Academic History

12:48 Did Churchill under-estimate Stalin?

16:44 The Dilemma of Poland

18:13 The Suez Crisis

19:10 The Vietnam War and British Involvement

23:45 The UK/US 'Special Relationship'

25:20 The UK/USSR relationship-A Marriage of Convenience?

42:09 Protests and Changing Attitudes

44:15 The Cultural Impact of the Cold War

50:23 Cinema and Cold War Narratives

56:16 Reflections on History and Film

59:00 The Evolution of Britain's Nuclear Arsenal

Thanks for Listening!

Find us here:

X: @YourselfReview

Instagram: reviewityourselfpodcast2021

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.