Jo Ellem

I got a chance to watch this episode yesterday. I mean rewatch it. It's funny to hear chamberlain declaring war, my dad says that he can remember hearing it on the radio (or wireless as it was called here!), we also had a similar announcement three days later from our own prime minister saying almost the same thing. One old ex
soldier told me that he remembers someone saying "Oh well, here we go again"!

When you think about it, 20 years isn't that big enough. But big enough for blokes who went to WWI who made it back to see their own boys grow up and go off to fight the same enemy. That must have been a very odd feeling.

To evacuate your kids like that must have been traumatic all round, not to mention the folks who sent their kids to to Canada, only to lose them when the U-boats started to pick off the ships. That would have been terrible. To be honest, like Sheila, I don't think I could have sent my kids away. I probably would have gone with them, like some mothers did.

But then how would I have handled the bombing with children, well it's anyone's guess.

"A Family at War" must have had such resonance with viewers at the time because the war was still so close and so very real. To some of the old veterans I have met, it was still as real as it was yesterday. I heard so many stories that came out of the mouths of ordinary men who just happened to be living through an extraordinary time.

I don't know if John can let us know how the viewing public responded to the original series. I know it must have been good because we got three seasons of the series and that is always a good sign. But were there any viewers who found it a bit too close to home?

Paul Cook

“The lamps are going out all over Europe”
Whilst getting ready for bed, Edwin asks Jean who spoke these words. It was in fact Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, speaking to the House of Commons in 1914, with World War 1 looming:-
“Today it is clear that the peace of Europe cannot be preserved. The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”.
 
Who would have guessed that 11 years on, Britain would be finding itself in a similar situation? In the closing scene of episode 4, we witness Edwin and Phillip listening to Neville Chamberlain’s speech, delivered on the Home Service at 11.15am, declaring war with Germany. I am wondering how Jean and Margaret must have felt, hearing this devastating news at the church service.
 
That previous evening of September 2nd, the House of Commons had been full to capacity with MP’s, who were clamouring for immediate action from the Prime Minister following Germany’s invasion of Poland the day before. Chamberlain was facing revolt from his cabinet, and the Conservative benches were calling for immediate retaliatory action against Germany. Arthur Greenwood demanded from Chamberlain, that he,  “Speak for England”, which Chamberlain did 12 hours later in this famous speech.
 
Meanwhile, back at the Ashton’s…
 
Footloose and Fancy Free
Watching this episode again, I am struck by how the character of David is developing. Being “footloose and fancy free” in the RAF, away from Sheila and the children, has really put David in a right mess.
 
After a more careful viewing, I do feel more sympathetic towards David than I have before. I now see him as more vulnerable person, yet a man with integrity, a quality I had not really recognised. He is very human, with all the foibles and faults that come with the package of trying to get through life. The scenes between David and Peggy are superbly acted, with David bringing out those subtle nuances that give depth to his character. I imagine that it was also crucial in terms of continuity for the other writers to get a good handle on what makes our David tick. Those facial expressions of his, and non-verbal communications, give so many glimpses to his inner self, but never enough to give us the complete story. He is a bit of an enigma, I think.
 
In the short time from episode 1, we have seen evidence of David exasperating his family with examples of his selfishness and irresponsibility. This attitude does wind up all the Ashton family, at different times. Jean perhaps, is the one who sits on these feelings, but then he is her favourite son, and she does not like anything bad said against him. Maggie complains that, “I could kill that brother of mine!”, near to the start of the episode, when Sheila is waiting anxiously for David to ring her at the Ashton’s. Freda comments on David as being someone that lives for the moment, rather than thinking ahead. Relating this to Sheila’s expectant phone call from him, Freda comments “It has probably gone straight out of his head”. A neat way of explaining much of his behaviour.
 
Putting David’s behaviour into context, we must not forget that he is a young man. OK, he has responsibilities, and he has abused his relationship with Sheila, but he is human, with normal wants and desires. Regardless of the choices he made, he did have a difficult time in Liverpool, getting married very young in a bad set of circumstances. Now we see him spreading his wings and enjoying a completely new life in the RAF. He has also got promotion, so he is not the loser that could be believed in episode 1.
 
