A season of Remembrance
91Èȱ¬ One – My Family At War
More information about each episode will be published in 91Èȱ¬ÌýTelevision Programme Information.
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Episode Three: Eamonn Holmes and Kate Silverton
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Eamonn Holmes's grandfather, Jack Fitzsimmons, died before Eamonn was born, but his photo had always adorned their mantelpiece.
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Through filming My Family At War, Eamonn finds out why, as a Catholic Nationalist, his grandfather volunteered to fight in the British Army.
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Eamonn follows Jack's footsteps to Belgium and France to find out exactly where he fought.
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Did you already know quite a bit about your family history?
"I never met my grandfather, my mother's father, as he died before I was born, but we were always made very aware of what a good man he was. His picture would adorn our mantelpiece and, come Remembrance, it would be decorated with poppies.
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"I knew he was in the Irish Guards, but I didn't know that he joined up to avenge the death of his younger brother, who was killed in battle during the First World War.
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"I also knew that, by fighting, my grandfather came home with terrible war wounds which plagued him for the rest of his life.
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"However, I had no idea in what circumstances he was wounded. He was a printer for the Belfast Telegraph before volunteering at 27 years of age to join the British Army.
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"That was a controversial thing to do, coming as he did from an Irish, Catholic, Nationalist family at a time when Ireland was under British rule and independence or 91Èȱ¬ Rule was being contested.
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"I also knew that he was a very loving father to five children, never regained a place in his trade as a printer following the War, and never spoke about his wartime experiences, except in his dreams – or nightmares."
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Where did filming take you?
"Following in my grandad Jack's footsteps took me to the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium. The whole area is quite surreal and incredibly peaceful for an area that saw so much devastation for such a long period."
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Do you think there is anyone else in your close family who will be interested in the findings?
"My grandfather has two remaining children still alive – my mother and her sister. My other four brothers were all fascinated by this, as indeed was our whole family circle of cousins – so much so that we may all get together and do a battlefield tour sometime in the future.
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"I do think it's something that anyone who has had a relative fight during that conflict should do because we are just not aware of the scale and severity of what these men went through."
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Was it moving making this programme?
"Yes, it was very moving, particularly at the point in Belgium where my grandfather received his terrible wounds. Today, the area is a lovely canal, criss-crossed with bridges and families cycling. It was a lovely sunny day when I was there, but I wanted to stop these people and say, 'Don't you know what happened here?'"
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Did you feel unearthing this history has now connected you in some way to your grandfather?
"Absolutely. I've always thought of myself as an honourable man, who would do the right thing in the right circumstances. My grandfather joined up to avenge the death of his younger brother – that was a noble thing to do."
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Who will you be thinking about during the two-minute silence on 11 November?
"I will be thinking about people who thought about others rather than themselves, people who put themselves in danger for others, people who thought they were doing the right thing.
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"I will be thinking about people who lived in a less selfish time and who made the ultimate sacrifice. I will be thinking about the hell that they went through and how far away from home they were.
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"I will be thinking about my grandfather and the bond he had with his brother, and I will be thinking, 'Thank God I never had to do what he did.'"
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Episode Four – Rolf Harris and Kirsty Wark
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Rolf Harris takes an emotional voyage when he follows his father's and uncle's journey through Northern France, where they both came to fight in the First World War with the ANZACS.
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On the boat over to France, Rolf recalls how, in 1969, he had chart-topping success with the song Two Little Boys but never understood why his aunt found it too emotional to listen to.
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With the help of a team of researchers and historians, Rolf retraces his father's and uncle's movements to the same battlefields where they fought side by side.
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On learning their full histories, Rolf at last fully understands why his song had so much resonance for his aunt.
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Rolf is choked with emotion on a tour around a local school, when he witnesses the enormous gratitude the staff and pupils have, who daily thank Australia for their help in the war. Rolf is moved to tears but now knows what his father and uncle suffered was not in vain.
