About

In conversation with journalist Patrick Kidd, diary editor of the Times and author of The Weak are a Long Time in Politics.

In the early 2000s, the BBC launched its biggest oral history project, recording the lives and experiences of the ordinary people who lived through World War II. It amounted to 47,000 testimonies and over 400 diaries and letters, all of which have remained unexplored in the archives for twenty years – until now.

In The People’s War, John Willis reveals untold stories of everyday bravery, moments of terror, and tales of life-affirming community, that guide us through the years of the World War II. From soldiers in North Africa and prisoners of war in East Asia, to evacuees in the British countryside and women in the factories, The People’s War is a truly ambitious and comprehensive journey through a devastating and pivotal period of our history, as you’ve never read before.

Follow the remarkable stories of ordinary individuals who lived, fought, grieved, loved, and survived through the war.