Britains Boy Soldiers *New Good Links 30-July*

Ninety years ago, Britain's teenage boys volunteered en masse to fight for their King and country. Such was their will to fight that a number of enthusiastic boys joined-up below the legal age to enlist. Now, new research reveals that these boy soldiers were not just a passionate handful but a significant proportion of Britain's army. Additionally, the government has been found to have deliberately turned a blind eye to their enlistment.


At the outbreak of war, the minimum age for volunteers was 18, and soldiers had to be 19 before they could serve overseas. However, new research in the War Graves Commission records has shown that among the ranks of the British army were as many as 250,000 underage boys, some as young as 14, who had lied about their age in order to enlist. Desperate for manpower, the government ignored such irregularities, tacitly colluding in the decision to allow children to go to war. Using interviews recorded with a number of the longest-surviving boy soldiers, this moving documentary examines why so many were allowed to join up and fight, and what happened to just a handful of them.

The Hiding Place - The Life Of Corrie Ten Boom *New Good Links 30-July*

The Hiding Place stars Julie Harris, Eileen Heckart, Arthur O'Connell, and Jeannette Clift in her Golden Globe nominated role as Corrie ten Boom. With the Nazi invasion of Holland, the ten Boom family joins the underground resistance to help save persecuted Jewish families. But when they are arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps themselves, they're left with nothing to cling to but their faith.

1066: Battle for Middle Earth *New Good Links 30-July*

1066 - The Battle For Middle Earth
Docudrama showing the basis for Lord of the Rings medieval vocabulary

The untold story of the Norman Conquest, 1066 sheds new light on one of British history's darkest events, not through the eyes of Kings and Conquerors but from behind the shield wall, through the eyes of the ordinary villagers caught up in the chaos.  Combining full-throttle battle action, compelling performances and epic cinematography, 1066 is an epic adventure of invasion, resistance and war that tells the story of ordinary men and their families across three tribes - the English, the Normans, and the Vikings.





Episode 1
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Crowhurst newlywed Tofi and his farmer friend Leofric are torn from their Sussex homes by the English warrior Ordgar and summoned to defend the English coast from invasion. But while the army of King Harold waits in the south, fierce Vikings set sail from the fjords of the north.

1914-1918 *New Good Links 30-July*

Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished.

1 - Explosion - Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished. Beginning with the origins of the conflict.



2 - Stalemate - Documentary series telling the history of the Great War through the words of those who lived through the conflict. As the war began, experts thought that technical advances in weaponry would bring about a quick victory, but the reality was different as armies resorted to trench warfare on the Western Front.

3 - What if... Total War - With deadlock in the trenches, the great powers searched for other ways to break through.

4 - Slaughter - The battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele were three of the worst of the war, yet soldiers sought to keep their sanity with music, sport and theatre.

5 - Mutiny - By the start of 1917, the strain of war was so great that half the French army mutinied, while in Russia the whole regime was overthrown.

6 - Collapse - This part looks at the poverty and unrest among the German people, how the Americans finally joined in and how the war ended. Starring: Judi Dench, Louis Gossett Jr., Martin Landau, Paul Mercurio.

7 - Legacy - Judi Dench narrates an exploration of the aftermath of World War One, when four empires lay devastated, while missing limbs, unhealed injuries and personal grief left painful reminders for those who survived.

File Size: 620 Mb
Video Codec Name: XviD ISO MPEG-4
Duration: 49:03
Resolution: 720x544
Video Bitrate: 1549kbps

Horizon - Auschwitz, The Blueprint Of Genocide

Using newly-released (in 1994) files, concealed by the KGB in Moscow and held in archives for nearly 50 years, the programme exposes the events behind the planning and building of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Professor Gerald Fleming, a researcher into Nazi war crimes and architect Robert van Pelt, investigate these files and reveal evidence which shows how German civilian engineers and Bauhaus-trained architects deliberately colluded with the SS to plan the genocide. UKTV Version.

The Mexican-American War

At a time when immigration reform continues to be one of the most heated topics in political and business circles, this feature-length special reexamines the controversial war that resulted in the United States taking control of what was nearly half of Mexico’s territory. Featuring lavish reenactments, and interviews with both Mexican and American historians to ensure accuracy from both nations’ points of view, we convey the story of President James K. Polk’s desire to expand US territory to the Pacific Ocean. Hosted by boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya, we also travel to Mexico City to visit the historic Castillo de Chapultepec, where the climactic battle of the war took place, and the Palacio Nacional, the home of Mexico’s government.

Russian Revolution

The Russian revolution changed the world forever. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the most radical social experiments ever seen. Poverty, crime, privelage and class division were to be eliminated. A new era of socialism promised peace prosperity and equality for all the peoples of the world. But the social experiment failed, millions were killed and within a generation almost one third of the worlds population was living in the shadow of communism. Less than 20 miles from St. Petersburg is a small fortified island and it's garisson town of Kronstaad. It was built to defend the former capital of Russia against attack from the sea. Only recently has the story of what happened here in the early years of the revolution and the role of the sailors stationed here in starting the revolution been pieced together.
This program shows how an idealistic dream turned into a nightmare as seen by the sailors at the vanguard of the revolution. Drawn from their letters and accounts the story is told using archive and reconstructions of the events, all in color, just as they might have seen it. This is the story of the Russian Revolution.

20th Century Battlefields

Join hosts Peter and Dan Snow for an unprecedented look at the decisive conflicts of the 20th century. This new landmark series reveals the intricacies of these crucial battles -- the strategies, the weapons, the tactics and their impact. Unique CGI brings to life the vast landscapes of modern warfare and an extraordinary overview of the major actions, while the dramatized testimony of ordinary soldiers brings the experience of combat into sharp relief.