This is England (1941) - full transcript
A short documentary about life in England during wartime. Narrated by Edward R. Murrow.
This is England,
the very heart of England,
where the winds of war blow
across the hills and moorlands
of Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
They stir the grass in
the sheep valleys of Cumberland
and ruffle the clear surface
of Ullswater.
They sing in the cathedral towers
of Durham,
in the unfinished tower of Liverpool,
in the spires of Coventry.
In the shadow of the hills,
lives a great industrial people.
This is their land,
these are their cities,
England's Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Here live the lusty people of England.
In peacetime, they worked hard
and played hard,
enjoyed life in their own way
and in their own time.
A people of strong, able hands
and warm hearts.
And today, their hearts
and their hands also
are being put to the test
as never before.
In black Sheffield,
the flames of the steel furnaces
scorch the men's faces
night and day.
When the day's work is done,
the men who make steel
go out to protect their home
from the fire that comes down
out of the night sky.
Here is George Goode,
steelworker by day,
air-raid warden at night.
Well, Albert,
I've had a rough shift today,
but never mind, I've got
a good dinner to go home to.
After that, I'm going on ARP duty.
From steel to cotton,
from Yorkshire to Lancashire,
all day long the looms
are weaving cloth for export
to pay for arms and food
from over the Atlantic.
But all night,
men must stand on rooftops
looking out over their homes
and their factories,
watching for fire bombs.
Yes, there's two of us on every night,
fire-watch party.
Immediately the siren calls,
we go on top.
Of course, we keep our eyes
scattered around, don't we?
The man at the fire station
has been training the youngsters
to put out these incendiary bombs.
They seem quite good at it.
In fact, I've seen one about...that size,
and she was very good at the job, too.
This was once
the playground of a school.
Now it's one of the places where
Liverpool trains her rescue squads.
Behind this grim work,
lie an infinite number of patient,
everyday tasks for the women.
Dull jobs,
like typing lists of addresses.
Unending jobs,
like sorting clothes for the homeless.
Voluntary work, no pay.
And done by women,
done with love and devotion.
And the simplest,
most difficult task of all,
just staying put
with the war around the corner.
And when they were over the coast,
we could hear the guns firing,
and eventually one was hit
and caught fire.
It just seemed as though it was
at the end of this street.
And what a cheer went up,
here, over at South Moor
on our left,
at Blackhouse on our right.
But there were women
who fainted, too.
On a hazy day, Jerry comes
droning over about three miles up.
When the roof spotters think
he means trouble,
they send the mill girls
down to shelters.
You can see how these Lancashire
girls cower before the mighty Luftwaffe
These are the folk who
were to be bombed into capitulation,
terrorised into begging for peace.
But in Manchester today,
they still respect the genius of Germany,
the Germany that was.
These people you're meeting
are just ordinary English folk,
fighting for their homes.
Listen to Mrs Hyde of Coventry...
You know, you feel such fools,
standing there in a crater,
the pitch darkness of night
and holding mugs of tea,
you see the men bringing out bodies.
You feel useless,
until you know that there's someone
there actually in that bombed house
who's alive
and you can give that tea to.
And then to hear the praises
of the men themselves,
saying, "That tea's jolly good.
"I've just washed the blood and dust
out of my mouth."
We feel that we really have
clone the job, and a useful job.
And even now in Yorkshire,
the people find the time to sing.
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ Hallelujah!
♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪♪
People who sing like that
in times like these cannot be beaten.
Anger comes slowly to these people,
but now, they and their mates,
their wives and children
are being subjected
to a terrible ordeal.
As they look at their battered
and blasted homes and cities,
they may remember the words
of Wellington at Waterloo.
"Heavy pounding, this, gentlemen.
"We shall try
who can pound the longest."
For these people have the power
to hit back.
And they're going to hit back,
with all the skill of their hands,
the proud traditions of their craft
and the fire in their hearts.
These are the people who will
answer the German challenge.
And the Nazis will learn,
once and for all,
that no one with impunity
troubles the heart of England.
