Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/24. 25 June 2016

The Musketeers
BBC One: Sat 25 June 2016, 20.30 – 21.25. 4 /10
Athos and co. finding themselves responsible for the future of the British monarchy. Louis orders them to recover the Queen of England’s missing crown jewels. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07bnfg9

Messages Home: Lost Films of the British Army
Channel 4: Sun 26 June 2016, 20.00 – 21.00
Those serving in Burma, India and Sri Lanka during the Second World War had little chance of leave at home. Instead, in a bid to raise morale, the army gave servicemen the opportunity to film messages to be sent back to Britain. This moving documentary shows some of these ‘Calling Blighty’ films sent to soldiers’ relatives.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/messages-home-lost-films-of-the-british-army

Voices of the First World War
BBC Radio 4: Mon 27 June to Fri 1 July 2016, 13.45 – 14.00
Dan Snow introduces more archive recordings of those involved in the First World War. In the first of five weekday episodes, we hear French soldiers’ accounts of Verdun. Later in the week, veterans of the battle of Jutland, conscientious objectors and those who fought at the Somme share their memories.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07h6frq

One Day in Entebbe
BBC Radio 4: Tue 28 June 2016, 20.00 – 20.40
On 4 July 1976, 200 Israeli commandoes went to the aid of Israeli and Jewish passengers aboard a hijacked Air France flight that had landed in Uganda. Jonathan Freedland looks back at a remarkable rescue and how it shaped the current Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07hg4vg

Inside Porton Down: Britain’s Secret Weapons Research Facility
BBC Four: Tues 28 June 2016, 21.00 – 21.00
Michael Mosley is granted rare access to Britain’s most secretive military base, which marks its centenary this year. There’s much here about current work at the base, but also about the facility’s history, including the testing of anthrax as a potential weapon and controversies around human experiments.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07hx40t

Vikings
History Channel: Tues 28 May 2016, 22.00 – 23.00. 6 / 10: Born Again
Preparations for the Paris raid pick up pace, and Rollo ponders the Seer’s prophecy about his destiny. Ragnar is informed of Aethelwulf’s massacre at the settlement in Wessex, and Kalf arrives in Kattegat with some new allies and some familiar faces. http://www.history.co.uk/shows/vikings/episode-guide/vikings-series-3

Iraq: the Final Judgement

BBC One: Wed 29 June 2016, 21.00 – 22.00
In this Panarama special in advance of next week’s verdict from the long-delayed Iraq Inquiry into why we went to war and what the lessons should be, Jane Corbin returns to southern Iraq. Why did it all go so wrong?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jd44m

Versailles
BBC Two: Wed 29 June 2016, 21.30 – 22.25. 5 / 10.
In this episode of the opulent drama about life in the court of Louis XIV Philippe returns from war a changed man, and Louis prepares for a lavish celebration in the palace gardens. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jgrrv

Inside Versailles
BBC Two: Wed 29 June 2016, 22.25 – 22.30. 5 /10
Historical discussion show inspired by drama series Versailles. Professor Kate Williams and Greg Jenner Professor Kate Williams and Greg Jenner dig deeper into the world of Louis XIV and his court entertainments.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jd9xp

Tommies
BBC Radio 4: Thu 30 June 2016, 14.15 – 15.00. 5 / 5:
Meticulously based on war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of Tommies traces one real day at war exactly 100 years ago. Mickey Bliss is training the signallers of the Tyneside Scottish – according to his unique methods. Mickey has every last point of preparation covered. But there’s one tiny detail he has missed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07hhwyf

In Our Time: Sovereignty
BBC Radio 4: Thu 30 June 2016, 9.00 – 9.45
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the history of the idea of Sovereignty, from ancient Greece and Rome to wars in France in the 1500s, to Thomas Hobbs and the Revolutionary era. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07hhvxx

Battle of the Somme 100: the Vigil
BBC Two: Thur 30 June 2016, 19.30 – 21.30
On 1 July 1916, the battle of the Somme began. Huw Edwards, in Thiepval, France, and Kirsty Young, in London, present live coverage of vigil services being held to mark the centenary. At Westminster Abbey, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will lead the nation’s remembrance. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07j8fgd

Genius of the Modern World: Freud
BBC Four: Thu 30 June 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 3 / 3.
In the last of three documentaries about thinkers who shaped the 20th century, Bettany Hughes travels to Vienna on the trail of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. His influence pervades our culture through ideas such as the Freudian slip. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07ht3cd

Battle of the Somme 100: Zero Hour
BBC One, Fri 1 July 2016, 7.00 – 7.45
At 07.30 on 1 July 1916, whistles were blown up and down the British front line and thousands of men climbed from their trenches into no man’s land – it was the first day of the Battle of the Somme. To mark this moment 100 years on, Huw Edwards in Thiepval, France, and Kirsty Young in Westminster Abbey, London, present this special live broadcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07htcz5

Battle of the Somme 100: Thiepval.
BBC One, Fri 1 July 2016, 9.15 – 12.30
Huw Edwards introduces live coverage of the centenary Somme commemoration at the Thiepval Memorial, France. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07htcz8

Sources: Radio Times / History Extra