Doctor Who: Men of War

By: Justin Richards

Narrated by: Peter Purves

Peter Purves reads this original adventure featuring the First Doctor, Steven and Sara, set in the First World War.

"The Battle of the Somme is the pivotal moment of this conflict… History hinges on it!”

It’s the start of August 1916, and war is raging on the battlefields of France. In the front line trenches, British soldiers are vanishing without trace. Captain Mark Steadman witnesses one of his comrades being pulled down beneath the mud, and realises that something is terribly wrong.

When three civilians and a large blue box arrive on the scene, Steadman finds himself helping in their enquiries. The Doctor declares that something has gone wrong with the timeline of the War; the Battle of the Somme should have already begun, yet there is no sign of it. He demands an audience with Field Marshall Haig! A crater in no-man’s land reveals the grisly horror of the missing men’s fate, and brings the Doctor and his friends into terrible danger. There are forces at work here which even he can’t fully comprehend.

Peter Purves, who played Steven in the BBC TV series, reads this powerful new story by Justin Richards.

©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Best audio of doctor who

Can't stop listening to it. one of the doctor who audio I've ever heard.

An interesting short story from the 1st Doctor era

A further adventure of the Doctor, Steven and Sara set during the Daleks master plan. Performed by companion actor Peter Purves. Well worth a look!

Men of War

Very enjoyable. About the length of a tv show, easy to follow as sometimes longer audiobooks require more effort to remember where you left off. Feel that the author & the reader captured the essence of the 1st Doctor. Caveat: appears to be a series of linked theme as seen at least 2 more episodes upcoming.

As always, Purves delivers

Peter Purves can do this stuff in this sleep, but always when I hear his voice, I'm transported back in time to an era of television from before I was even born and conjures the trenches in monochrome black and white.

While the story and a lot of the thematic elements are a little too grisly to be for the world of Doctor Who in the early 60s, (even when the show went pure historical, I think the Great War and a lot of the horrors within would have been avoided in the show proper) it still captures that magic, especially with Purves' impersonation of Hartnell containing the magic of the character. I wasn't expecting this to be the start of a storyline of World-War One set stories, so I'm looking forward to where it's going.