♪ King of kings
♪ For ever and ever
♪ And lord of lords
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ And he shall reign
For ever and ever
♪ King of kings
And lord of lords
♪ King of kings
And lord of lords
♪ And he shall reign
For ever and ever
♪ For ever and ever,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah... ♪♪
the very heart of England,
where the winds of war blow
across the hills and moorlands
of Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
They stir the grass in
the sheep valleys of Cumberland
and ruffle the clear surface
of Ullswater.
They sing in the cathedral towers
of Durham,
in the unfinished tower of Liverpool,
in the spires of Coventry.
In the shadow of the hills,
lives a great industrial people.
This is their land,
these are their cities,
England's Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Here live the lusty people of England.
In peacetime, they worked hard
and played hard,
enjoyed life in their own way
and in their own time.
A people of strong, able hands
and warm hearts.
And today, their hearts
and their hands also
are being put to the test
as never before.
In black Sheffield,
the flames of the steel furnaces
scorch the men's faces
night and day.
When the day's work is done,
the men who make steel
go out to protect their home
from the fire that comes down
out of the night sky.
Here is George Goode,
steelworker by day,
air-raid warden at night.
Well, Albert,
I've had a rough shift today,
but never mind, I've got
a good dinner to go home to.
After that, I'm going on ARP duty.
From steel to cotton,
from Yorkshire to Lancashire,
all day long the looms
are weaving cloth for export
to pay for arms and food
from over the Atlantic.
But all night,
men must stand on rooftops
looking out over their homes
and their factories,
watching for fire bombs.
Yes, there's two of us on every night,
fire-watch party.
Immediately the siren calls,
we go on top.
Of course, we keep our eyes
scattered around, don't we?
The man at the fire station
has been training the youngsters
to put out these incendiary bombs.
They seem quite good at it.
In fact, I've seen one about...that size,
and she was very good at the job, too.
This was once
the playground of a school.
Now it's one of the places where
Liverpool trains her rescue squads.
Behind this grim work,
lie an infinite number of patient,
everyday tasks for the women.
Dull jobs,
like typing lists of addresses.
Unending jobs,
like sorting clothes for the homeless.
Voluntary work, no pay.
And done by women,
done with love and devotion.
And the simplest,
most difficult task of all,
just staying put
with the war around the corner.
And when they were over the coast,
we could hear the guns firing,
and eventually one was hit
and caught fire.
It just seemed as though it was
at the end of this street.
And what a cheer went up,
here, over at South Moor
on our left,
at Blackhouse on our right.
But there were women
who fainted, too.
On a hazy day, Jerry comes
droning over about three miles up.
When the roof spotters think
he means trouble,
they send the mill girls
down to shelters.
You can see how these Lancashire
girls cower before the mighty Luftwaffe
These are the folk who
were to be bombed into capitulation,
terrorised into begging for peace.
But in Manchester today,
they still respect the genius of Germany,
the Germany that was.
These people you're meeting
are just ordinary English folk,
fighting for their homes.
Listen to Mrs Hyde of Coventry...
You know, you feel such fools,
standing there in a crater,
the pitch darkness of night
and holding mugs of tea,
you see the men bringing out bodies.
You feel useless,
until you know that there's someone
there actually in that bombed house
who's alive
and you can give that tea to.
And then to hear the praises
of the men themselves,
saying, "That tea's jolly good.
"I've just washed the blood and dust
out of my mouth."
We feel that we really have
clone the job, and a useful job.
And even now in Yorkshire,
the people find the time to sing.
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ Hallelujah!
♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪♪
People who sing like that
in times like these cannot be beaten.
Anger comes slowly to these people,
but now, they and their mates,
their wives and children
are being subjected
to a terrible ordeal.
As they look at their battered
and blasted homes and cities,
they may remember the words
of Wellington at Waterloo.
"Heavy pounding, this, gentlemen.
"We shall try
who can pound the longest."
For these people have the power
to hit back.
And they're going to hit back,
with all the skill of their hands,
the proud traditions of their craft
and the fire in their hearts.
These are the people who will
answer the German challenge.
And the Nazis will learn,
once and for all,
that no one with impunity
troubles the heart of England.
♪ King of kings
♪ For ever and ever
♪ And lord of lords
♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
♪ And he shall reign
For ever and ever
♪ King of kings
And lord of lords
♪ King of kings
And lord of lords
♪ And he shall reign
For ever and ever
♪ For ever and ever,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah... ♪♪