Drawing on the previously untapped collection of firsthand accounts in the BBC’s biggest oral history project, The People’s War reveals the untold stories of everyday bravery, moments of terror, and tales of life-affirming community that bring colour to the six years of World War II. Historian John Willis is the very first to fully bring to light this priceless and extensive collection of 47,000 testimonies and over 400 diaries and letters.

These letters and testimonies take us from beaches of Dunkirk to prisoner-of-war camps in Singapore and to the homes of ordinary Britons. The People’s War offers readers a unique opportunity to understand what the war felt like to the lives of millions and keep the flame of memory alive of the extraordinary human resilience of those on the home front as much as on the battle front.

John Willis is a historian and author of Nagasaki: The Forgotten Prisoners. One of Britain’s best-known television executives, he held posts as Director of Programmes at Channel 4 and Director of Factual and Learning at the BBC. In 2012, he was elected Chair of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). He is currently Chair of Governors at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London.

This event will be chaired by Peter Grimsdale.

In association with James Allen’s Girls’ School.

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