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The Wipers Times
A simply brilliant 90 mins from the BBC, Ian Hislop and Nick Newman (both of Private Eye fame). So it's not mil aviation ... but very military and extremely poignant.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...s_2668792b.jpg A true story ... When Captain Fred Roberts discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium in 1916, he decided to publish a satirical magazine called The Wipers Times - "Wipers" being army slang for Ypres. Full of gallows humour, The Wipers Times was poignant, subversive and very funny. Produced literally under enemy fire and defying both authority and gas attacks, the magazine proved a huge success with the troops on the western front. It was, above all, a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. In his spare time, Roberts also managed to win the Military Cross for gallantry. I think Captain Roberts MC would have liked PPRuNe :ok: BBC iPlayer : The Wipers Times iPlayer Expiry Date 18/09/13 Best ... Coff. |
I enjoyed it too.
There are a couple of examples of wipers times articles to view on the BBC website. |
One of those rare moments when I applaud the BBC.
Excellent programme, and much enjoyed on many different levels. :ok: |
My thoughts entirely. Watched it on the strength of the review in the Torygraph and was glad that I did so.
HLV |
I too thought it excellent, and to do that with all that was going on around them, really was a well written and produced show, shame the Times couldn't add a belated obituary to them both.
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Wonderful story. Made me feel humble.
Rgds SOS |
Really enjoyed it, so good to see a knock at the Daily Mail and the endless poetry!
The very slightest of gripes, and this is TV-wide, is that it would be nice, just once, to hear a proper Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire accent. |
Me Duck !
:E |
Eyup yoth, got any tuffeys?
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Great programme... Palin was genius...
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The very slightest of gripes, and this is TV-wide, is that it would be nice, just once, to hear a proper Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire accent. Must say I really enjoyed that. Didn't manage to catch it first time so am grateful for the link (had a few hours to kill this afternoon). |
Wonderful. Made me cry made me laugh, made me angry. Yes loved the hits at the Daily Mail (wonder if they were reading PPrune) and more than one or two nods to Blackadder humour. Watch it, well worth it.
Tom |
Ian Hislop is one of the very few TV personalities I would really love to meet. I even gritted my teeth and watched him being interviewed on the truly awful One Show so that I could learn a bit more about this programme, which was as good as I hoped.
The very slightest of gripes, and this is TV-wide, is that it would be nice, just once, to hear a proper Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire accent. This one got the 'oop north' for the ORs and "posh south east" for the officers, but that minor annoyance apart the programme was brilliant. The badges were spot on, by the way. |
Tankertrashnav, agree with you on the generality of accents and the badges. My grandad was Notts & Derbys in the First War, having been conscripted in 1916 from his job as a miner. We also had family who worked the Kimberley mines in SA, as Capt Roberts did, so I was watching very keenly on all aspects.
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Tankertrashnav, agree with you on the generality of accents and the badges.
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Complaining that the accents were not correct is a bit pointless when you read in ORAC's link
Among the men recorded was John Hickman, a musician from Bletchingdon, north of Oxford, who experts say has an Oxfordshire accent completely different from that of today 'Regional accents were much stronger. 'This was a period when you could tell people from one village to another, it wasn't just county to county.' |
I don't watch a lot on the Beeb these days, but I watched this and agree with most of the preceding inputs. Great TV, such a pity they prefer to push out soaps. Bring on some more please aunty Beeb.
Smudge :ok: |
I concur, it was a brilliant program, humour mixed with fact. Great writing from Hislop and co.
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The very slightest of gripes, and this is TV-wide, is that it would be nice, just once, to hear a proper Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire accent. |
Great entertainment and all the better because it was based upon facts.
Reminded me of Rompers Green that Chas Finn-Kelcey did at Lyneham in the 1970s. |
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