This is bbc news. The headlines. The coronavirus pandemic is not going away. The Health Emergency programme said that Northern Hemisphere countries needed to do far more to combat the disease over the coming winter. British Prime Minister borisjohnson said it is seeing a second wave of covid 19 and the government still wa nts covid 19 and the government still wants to avoid another full scale lockdown. Daily increase in new covid 19 cases has now doubled within a month. The United States government has said it will ban in the us, new rules aimed at banning chinese owned apps tik tok and wechat could come into force by sunday. Both companies have vowed to fight the decision. Now, some of the bbc news presenters have been looking at the roles their family played in the second world war. To come here today and to see where he spent a part of his life a very difficult part of his life is, i have to say, its. Its quite overwhelming. This is one of the earliest pictures ive ever seen of him cos he would only have been about 20. This is where the miners would work. Unbelievable. Now, i remember when i joined the family, how pleased he was that i was from an indian family. It mattered. Allied squadrons take the airfor another great battle over europe. It was the deadliest conflict in human history. World war ii drew in men and women from all over the globe and claimed the lives of around 80 million people. 75 years ago this month, after almost six long years of fighting, the end of the war was officially declared. Of Family Connection to that war. To mark its end, four presenters from bbc news, including myself, are telling the stories of our relatives the roles they played, what they did, whether here on the home front, in the atlantic or deep in burmasjungle. We start with Mishal Husain and her grandfather. He was one of more than two million men who fought for britain in the indian army. Mishal they served in deserts and jungles, from african battlefields to asia and in europe. And without what was then the British Indian army, the war might not have been won. Its all commemorated here at the Royal Military academy sandhurst, which has trained officers for generations and where this entire room honours
the contribution of south asian troops through successive conflicts in different parts of the world. My grandfather, syed shahid hamid, was at university in northern india when he found out hed won a place at sandhurst. It was 1932 and he was one of the few indian cadets. Id like to show you this lovely photograph of your grandfather. Its part of the Royal Military college 2nd six tennis team. Name there, and youll spot him there. Yes. This is one of the earliest pictures ive ever seen of him cos he would only have been about 20 at this point. Back home, he became a husband and father. And as war broke out, india began to play a central role. Newsreel no praise is too high for these fine men who are doing so much forthe empire. When britain went into the war, it was an imperial endeavour and the imagination was that everybody around the empire would come to help and to serve and save the motherland. So what was indias contribution within that . So indias contribution is mainly manpower. There are vast numbers of men recruited, but it also produces raw materials, uniforms, timber goods, cotton. Theres a lot of drive to build up factories, munitions factories, in india itself. From december 1941, the conflict came closer to india as japanese offensives threatened british strongholds in asia. Shahid was ordered to burma, his ship arriving in rangoon as an air strike was taking place. You would land up in a harbour and you find yourself in the middle of an enemy bombing raid. It couldnt be a pleasant experience. It was the first of many searing experiences which have been pieced together by my uncle, ali. When the japanese surrounded rangoon, they blocked
the road and he writes that there was a column of over a0 miles long. Wheres the water coming from . Wheres the food coming from . Whats happening to the injured . What did he see of the plight of the civilians, all of those who were trying to get away from the Japanese Invasion . The plight of the civilians is terrible. He says that a stage came where they were offering a fistful of rubies for a fistful of rice. Burma would soon fall to the japanese and shahid later reflected upon the perils of the time. It was terrible when the wooden houses caught fire and the ammunition dump started exploding. I was blown into a trench and thought that id been hit and could not open my eyes. The picture that emerges from these pages is of the intensity of this period in burma, and i didnt realise until now what my grandfather faced from the very moment that he arrived. And for him, it comes to a very sudden end when an injury to his eyes means that he is evacuated back to india in april 1942. But what was happening around him and elsewhere some of those who lived through those years are still with us today. Veterans of an army made up not of conscripts but volunteers, and who joined up for many reasons. Very, very, the poor people. For inayet ali, it was a livelihood. Translation when the british asked us to help, we thought, theres no work available, so, instead of going hungry, we would do this. And there was the hope that if the british won the war, they would give india its independence. In many ways, that greater rise in nationalism thats taking place in india is reflected in the army. There is a greater sense that these young men and officers who are coming through in particular, many of them are nationalists and they believe in actually achieving a greater status for india. Whilst they may not be enthusiastically pro raj,
