The following is commentary on Episode No. 6 ("The Breach in the Dyke") from members of AFAMILYATWAR-LIST. If you wish to add your thoughts to what is being said on this page, become a part of our discussion group by clicking the "Join" button.
Richard Veit
Again in “The Breach in the Dyke,” as in the episode that preceded it, the characters of Harry Porter and his wife, Celia, command much of our attention. One of the more engaging scenes in Alexander baron’s fine script is when the couple hear the shocking radio report about the evacuation from France. Harry is dejected, seeing Dunkirk as a crushing defeat, but myopic Celia’s cursory thought is only that her John will be coming home. It is a revealing moment.
I must reiterate how wonderful I think their performances are. So completely has Margery Mason assimilated her unsympathetic role that Celia Porter comes across as a real person. Patrick Troughton, too, is utterly believable as Harry Porter, with eyes so expressive that they alone—even without a line of dialogue—could serve to tell us what he is thinking. A remarkable pair, brilliantly cast.
Jean Ashton displays both her strengths and frailties here. She stands up to her brother in behalf of Edwin, boldly asserting that any company would provide the pension that Sefton so magnanimously proposes. And yet she searches for reasons to excuse David’s negligence in writing to Sheila, finally settling upon how busy he must be. This is a recurring theme that surfaces through much of the series and may well explain why David behaves so irresponsibly, knowing full well that his lapses of judgement will be exonerated at home.
This episode presents the first subtle allusion to Jean’s depressive tendencies, a mental decline that ultimately will consume her. Freda notices that things are not quite right with her mother, but it is far too early yet to cause undue alarm.
The battle footage is very well staged by director Tim Jones, particularly in light of the fact that budgetary concerns would always cast a long shadow over production efforts. I am curious to know where the scenes in Belgium were photographed. A poignant use of sound deserves special praise, at that instant in the farmhouse when the baby’s plaintive cries are cut short by a German artillery shell. Very sad, and it is clear to see that John Porter’s gentle character is quite unable to cope with the horrifying situation in which he finds himself.
A short time later, there occurs a brief but visually stunning sequence that stands out in my mind as another powerful directorial choice. That is when a hand-held camera is used to follow John’s aimless trudging through the countryside, with the purposefully unsteady framing conveying to great effect his chaotic, nightmarish rush to who-knows-where.
I must say that the actors who play military officers and NCOs throughout the entire series are unfailingly convincing in their portrayals—right on the mark! I am sure that John Finch’s own service experience was invaluable in this respect, as were the contributions of various military advisers who lent their expertise.
Finally, on a more personal level, I wonder if actress Lesley Nunnerley’s real-life pregnancy was cooperative enough to accommodate the production schedule of episodes 5 through 9, or whether her condition had to be either camouflaged or enhanced, as shooting requirements dictated.
Paul Cook
Although not perhaps my favourite episode, I feel that "A Breach in the Dyke" has a pivotal role in the development of the series proper. Now we are no longer in that eerie, first part of WW2, known as the "phoney war", but are catapulted right into the thick of the action. The awfulness of war really does start to impinge on the lives of every British man, woman and child.
Through those days experienced by John Porter, we gain some feeling for the events occurring from that fatal Sunday, June 2 1940, that culminate in the "Miracle of Dunkirk" and the evacuation from Belgium of thousands of our isolated and vulnerable troops. We see John and the British Expeditionary Force engaging for the first time with the German invading force. From this episode we can get a glimpse of the surprise that met British troops with the advancing German Blitzkrieg, and a sense of the ill equipped state of the BEF at the time. Watching the parts of the episode where we see John in action, they are filmed with a crudeness that is symbolic for me of that total unpreparedness that faced the BEF. It really does work very well. Of course, I am aware of the reality for the production crew, that the time scale that must have placed enormous pressure to get the shots filmed in time. I wonder where some of the shots were filmed?
We all know of course the fate of John Porter, but I can imagine that the TV audience at the time was gripped with concerns over the fate of this gentle man, and of course how Margaret was going to cope, especially with her being pregnant. Added pathos too, in that neither John or Margaret had a chance to say good-bye before John's sudden departure overseas owing to the neurotic behaviour of Mrs. Porter. In the real world, how awful it must have been for all those parents becoming aware that their children, too, would soon be sent to fight in war, not so long after the effects of "The war to end all wars" continued to haunt them.
One senses an impending tragedy with not just one son, but also David, Phillip, and also young Robert, with his story yet to be begun. Interesting that all the armed services are represented within the Ashton family.
As for cameo appearances, in this episode we have a brief appearance of Richard Beckinsale, (of "Rising Damp" and "Porridge" fame"), who was to die tragically young of a heart attack.
