The Somme The First 24 Hours with Tony Robinson (2016)

Hosted by actor and historian Sir Tony Robinson this oneoff special tells the powerful and moving story of five men all members of a unique volunteer army the Sheffield City battalion as it recounts the soldiers last days leaving their homes and loved ones to go and serve alongside their friends and neighbours completely unaware of what lay ahead of them Central to the programme is the story of Private Frank Meakin who recorded his unique personal testimony of the war Frank and his friends could never have anticipated what they would experience but 100 years on we know in detail thanks to his diary an account that shouldnt have existed because keeping one was forbidden for servicemen on active duty on the Western Front Franks diary which was smuggled back from the Front reveals the intimate details and dramatic stories of one battalion and one British city in the words of one man