what they definitely are anti is anti japanese occupation. The army that defeats the japanese, we refer to often as the British Indian army. It is an indian army that defeats the japanese. Whilst they are fighting on the british side, who theyre really fighting for is india. After the war, my grandfather continued his military career and had a long life. Others were not so fortunate. A war that drew in many countries means that today some lie far from home. Their service is commemorated, but their stories are slipping further into the past. Now it is up to us to remember, to learn, to be grateful for the courage of those who went before. Sophie Mishal Husain and the extraordinary story of her grandfather. While fighting a conflict on this scale required immense resources a nd co nsta nt supplies, much of it was transported by sea. The Merchant Navy delivered supplies to britain and the troops who were serving abroad, but it was a dangerousjob. The Merchant Navy suffered one of the highest casualty rates. Huw edwards tells the story of his grandfather who served with the atlantic convoys. Huw the story begins in the tiny Seaside Village of Llanddewi Aberarth on the coastline of ceredigion. This is where id come to visit my grandparents and this is the little house where they lived. Nothing much has changed in the main street. And you can see the house in the background to this family photo, which was taken after the war and my grandfathers return after four years away. Hed gone to sea in the first instance at the age 01 14 in 1920. It was the natural thing to do for the boys in the village. But, as he told me many years later, never could he have imagined that that first voyage as a merchant seaman would lead, eventually, to three years in a german
prisoner of war camp. Newsreel this is a story of the men who brave the dangers of the sea to bring us our daily bread. The men of the Merchant Navy faced terrifying danger as they kept britain supplied with food and raw materials. All too often, they were easy targets for the german battleships and u boats. The u boats used to hunt in packs and they always aimed for the merchant ships because they were seen as being the ships that were keeping britain and the other places afloat. The more merchant ships they could sink, the more vulnerable we became. To get on a ship voyage after voyage, knowing in early 1941, my grandfather was working on the ss stanpark. They had picked up supplies at cape town and they were heading home when they met with disaster off the coast of west africa. The convoy had been spotted by a german battleship called the admiral scheer. My grandfathers ship was sunk and he and the crew were taken back to bordeaux in france before being sent on to a prisoner of warcamp in germany. Im a little bit nervous about seeing the site itself because ive no idea what to expect. But im. |m really, really keen to. Take it all on board. And this is the site of that camp at sandbostel, and im the first member of my family to retrace some of his steps. Ive been. Waiting, i suppose. 40 years to see this, since i first was aware of my grandfathers story, so to come here today and to see where he spent a part of his life a very difficult part of his life is, i have to say, its. Its quite overwhelming. I was shown around by the local historian and guide, ines dirolf, who explained the layout of the camp to me. These huts were meant to be,
like, 250 prisoners of war in each hut, and then four huts had to use one latrine, so. But when prisoners of war were here, those huts were highly overcrowded. So, how many do you think would have been in there at that time . Nearly 400. Wow. What i really want is to see inside one of these huts, so, maybe you can tell me. Youre very welcome to do so. What is, er. Whats this . Gosh, its. Now, were inside one of the wooden huts, which were used for the prisoners of war. This is the nearly original size of one of the chambers of this wooden hut, and shows how much, like about, lets say, 40 prisoners of war in just this little room. Gosh. We think prisoners of war slept on the very ground without any beds and without any sort of blankets. Which explains
the higher death rate. So, during the daytime, prisoners of war could leave those huts, but not so in the night time. In fact, more than 300,000 prisoners of 55 nationalities were held here during the war. This is an example of a hut from the first generation of huts here. So, when my grandfather came here, it would have been in a very similar building to this . Yes. Butjust a few metres away . After a period at sandbostel, my grandfather and his fellow prisoners were marched some 15 miles away to a place called westertimke, where they built another camp called milag nord. The trouble here in westertimke is that there is no physical evidence of the camp that was here, the camp where my grandfather spent most of his time in captivity. It was beyond these trees somewhere. But all that remains of that camp today is this memorial
to the 5,000 merchant seamen who were held here. How many of them would stop at this memorial, do you think . V0 but thats not the only memorial to the Merchant Navy, of course the most prominent of which is here in greenwich, a reminder of the dangers the men faced. Youve a 50 chance of not making it at these peak points in the conflict and conditions would be poor, your pay was poor and your recognition was also not up there with the armed forces. Without the Merchant Navy, we could not have won world war ii. Its as simple as that. My grandfather did make it home to west wales before the end of the war and, despite fragile health, he lived to the age of 85 always modest, always hardworking and always grateful. In a rare comment on his difficult wartime experience, he said simply this i was very lucky. And he always thought of the tens of thousands
