World On Fire BBC1

[andy_s]

pattern 23 - 1940? surely some mistake?

spotted in BBC Sunday night drama "World on Fire" 13 years too soon.

[david.elsbury]

Oh well.

Can’t win them all.

Onto the next train spotting exercise ;)

[andy_s]

Oh well.

Can’t win them all.

Onto the next train spotting exercise ;)

 

But it's the BBC - they are supposed to be good at period drama!

:(

[sandall]

pattern 23 - 1940? surely some mistake?

spotted in BBC Sunday night drama "World on Fire" 13 years too soon.

You mean you missed the earlier 793(?) follow-spot in the foreground? Mind you I'm still wondering how the sailor got to the South Atlantic within weeks of joining up, why the sergeant has no stripes & how the Polish brother managed to cross nearly 1000 miles of Germany & occupied countries to get to Dunkirk in time to catch a boat.

[andy_s]

pattern 23 - 1940? surely some mistake?

spotted in BBC Sunday night drama "World on Fire" 13 years too soon.

You mean you missed the earlier 793(?) follow-spot in the foreground? Mind you I'm still wondering how the sailor got to the South Atlantic within weeks of joining up, why the sergeant has no stripes & how the Polish brother managed to cross nearly 1000 miles of Germany & occupied countries to get to Dunkirk in time to catch a boat.

 

lI'm afraid I did - last night was the first time I've watched it, and to be honest, I was "multi tasking" (i.e. reading about the rugby on the internet with the TV on in the background) so not giving it my full attention.

[vinntec]

You mean you missed the earlier 793(?) follow-spot in the foreground? Mind you I'm still wondering how the sailor got to the South Atlantic within weeks of joining up, why the sergeant has no stripes & how the Polish brother managed to cross nearly 1000 miles of Germany & occupied countries to get to Dunkirk in time to catch a boat.

Actually it's worse than that.

 

In the scene supposedly on HMS Exeter he has the badge of an aircraft handler. So his action station would be to attend to the spotting aircraft which Exeter carried. Instead he is in the magazine. No flash gear - which has been compulsory since Jutland in 1916 - which would have severely restricted the severity of burns from a flash. Shell handling was a complex job and not one in which someone could fill in except for exercise.

 

The film also showed a flash to the magazine of HMS Exeter when the turret above was hit - the only possible outcome of this would be for the ship to explode! However, between the magazine and the gun turret there were multiple flash doors expressly designed to stop flashes from the turret if it is hit or malfunctions - another lesson learned from Jutland. HMS Exeter was severely damaged during the Battle of the River Plate and limped to the Falklands Islands for emergency repairs before returning to the UK for a proper refit.

 

It was possible to be sent to sea following basic training and a 2 week spell on a warship in a little over 3 months (during early stages of WW2). I would have expected an aircraft handler to be send on further training before being sent to a ship. So - at the Battle of the River Plate? Absolutely no chance as that would have been 99% regular RN and allied navies (notably New Zealand). HMS Keith at Dunkirk? Maybe - if he joined up on the outbreak of war.

 

Most of the British soldiers at Dunkirk were regular soldiers or territorials. They would have been disciplined even during what looked certain to be defeat. So would not look and act like tramps (apologies to tramps).

 

Finally - most of the acting is appalling. Much of the dialogue is circa 2019, not 1939-1940!

 

A former naval reservist (RNR) 1979-1991

[Junior8]

Most of the British soldiers at Dunkirk were regular soldiers or territorials. They would have been disciplined even during what looked certain to be defeat. So would not look and act like tramps (apologies to tramps).

 

 

Or reservists like my paternal grandfather who, like most of his ilk, responded immediately to the recall - in a radio broadcast I have been told - in 1939 ended up at Dunkirk and never came back.

 

If it's rubbish well no surprise there then - it's made by the BBC!

Edited October 29, 2019 by Junior8

[sandall]

If it's rubbish well no surprise there then - it's made by the BBC!

Actually it's not. It's made by Mammoth Screen, who are part of ITV.

 

Totally agree with vinntec about the Exeter saga, which was so ludicrous throughout that I've been trying to forget it. Impossible for the character to have been on Exeter before she sailed for the S Atlantic & unlikely he could have returned to the UK before Dunkirk. The only justification for the whole sorry saga seems to be so his father could hear the name of a real ship on the radio.

 

It's obviously difficult to shoot a 7 hour film on a TV budget, so I can forgive the same bit of woodland standing in for much of Europe, & the odd "period" props, but I have real trouble believing in ANY of the male characters.

[andy_s]

[

 

It's obviously difficult to shoot a 7 hour film on a TV budget, so I can forgive the same bit of woodland standing in for much of Europe, & the odd "period" props, but I have real trouble believing in ANY of the male characters.

 

especially the bellicose Sharpe masquerading as a pacifist! :P

[vinntec]

Or reservists like my paternal grandfather who, like most of his ilk, responded immediately to the recall - in a radio broadcast I have been told - in 1939 ended up at Dunkirk and never came back.

 

If it's rubbish well no surprise there then - it's made by the BBC!

Yes sorry - and of course reservists who would have been former regular soldiers.