Channel 4 Doc to Honor World War II Servicemen

LONDON: Channel 4 has commissioned Oxford Scientific Films (OSF), in association with Manchester’s North West Film Archive and the Imperial War Museums, to produce the special Calling Blighty (working title), honoring Britain’s servicemen fighting in Burma during World War II.

British soldiers fighting in Burma and India often suffered low morale, prompting the Ministry of Defense to implement the “Calling Blighty” initiative to offer support to those soldiers and their families. The scheme featured a series of filmed personal messages from the soldiers, which were sent back to England, where family members were invited to cinema screenings to see if they could catch a glimpse of their loved ones on screen. The Channel 4 special will bring together some of the real-life stories of the troops featured in the Calling Blighty films, and the families they left behind on the home front, through archived film, letters and photographs, along with interviews with veterans and relatives. In addition, many of the relatives of these soldiers will come together to see the Calling Blighty film reels for the first time at a special screening.

Emma Morgan, the head of popular factual at OSF, said: “When we first heard about the North West Film Archive’s incredible discovery of the lost Calling Blighty film reels and their plan to contact the veterans and their families, we thought it was a unique, very personal and highly emotional way to tell the story of the everyday heroes from the North West who found themselves fighting in an extremely tough and often forgotten episode of World War II.”

Rob Coldstream, the commissioning editor for Channel 4, remarked: “The Calling Blighty film reels are such an exciting historic discovery. In many ways these brave servicemen and women were the forgotten heroes of World War II, so it is an honor to be able to bring their moving personal stories to life again after 70 years.”

The program will be executive produced by Morgan and produced and directed by Paul Berczeller. It is set to air in 2016.