of merchant seamen who did not return, but who made such a vital contribution to britains survival in the second world war. Huw edwards and the story of his grandfather and the atlantic convoys. Well, thousands of miles away on the other side of the world, hundreds and thousands of allied troops were engaged in one of the most defining and brutal campaigns of the war. They were fighting the japanese in burma, now known as myanmar, for the fourteenth army, led by general slim. It was a truly multi nationalforce. But as war in europe came to an end, the war in the far east raged on and the soldiers became known as the forgotten army. Reeta chakra barti tells the story of her father in law, who was one of them. The great news ran through the land. Jubilation across the uk. The war in europe was finally over. But thousands of miles away,
in burma, allied troops were still fighting a formidable enemy japan. They became a forgotten army in a forgotten war, but one whose course shaped the future of many lives. It led to a parting gift from a former enemy, becoming a symbol of love in my own family. My father in law, patrickjohn rogers hamilton, was 23 when world war ii started. Home for patrick was scotland and, after the war broke out, hejoined the gordon highlanders regiment in aberdeen before being sent to india and then to burma. Thats him there. Second row. A smiling face. At his home in aberdeen, my brother in law, mark, recalled his fathers enthusiasm for india. He was thrilled to be there, in a way. Obviously, the circumstances were unpleasant and to be sucked away from your nearest and dearest was a difficult thing for so many. But he was delighted that he had the opportunity
to go to india. He taught members of the garhwal regiment how to play the pipes, so thats quite remarkable. I remember, when ijoined the family, how pleased he was that i was from an indianfamily. It mattered. Patricks military career had started with the gordon highlanders regiment. I wanted to trace his journey, so i went to the Regimental Museum to learn more. The regiment here is the story of aberdeen and aberdeenshire. Its just ordinary folk. Doing extraordinary things. Doing extraordinary things. Thank you. So, this is their register of soldiers, for the gordon highlanders, and you can see, from this list, his Service Number and the fact that he joined the gordon highlanders in august 1940. Will have probably done his officer training in india and the jungle Warfare Training in india before he joined the indian army. So, he had to leave the gordon highlanders. Yes. In orderto be. Yeah, the indian army was really short of officers. But patrick was not long in india. The japanese had taken neighbouring burma in 1942, and his regiment became part of the huge 14th army which fought to win it back. It was an immense force of around a million men, but it became the forgotten army as europes focus was on itself. The men fought in the towns and jungles of burma in atrocious conditions. Those back home could only imagine the horrors. My mother in law, jenny, still not married to patrick, wrote to him. My darling patrick, ive been feeling for you tonight, and im full of sympathy for you. Theyre putting more and more in the papers about this 14th Army Campaign and i feel nothing can be too good to make up for such a hell. Well, we had a very bad war in the far east. Veteran John Giddings was one of those men in burma living that hell. We lost quite a number of lads
through night attacks. And bombing attacks, of course. We had a bad raid where we lost 50 in an air raid. Terrible. I suppose, in a way, we were always known as the forgotten army. The history books tell people how difficult it was but, of course, its notjust like being there. In may 1945, it was the final push. Its mud, mud and still more mud. But rangoon is the capital of burma and biggest prize of the whole campaign. Rangoons recapture by allied forces weakened japan before its final surrender a few months later. Field marshal viscount slim led the campaign in burma. His grandson, mark slim, told me why his grandfathers army should no longer be forgotten. It was a very tough campaign. It was fought over great distances, with insufficient resources, in an environment that was riddled with disease. But they all made
the most of it. And they united, and they worked as a very thorough team, and they took great pride in overcoming the odds. As if war werent enough, those on the front line had to contend with other, more personal matters. Interestingly, theres a telegram here which he received a few days after his father died, which was sent, and i guess that was a kind of brutal way of receiving that news. And the detail of it, he didnt receive some three or four months later. And no time to grieve. No. Too. Too much involved. Yeah. What does it make you feel, looking at this and thinking about him . Sort of proud. Definitely. Everyone in the family is proud of patrick, and we all feel weve got to know him better now as a result of making this film. And out of the horrors of the war he endured came this token of love. Its a ring that was given to him by a japanese officer. Its got his initials engraved on it. And he wore this as his wedding ring when he finally married jenny. Reeta chakrabarti and the story of her father in law. Millions of men served abroad during world war ii, but some who signed up to go to war instead found themselves forced to stay at home and go hundreds of metres underground in britains coal mines. Conditions were harsh. Injury rates were high. My grandfather was a surgeon. He used his medical skills to help keep the war effort going on the home front. And its title, translated into english, is the girl with the flaxen hair. His name was Ernest Alexander nicoll, a passionate pianist and a pioneering surgeon. As war broke out, coal was desperately needed to fuel the fight against the nazis. At one point, britain almost ran out of supplies. My grandfather, then in his late 30s, began helping some of the tens of thousands of miners on the home front, injured underground. At the National CoalMining Museum in yorkshire, you can still experience what life was like in the war years. It was a dangerous job. Rumbling watch your head. What really strikes me, coming down here, is how people managed to cope coming in here, day after day, and working in these conditions and the threat, the permanent threat, of being injured, of being killed. It became a way of life for the miners. You know, they were sort of brought up in mining families, and generation
