Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.41. 13 Nov 2015.

Forgotten History
BBC Radio 4: Sun 15 Nov 2015, 16.30 – 17.00
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock tells the story of poet Idris Davies. Born in 1905 in Rhymney, South Wales, Davies’s work drew on his experience as a miner, and of the economic hardship he saw at first hand in the 1920s and 1930s. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06p56zt

Tony Robinson’s Wild West
Discovery: Sun 15 Nov 2015, 20.00 – 21.00. 2 / 3
Tony examines the infamous western bandits, including Butch Cassidy and Jesse James, often glorified in Hollywood’s latter-day spaghetti westerns, to find out if the films he grew up with relate to the reality of the Old West. http://www.discoveryuk.com/shows/tony-robinsons-wild-west/

The Invention of France: Le Petit Napoleon and the Franco-Prussian War
BBC Radio 4: Mon 16 Nov 2015, 11.00 – 11.30. 3 / 3
The final episode in Misha Glenny’s history of France picks up with Sedan, where, in 1870, the Prussians defeated forces led by Napoleon III, nephew and heir to his more illustrious predecessor. The defeat paved the way for two world wars in the 20th century: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06knmy9

Catherine of Aragon: Henry’s Spanish Queen
BBC Radio 4 Extra: Mon 16 to Fri 20 Nov 2015, 14.45 – 15.00
A repeat of Giles Tremlett’s 2010 biography of Catherine of Aragon abridged in five daily episodes. A compelling account of the life of the Spanish Infanta who became Queen of England, then changed the course of Tudor history. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w15w2

Blood, Sex and Money: The Life and Work of Emile Zola
BBC Radio 4: Mon 16 Nov 2015, 16.00 – 16.30
Ahead of returning to thespian work as narrator in a series of dramatisations of Emile Zola’s novels, Glenda Jackson traces the life of the French novelist (1840-1902). Speaking with his descendents, Jackson discovers the Dreyfuss affair, when Zola accused the French military of orchestrating a cover-up, still casts a long shadow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06p7cyt

The Quizeum
BBC Four: Mon 16 Nov 2015, 20.30 – 21.00. 3 / 8
The experts being put to the test at the London branch of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, founded in 1917 to tell the story of those whose lives have been shaped by war from the First World War to the present day. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06pm5vc

Restoring Britain’s Landmarks
Channel 4: Wed 18 Nov 2015, 20.00 – 21.00. 6 /6.
This final episode that charts the last stages on the restoration of St Edward’s Presbytery, and examines work on an unusual Martello tower in Suffolk and the role of Appleton Water Tower in Sandringham Park: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/restoring-britains-landmarks

Tankies:
BBC Four: Thu 19 Nov 2015, 21.00 – 22.00. 1 / 2
In this two-part series, historian, BBC Diplomatic Editor and former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment, Mark Urban tells the story of six remarkable men from one armoured unit – the Fifth Royal Tank Regiment, also known as the Filthy Fifth. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pvbds

The Last Kingdom
BBC Two: Thu 19 Nov 2015, 21.00 – 22.00. 5 /8
This adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s novels continues with Uhtred out to rescue his wife, Mildrith, from suspected abduction. This draws him into battle with the Danes, and a confrontation with his most feared and fearsome rival. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06q9ztz

Catch Up: Missing from my advance ‘picks’ last week but IMHO one of the best episodes of IOT.
Well worth a listen on iPlayer or by free download of the MP3:

In Our Time: The Battle of Lepanto, 1571,
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss The Battle of Lepanto, 1571, the last great sea battle between galleys, in which the Catholic fleet of the Holy League of principally Venice, Spain, the Papal States, Malta, Genoa, and Savoy defeated the Ottoman forces of Selim II. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06nrqv8