BBC RADIO 4 'BOOK OF THE WEEK' The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British institution unlike any other & its story during the Second World War is also our story This was Britain's first total war engaging the whole nation & the wireless played a crucial role in it For the first time news of the conflict reached every living room
- sometimes almost as it happened; & at key moments
- Chamberlain's announcement of war the Blitz the D-Day landings
- the BBC was there defining how these events would pass into our collective memory Auntie's War is a love letter to radio While these were the years when ' Auntie'
- the BBC's enduring nickname
- earnt her reputation for bossiness they were also a period of truly remarkable voices Churchill's fighting speeches de Gaulle's broadcasts from exile J B Priestley Ed Murrow George Orwell Richard Dimbleby & Vera Lynn Radio offered an incomparable tool for propaganda; it was how coded messages both political & personal were sent across Europe & it was a means of sending less than truthful information to the enemy At the same time eyewitness testimonies gave a voice to everyone securing the BBC's reputation as reliable purveyor of the truth Edward Stourton is a sharp-eyed wry & affectionate companion on the BBC's wartime journey investigating archives diaries letters & memoirs to examine what the BBC was & what it stood for Full of astonishing little-known incidents battles with Whitehall warriors & Churchill himself & with a cast of brilliant characters Auntie's War is much more than a portrait of a beloved institution at a critical time It is also a unique portrayal of the British in wartime & an incomparable insight into why we have the broadcast culture we do today