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"I didn't really think I would be so moved because it all happened 90-odd years ago and I thought it would be so far away in the past. But it has been incredibly emotional this journey, and I'm glad I made it. Two Little Boys will never be the same for me again. When I sing it, it will have added poignancy because of the story that's developed here."
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The film focuses on Rolf's father, Lance Corporal Cromwell Harris. He had joined up with his younger brother, Carl, and served in the Australian Army.
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But the brothers were not Australian – they were from Wales. In 1912, they both emigrated to Australia in search of work. By 1916, they were back in Europe – this time in uniform.
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Being taken to the places where his father had fought with the Australian troops was a very special experience for Rolf. In the French town of Villers Bretonneux, he visited a local school that was built with funds raised by the families of Australian soldiers who died there.
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The school now stands as a unique living memorial to the Anzac war effort. Above the blackboards and in the playground are signs reading "N'oublions jamais l'Australie"– We Will Never Forget the Australians. The walls of the school are covered in the schoolchildren's drawings of Australian animals – kangaroos, koalas and goannas.
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Rolf was visibly very moved to find such a tribute in this small village in France: "I had never been to the Western Front, never seen any of the areas, where they fought. I had no expectation of this degree of love for Australia in this little part of the world, knowing nothing of the history of the huge losses that the Anzacs suffered and the debt of gratitude that the people here felt to Australians."
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Kirsty Wark already had photos, mementoes and letters from the First World War, but they only told half a story. Through My Family At War, Kirsty goes in search of the truth behind the letters.
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How much did you already know about your family history?
"I knew quite a lot of the history as we had letters and I knew that my great-uncle, James, and his brother, my grandfather, had volunteered. But I hadn't appreciated they did this together in the first week after Kitchener's call-up.
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"We had a collection of letters, faded photographs, even a silk hanky from France, and my great uncle's DCM which is a Distinguished Conduct Medal. But the letters didn't really tell us the real story."
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During filming did you discover things that surprised, shocked or upset you?
"So many surprises came up whilst researching the story. I hadn't appreciated all the things that happened to them. I hadn't realised my grandfather and uncle had fought together, and that James, who was in the Machine Gun Corp, had given cover to my grandfather and his battalion during the Battle of the Somme.
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"I had read all his letters before but when I re-read them for the programme, they were incredibly moving because by then I knew much more about what he had been going through."
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Where did filming take you?
"I retraced my great-uncle's footsteps to Northern France. My son James came, too. He had been to see the war graves and battlefields earlier in the year with his school but we both felt it was important for him and for me if he joined me on this journey.
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"We stood in the very field where my great-uncle James had fought at Bray-sur-Somme and, finally, we went to his grave.
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"It was all the more moving because I had faded photos of my great-grandmother in the graveyard. I realised they had been to see the grave in the Twenties and they had passed through a nearby town called Albert.
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"I re-read James's 'over the top' letter in a cafe in Albert – one that my great-grandmother may have visited, as it (unlike much of the town) was not flattened in the War. It was a letter he composed before Bray-sur-Somme and left in his kit bag in case he never made it through the day...
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"He did make it, but rereading this loving, religious and sad letter was very moving for me – in fact, at one point, I had to stop – it was too upsetting."
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What was the most affecting thing for you?
"I think the most affecting thing was feeling that I was getting closer to understanding what my great-uncle James had sacrificed.
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"There are some letters towards the end of the War when he talks about asking his commanding officer for compassionate leave, as he is so weary and wrung-out. But he was a too valuable and experienced sergeant to be let go of."
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Did you feel unearthing this history has now connected you in some way to your great-uncle?
"Utterly! Learning all about this period in my family's history really has connected me to it. It really is so important and I actually feel a little ashamed that I had never been to that part of France before to see the graves and battlefields. I feel it is now part of the tapestry of my life."
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Would you encourage other people to connect with their history?
"Absolutely! I will definitely be encouraging people to find out about their First World War history. Anyone who has a relative who served should definitely do what they can to find out more. You can find out stuff from the records office but also it's worth seeing what you might have at home."
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