Britain's Greatest Generation

by Elliott, Sue; Humphries, Steve

• ISBN13: 9781847947468
• ISBN10: 1847947468
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-10-01
• Publisher: Random House Uk Ltd

Summary

In association with a flagship BBC2 series, Britain's Greatest Generation celebrates the achievements of the exceptional generation of men and women born in the early twentieth century.
     This is the story of a truly remarkable generation. Born into a world still reeling from the earth-shattering events of the Great War, they grew up during the Great Depression, witnessed the globe tear itself apart all over again during the Second World War, and emerged from post-war austerity determined to create a new society for their children.
     This is the story of the men and women who raised their families during the immense social upheaval of the Sixties and Seventies, as the battle for civil liberties raged on and old industrial communities were rent asunder by unprecedented technological advances. Britain's Greatest Generation follows both the ordinary men and women who lived through these extraordinary times, as well as a host of household names including Dame Vera Lynn, Sir David Attenborough, Brian Rix and Diana Athill, as they reflect upon these incredible experiences in their own words.

Author Biography

STEVE HUMPHRIES, described by Broadcast magazine as 'the king of oral history', is a former history and sociology lecturer at the University of Essex. After working as a producer at London Weekend Television where he made landmark series such as The Making of Modern London (for which he also co-wrote the accompanying four books), he set up Testimony Films in Bristol in 1992. Since then, Testimony has made over 60 single documentaries and series for all the public service broadcasters and for specialist digital channels.

SUE ELLIOTT is the author of the best-selling memoir and history of adoption, Love Child and The Children Who Fought Hitler about the WW2 exploits of former pupils of the British Memorial School in Ypres and was a Researcher on the BBC4 documentary of the same name made by Testimony.