There are many historical texts of this period, but there has been one recent book published concerning the period of Dunkirk. The title is Fight to the Last Man by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore, and is published by Viking at £25 (18.75 at Amazon).
Richard Veit
Throughout this entire series—whether it be John in Belgium, Philip in Spain or North Africa, David over Germany, or even Robert in a lifeboat—I was impressed by how convincingly the action scenes were staged. No doubt the writers’ and/or directors’ first-hand knowledge contributed much to the authenticity, and I suspect that in many instances the military services were available for consultation as well.
The devastating effects of a hand grenade is just one example. John Porter was not very accurate with his grenade toss in “A Breach in the Dyke,” and yet its detonation was close enough to put the German machine gunner out of commission. Those claustrophobic scenes on the bomber (“One of Ours”) were, I think worthy of the finest motion pictures in terms of placing the viewer within the action.
John Finch
Am very much enjoying 'listening' to these very intelligent and balanced comments on "A Family at War." They take me back to the very fraught process of making it. We originally intended to use only writers who had actual wartime experience, but only a few of those interviewed qualified so we had to go just for 'good' writers. Consequently, to maintain style and authenticity, the editing process was exceptionally heavy, sometimes even with a 'good' script. I didn't enjoy virtually re-writing scripts, and at the end of the series I told Denis Forman, the Managing Director at Granada, that I didn't want to edit ever again. Which meant that in future I would have to write every script myself if I wanted to work on a large canvas. I had reservations about this, but my next series was "Sam," thirty-nine hours written in less than three years!!!!! The biggest problem wasn't the size of the project, but above all maintaining the quality. I was lucky in that I had a producer, Michael Cox, who was a producer on "A Family at War."
Jo Ellem
Dunkirk has been the cause of debate amongst many historians for a while now. It seems that some feel that is was a very interesting case of "spin" that turned Dunkirk from defeat into victory. Maybe that is the case, to be really honest, I wouldn't all be surprised if that was. As an Australian, Gallipoli s a huge identifying mark for my nation and the same thing has been said about this defeat as well. Gallipoli defines us as a nation, I really believes that Dunkirk defines Modern Britain as a nation.
I have just finished reading a booked Myths and Legends of WWII. There was an accompanying volume on the first World War, which was very good. The author looks at the myths that came out of both wars and looks at the facts behind the actual events. He had a chapter on, as he called it, the so-called "Miracle of Dunkirk." The author had a lengthy poke at the validity of the praise of the cockleshell armada (the little pleasure craft that went to pick soldiers off the beach at Dunkirk). In his opinion, these craft and there extrodinary adventures do not warrant their place in the Dunkirk legend. Piffle. Of the 3000,000 Soldiers that were lifted of the beach, 15,000 of those men owe their lives to the Cockleshell Armada. If no one is aware of the Cockleshell Armada, there are a couple of really good books floating around (try Amazon), plus the Imperial War Museum has one of the little ships in the front hall. 15,000 lives, men with families and stories is a huge number of lives. Half a football ground. All lives. All living, breathing men. Good, Bad, indifferent. They were all our dad's, uncles, brothers, cousins, friends, and lovers. I do believe that some academics in the history field can get swallowed by their facts and loose sight of the human aspect they are studying. Dunkirk was a defeat but there was glory in the rescue of the BEF, and England wasn't defeated at all.
Poor old John Porter suffered the fate of many lost soldiers. I for one was glad, if you can put it that way, to see him come home bearing the mental scars of his experiences. I have met a lot of old soldiers and their families, and it has become apparent to me that these men not only lost their youth by fighting in the war but they lost themselves as well. John for me, symbolises all that was lost by those who went. I guess that's why I love the series so much, the characters ring true, so do the stories.
John Finch
Hi, Jo. I agree with you about Dunkirk, especially the little ships. Many who went out never returned home. I didn't go to sea until over twelve months later, but it was still a quiet morale booster then when all else looked dark and sometimes hopeless. It was as if there was some influential force that wanted us to win. I would have liked to introduce Japanese POWs into the series. but even with fifty-two hours, ridiculous as it may seem, there is a limit to what you can do. I brought a returned Jap POW into a later series I wrote called "Spoils of War." He survived and came home but then took his own life, something which happened to a friend of mine. I turn a bit sour when anyone talks about the spirit of the blitz, etc etc. It was there, of course, but war is awful, especially in its extreme as we see in Iraq now. Those who use it, or the threat of it, for religious etc. promotion are the real offenders in my view. They are also, usually, the ones who turn and run.
Wayne Wright-Evans
How many of us have our own "Celia Porter"? I know that I do !!!!! She has to be my favourite character.
