First World War films/books/documentaries?

[Pinkappleblossom]

Just learning so much more about this era at the moment, and wondered what people’s best recommendations were?

I’ve read Testament of Youth, A Long Long Way and Charlotte Sometimes (a children’s book). Any other good recommendations?

www.amazon.co.uk/They-Called-Passchendaele-Battle-Fought-ebook/dp/B004LLIHQ8?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Brilliant book

@NeedWineNow

Definitely read A Testament of Youth and the Regeneration Trilogy and Birdsong.

I'd recommend the film 1917.

1917 is a film for entertainment, not a proper informative or realistic WWI film. Do you really think they’d send two runners to pass on such an important message? Would it not have been easier to pick up the phone (yes, they did have them) or send a plane over and check the message out in a canister? All so much quicker than two runners whose chances of getting through were exceedingly slim.

All of the classics mentioned above are perfect, but one that I remember to this day is Readers Digest book, At The Going Down of the Sun. I adore it, follows 3 brothers from a small rural village during WW1. It had an impact on me, I don't know why I found it so powerful, but for a human tale I recommend.
www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Down-Sun-Elizabeth-Darrell/dp/0312059043

@Moooooooooooooooooo

What sort of WWI books are you after? Books like Michael Morpurgo (fiction) or proper WWI reading material? If the latter, read anything by Peter Hart, very readable and not heavy reading. If you have a special area of interest (eg: the Somme, Gallipoli, the RFC etc) he deals with different subjects in different books Peter has also done tv work, you may find it on Youtube. He has lots of free podcasts available too - look for Peter Hart military history. If you can find any video clips by Taff Gillingham they’re exceedingly good, he also runs the Great War Huts, but not written any books. A very respected gentleman.

There are lots of authors covering a very wide range of areas, some very heavy on statistics etc. Some not so much. If you have a special interest and want pointers for books I’d be happy to suggest.

Peter Hart sounds brilliant. I read really widely, but I’m reading across that time period in general and some history books are harder to grasp than others (e.g. Vivid Faces about some of the same period in Ireland, is an absolutely outstanding history book but very dense and I find it hard to get into the flow - maybe a historian’s history book.)

@Moooooooooooooooooo also if pinned to a special interest, probably the more domestic side, or women’s stories. I love testament of youth.

@5566rfghh funnily enough I don’t think I have read rilla, I think I read most of the Anne books as a tween, then blue castle and Emily of NM as an adult. I idolised Anne as a child, but when i started rereading them as an adult I found her so saintly (see also what Katy did, little women heroines in later books etc) I didn’t keep on, so missed rilla.

Yes to pp suggesting Testament of Youth, I’ve read it once before and it made a huge impression on me, started rereading it and still love it but realised I could also investigate wider reading!

So funny, I just realised today that having recently read Agatha Christie’s autobiography, they were really very direct contemporaries, and both from the ‘comfortable’ affluent middle classes, but what utterly different characters and perceptions of their experiences.

I am making a massive list of all of these brilliant suggestions.

Peter Jackson's 'They shall not grow old' one of the best docs I've ever seen, combines oral accounts of veterans with enhanced footage. Also the great war YouTube channel has hundreds of hours of content amd is completely free. This is one of their videos.

I'm a history student who's done a lot around this, so please ask any questions!

The Reluctant Tommy. Story of Ronald Skirth. Absolutely amazing book. Made me wish I had met him, he seemed like an amazing man

Also, if you have relatives who served, the National Archives have opened their catalogue for free during lockdown and you can search for military records. Many were lost during bombing raids in WW2 but many are available, with quite a lot of detail. I found out my grandad was docked pay for being late back from leave and for insubordination . He also spent time at St Dunstan's having been blinded in a gas attack. I also found out that 2 great uncles and 2 great great uncles were decorated for bravery, and 3 family members who joined up while under age.

Francis Ledwidge poetry
A great insight

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[quote Pinkappleblossom]@Moooooooooooooooooo also if pinned to a special interest, probably the more domestic side, or women’s stories. I love testament of youth.[/quote]
Try this as a starter, the story of Betty Stevenson. A young girl determined to go to war to help out and what becomes of her. You have to get to about page 10/12 before it begins (digitising for you!). But it’s such a worthwhile read.

ia902205.us.archive.org/24/items/bettystevensonym00steviala/bettystevensonym00steviala_bw.pdf

You might like this website too, Scarlet Finders. About locating information on. nurses during WWI, but there are diaries there so makes for interesting reading. Sue, who did all the research and ran the website, died a few years ago but what she’s produced is of such importance it’s being maintained on her behalf.

www.scarletfinders.co.uk/index.html

I was going to recommend the Peter Jackson film but not surprisingly PPs have beaten me to it. It's not generally an area of interest for me but that film is really captivating.

And not just nurses, but women who joined the Women's auxiliary (waac). There are some lovely pictures online of women who worked in bakeries behind the lines.

Try this site too, about the Barnbow Lasses in Leeds

secretlibraryleeds.net/2016/12/05/2926/

WW2, Netflix. Based on a true story.
A Call To Spy.

Another to read (on Google books) Roses of No Man’s Land by Lynn McDonald, highly rated by those in the know. Not sure if this is the book in its entirety, but certainly a very large portion in here online:

books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Roses_of_No_Man_s_Land.html?id=lUcT86ojTsYC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&redir_esc=y

[quote Pinkappleblossom]@5566rfghh funnily enough I don’t think I have read rilla, I think I read most of the Anne books as a tween, then blue castle and Emily of NM as an adult. I idolised Anne as a child, but when i started rereading them as an adult I found her so saintly (see also what Katy did, little women heroines in later books etc) I didn’t keep on, so missed rilla.[/quote]
Rilla is definitely less 'saintly' :). Obviously it's completely fictional, and you won't learn any actual facts really. But I quite like it, and it gives a small insight into what it would have been like for the women, waiting at home.

There seems to be far more books wrote from the people at home's perspective from WWII! I wonder why.