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21 October 1914

Mickey's plan to be a battlefield tourist is undone by an artillery captain on a mission. By Jonathan Ruffle.

by Jonathan Ruffle.

Series created by Jonathan Ruffle

Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.

Through it all, we follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.

Indira Varma, Lee Ross and Alex Wyndham star in this story, set at Ypres during the first Battle of Langemarck. Mickey's signals unit goes forward with the British offensive. And just as no battle plan survives contact with the enemy, so Mickey's plan to be a battlefield tourist is not about to survive contact with an artillery captain on a mission of his own.

Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: David Hunter.

45 minutes

Last on

Sat 16 Jun 201821:00

Credits

RoleContributor
Mickey BlissLee Ross
CommentatorIndira Varma
Maberly DunsterAlex Wyndham
Horace GreenwoodMark Edel-Hunt
Jacca NancarrowJoseph Kloska
Captain PaddonDamian Lynch
Captain RichardsonMonty d'Inverno
Colonel FirminMichael Bertenshaw
Pipe Major MaclaurinDavid Cann
ProducerDavid Hunter
ProducerJonquil Panting
ProducerJonathan Ruffle
DirectorDavid Hunter
WriterJonathan Ruffle

Broadcasts

  • Tue 21 Oct 201414:15
  • Tue 21 Apr 201511:15
  • Tue 21 Apr 201521:15
  • Sat 16 Jun 201821:00

BBC Online Courses

BBC Online Courses

Study key WW1 themes: Aviation; Heroism; Trauma; A New World Order

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