after generation would be working in the mines, so it was sort of in their blood. This is where the miners would work, theyd drive the machine and theyd drill and blast the coal face, and shovel it all onto this conveyor. Unbelievable. There were terrible accidents. There were blasts going off, the wood was creaking. Yes. Itd be mainly broken limbs and broken backs. And these all came from getting buried under rock falls. And once they had an injury as bad as a broken back, the chances of them getting back to work were quite slim. Yes, itd be very slim. They certainly wouldnt be coming back down the mine, working in these conditions. My grandfather lived in the heart of mining communities in nottinghamshire, where he worked as a surgeon. He decided to use his skills to help miners get back to work. And this is Berryhill Hall, a country home that, in 1939, my grandfather transformed into the first rehabilitation
centre for injured miners. It was pioneering, the work that he led here. And by the end of world war ii, there were six more centres, just like this one, that had opened up in mining communities across the north of england. Then a plaster case is applied to prevent any movement. And here he is, filmed during the war for a government video to highlight his work. He focused on building up muscle strength after injury with up to three hours a day in a specially built gym and occupational therapy. 95 of his patients went back down the mines. Berryhill hall is very, very important. It had that crucial kind of role in providing that rehabilitation service, then, to this large group of Industrial Workers who were at risk of these kinds of injuries and these impairments, and disabilities. So, it does play an important role, then, in getting very large numbers of such injured workers to a level of fitness where they can return to work. Thats me. 93 year old harry parks was tossed down the mines as a teenager. He thought he was going to war. Instead, like almost 50,000 men, he was conscripted as a bevin boy, as they were known. I hated every day of going to bed. To start with, i was frightened to death because we knew, being in a mining area, that i think it was 1,000 men killed every year working in a coal mine. But if we didnt go. It was on pain of imprisonment. Because i was a conscript, i felt as though i should be fighting for my country and. I wasnt allowed to do that. Ernest bevin was speaking out for the british people. The bevin boys were named after the wartime minister of labour ernest bevin, who had been charged with increasing britains coal production. He decided that a tenth of the young men whod signed
up to go to war would instead go down the mines to replace those who were fighting abroad. The number of serious accidents increased as pressure grew on the mines to extract more and more coal. And for the thousands of 18 24 year olds who thought they were heading for the front line, it was a huge shock to find themselves underground. It was done on a ballot system. So, they had the numbers nought to nine in a hat and bevins secretary picked out a number, randomly, every fortnight and if your registration ended with that number, you were conscripted to the mines. So, you had men who would have been training to go into the air corps or to the air force, and they ended up being conscripted to work underground. Well, we never had a uniform. We had to buy our own gear, clothes, and boots and helmets. When we worked at the pit. You were going into. Whatever the danger was, you had to do it. You were a conscript and so you did what you were told. This is a nerve injury. Miners were five times more likely to have an accident
than other workers on the home front. My grandfather treated more than 1,000 a year at the local hospital. Where did you go, that he worked . My mother was a young child, but vividly remembers going to work with him. We went to Berryhill Hall and i can remember it had a lovely big lawn. I dont think i ever went inside the building. I was only about six or seven, it was a very long time ago, but we used to play on the lawn. Thats where all the exercises took place, i think. He also took her to his fracture clinic on hospital visits. Every saturday morning, we went to mansfield General Hospital to do a ward round, and he would put on his white coat and would sweep in and he was made such a fuss of. And then we went all round all the patients, chatting to each one. After the war, ernest nicoll carried on his work with miners. He spent the rest of his life working as an orthopaedic surgeon in the nhs and playing the piano. A showman to the very end. My grandfather nico, as he liked to be called, he was playing the piano until the very end, when he died at the age of 92. He was just one of millions of people who played their part in the peoples war. Hello. A little bit on the breezy side in certain parts of the uk, few
showers around but on the hall, a fine weekend. This is what it looks like early in the morning on saturday, clear skies for most of us, temperatures around 10 degrees, a few showers looking there across the channel and the thinking is that through the course of the morning and into the afternoon, the clouds will be built across the clouds will be built across the south in the showers will clip the southwest of england. There is a breeze blowing out for you can see the arrows put a predominantly sunny day with temperatures typically around the high teens, the low 20s and it does look as though it will cloud over a little in the afternoon across the northeast of the uk. Making the most of this week, next week will be very different and in fact, a gradual quote unexpected to the course of next week and turning more terminal.