I come away from watching these scenes thinking how fallible and vulnerable we all are, but it is all about life events and experiences that either get hidden a bit, or are there in a more obvious way for us to see, as with David. He says ruefully to Frankie, his RAF mate, that, “There will be plenty like me if this (the war) gets going”. Indeed, on a personal level, my partner was conceived on VE Day, the father being a submarine commander! David’s periods of reflection with Frankie give some evidence for the softer, responsible, “touchy-feely” side to him. He may be from Mars, but he has a bit of Venus too!
 
Nothing is straightforward with David. Of course, there is nothing straightforward with all of us, but John (Finch) is able to bring out the frailties of his personality, making him someone we can be really irritated over, but also as a warm and likeable person as well.
 
The quickly evolving story of David and Peggy has enough quality to be turned into a short drama of its own, a play, with 2 or 3 actors and just a couple of chairs. Perhaps I’m getting carried away here, but having the idea does applaud the script writing. There is a beginning, middle, and an end in this particular phase of the relationship, but also scope for the imagination to wonder what would have happened, either before or after they met.
 
It is important to note that David does not run away from the situation with Peggy, but says “We will sort it out”, repeatedly, and obviously from the heart. He quickly decides not to go on leave, but to stay and be with Peggy, and also defies the authorities when they are all confined to barracks, slipping through a gap in the fence to get to see her.
 
I feel I learn the most about him in his conversation with Frankie. It is almost as if David is talking to himself in this scene, with Frankie just being there to facilitate this process. He is honest, facing his own reality, and not dwelling too much in self-pity. David is painfully aware of his own weaknesses, and knows what mess he has got himself into.  Yet he is also angry and sad about his feeling of powerlessness to change. He seems to have a sense of impotence, that he can’t change who he is; he sees it as if the die is cast for him. I sense some envy when he retorts to Frankie, “You can’t teach me!” when Frankie tries to offer some advice. Frankie has touched a nerve, when I see David really not liking parts of himself, revealed in his comment, ‘It is me that’s bloody wet”.
 
Of course, we can all appreciate that David does have the capacity to change, if he will allow himself to recognise it, but David won’t take this on board yet. Perhaps an example of John Finch writing between the lines here, to get us subconsciously to find more about David, and what might be going on in his head. One of the most intriguing lines for me in this respect, is when David talks about his need for women. He states that,  “a woman looks up to a man”, and that a woman makes him “feel somebody”. Evidence of low self esteem here, normally covered by bravado. I wonder where this lack of self worth comes from? What experiences have made David the man he is?

To pick up on Richard’s quotation from Sheila re who is going to drop bombs on children, the camera shortly cuts to David, which I hope made the point. Costume dept obviously didn’t count on people having Richard’s eagle eye in spotting the double use of the dress. They were obviously trying to save money, and he has caught them out.

I chose the Diana Davis character as I was so impressed by the actress in the very brief scene with the evacuees. I don’t know what casting depts sources were for scenes where there were many children., but I think they relied very much on cooperation from schools. There were very strict laws on the use of children at that time.

Jo makes some very good points. I’m glad she drew attention to the quandary of mothers deciding whether to take their children abroad, or to let them go to the country which, at that time, must have seemed like the other end of the world.

The reaction of viewers to "A Family at War" was very positive. In the UK alone there were upwards of 25 million viewers for each episode. I was told that in Sweden, Denmark and Norway practically the whole population were watching. I watched the penultimate episode in Oslo and had difficulty getting near the TV in the hotel in which I was staying. Australia and New Zealand were high on the list, also Holland and Belgium. Of the European countries neither France, Italy nor Germany ever showed it. In the USA it went out on the public service network and had a very good critical reception. More recently it has been shown throughout the Middle East.. South Africa wanted to buy the scripts to produce a radio version but I vetoed this as a protest against Apartheid.

Paul, as usual, shows his grasp of wartime history. Chamberlain’s speech on the outbreak of was to some extent an anti-climax as by then people had no doubt it was coming. I was a messenger in the ARP (aged 14|) at that time, and exercises were stepped up and the local baths converted to a gas decontamination centre.

David remains an enigma (I hope) till the end.