To mark the centenary of the week that Britain joined the Great War, BFBS Radio is broadcasting an exclusive documentary entitled 'Artefacts and Armaments: Ten objects that tell the story of the First World War'.
The one-hour programme will be aired on Sunday 3rd August at 5pm (UK) on BFBS Radio 2, and on Monday 4th August on BFBS Radio at 8pm (UK). Each item will also be the subject of a series of ten reports on BFBS Radio and BFBS Radio 2.
The list of objects includes an early gas mask, a bloodstained kilt, a biscuit with a message, a brass bell, and a Mark IV tank.
BFBS Presenter, Mikaela Roche, has travelled from the Scottish Highlands down to Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard to see the ten museum exhibits.
“I wanted to look at a selection of objects that survive from the First World War, then use them as a starting point to explore stories and themes of the conflict.”
“The items illustrate the challenges of warfare on multiple fronts and how the Allies and their enemies faced death on a horrific scale. But they also show how innovations and individual acts of bravery can affect the course of war.”
Interviews with curators and experts link each exhibit to different periods of the war and a range of campaigns, from the Home Front to the Western Front, and Gallipoli to Mesopotamia.
The contributions made by all three services are recognised in the documentary, which includes weapons and equipment used by the Army, the Royal Navy and the RAF – formed from the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
“To get a real sense of the national effort I deliberately chose items from some of the country’s smaller regional military museums,” added Mikaela.
“I hope that this programme and series will encourage people to explore local collections in their home towns as we begin to commemorate Britain’s involvement in the First World War.”
'Artefacts and Armaments: Ten objects that tell the story of the First World War' has been produced by Mikaela Roche and Mario Chrisostomou, Head of BFBS Radio 2. It also includes music and war poetry, as well as first-hand accounts of the period, read by Paul Condon, Lee Canderton and Adam Scott.
There'll be another chance to hear the programme on Monday 4th August at 11am (UK) on BFBS Radio 2, after the First World War Centenary Commonwealth Service from Glasgow Cathedral (courtesy of the BBC) and on Sunday 10th August at 3pm (UK) on BFBS Radio.
Ten objects that tell the story of the First World War:
1. HMS Lance’s 4-inch gun, The National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.
2. The mud and bloodstained kilt, The Highlanders’ Museum, Inverness.
3. The anti-airship incendiary bomb, The Royal Air Force Museum, London.
4. The improvised switchboard, The Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Staffordshire.
5. Captain Willis’s cane, The Fusilier Museum, Bury.
6. The PH Helmet, Firepower: The Royal Artillery Museum, London.
7. The biscuit with a message, York and Lancaster Regiment Museum, Rotherham.
8. The lead ball from a shrapnel shell, Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot.
9. The Baghdad bell, The Black Watch Castle & Museum, Perth.
10. The Mark IV tank, The Tank Museum, Bovington.
