Shoulder to Shoulder , 1974 tv series on the suffragettes

[MichaelHerbert]

In April and May 1974 the BBC broadcast a drama series " Shoulder to Shoulder" on the suffragettes, created by Midge Mackenzie, Georgia Brown and Verity Lambert. Shamefully it has never been issued as a DVD and is not on Iplayer or Britbox. I have just disovered that 5 episodes are available online as follows:

Episode 1 The Pankhursts, Broadcast 3rd April 1974
archive.org/details/shoulder-to-shoulder-episode-1-the-pankhursts

Episode 2 Annie Kenney. Broadcast 10th April 1974
Not online, unfortunately

Episode 3 Lady Constance Lytton. Broadcast 17th April 1974
archive.org/details/shoulder-to-shoulder-episode-3-lady-constance-lytton

Episode 4 Christabel Pankhurst. Broadcast 24th April 1974.
archive.org/details/shoulder-to-shoulder-episode-4-christabel-pankhurst

Episode 5 Outrage. Broadcast 1st May 1974.
archive.org/details/shoulder-to-shoulder-episode-5-outrage

Episode 6 Sylvia Pankhurst. Broadcast 8th May 1974.
archive.org/details/shoulder-to-shoulder-episode-6-sylvia-pankhurst

This is a radio interview with one of the women behind the series. Midge Mackenzie
archive.org/details/pacifica_radio_archives-KZ0806

In 2014 Birkbeck College hosted a seminar on the series with surviving cast members and two of the directors, Moira Armstrong and Warris Hussain. This is a podcast on the event
www.mary-talbot.co.uk/podcast-on-the-making-of-bbcs-shoulder-to-shoulder/

Thank you for the information.

There are unoficial DVDs of the complete series for sale online, too.

I was at secondary school when that was shown and loved it. Went on to do my O-level project on the Suffragettes after my teacher warned me that covering the history of the Russian revolution was a big ask in 500 words.

Thank you for the links. I've been wanting to see them for yonks.

You are welcome...

I remember this , thank you for the links.
Another good series is The Walls Of Jericho about Sophia Jex Blake and the Edinburgh Seven, I’d like to see that again.

I was reading about this shocking case whilst researching . I would really like to see the series. The seven women were finally given their degrees recently www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-47814747

It was me that uploaded them and they have now all been removed by the BBC.

Although plenty of BBC dramas from that era have been released on VHS or DVD, ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ has been omitted. Nor has the BBC made it available on iPlayer.

About ten years ago, in an effort to make the series available, I purchased a home-recorded VHS tape of the series, converted it to MP3 and uploaded it to Youtube. I did not monetarise it. The BBC removed all six episodes from my channel, claiming an infringement of their copyright.

But why does it care? As the BBC will not release it on DVD it is not losing out financially from it being available Youtube. What is more, many other programmes from that era have been uploaded by various individuals and have remained for years without the BBC removing them - even though the BBC sells them on DVD and therefore IS losing out financially - go figure!

The series was broadcast in 1974, then 1993 (at 11.30pm on Sundays!) and lastly on BBC4 in 2008, again very late at night (11.20pm). It's not been on for the past 15 years even though it's the ONLY TV series EVER made about the suffragettes.

Why is our public broadcaster, with its duty to educate, so determined to ensure that ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ remains in obscurity and why does it thwart viewers' every possible means of watching it?

There is an interview with Midge here

https://archive.org/details/pacifica_radio_archives-KZ0806

Wankers.

I remember it. Why does the BBC think it is controversial? It's about the suffrage movement and the women in it. Is anything about women suspect by the BBC?

I found it so shocking when I saw it on television as a 15 year old.
I didn't realise how brutal the police were.