1. TV post: Testament of Youth

    imageTestament of Youth a 1979 miniseries based on Vera Brittain’s 1933 memoir. Available on YouTube, starting here. Really excellent and very much worth watching. In lieu of being able to find this book ANYWHERE (I eventually found it in Blackwells, bless ’ em), and the miniseries being easily available online, I sat down to watch it.

    It chronicles the experiences of the author at home, as a VAD, and at Oxford after the war. It’s hard to judge the series without knowing the source material, but there was a lot to like here.

    Notwithstanding the atmosphere of high drama which is a staple of the production era, Cheryl Cambell is excellent as Vera. The gentlemen are all well-cast too. The series is well written, with a few outstanding moments.

    Quite frequently, works by various war poets are featured in the voiceover, often along with historical footage from the front. This includes at least one poem written by Roland Leighton, Vera’s fiancé.

    Focused as it is on Vera, the series portrays no action closer to the front than the general hospital at Étaples. Most of it occurs on the home front.

    Watching this really got me reflecting on fickle fate. Like everyone, practically all my male antecedents of the right generation went to the war, and all of them came back. None were even hideously disfigured, nor did they suffer more than the standard ongoing physical/psychological effects of being in the war.

    By contrast, there were those like Brittain for whom the personal losses were far more devastating. I am very much looking forward to reading the book, now that I have finally managed to put my hands on a copy.