Footsteps of the fallen

The pen is mightier than the sword

April 03, 2022 Season 3 Episode 24
Footsteps of the fallen
The pen is mightier than the sword
Show Notes

"If the British public knew what was really happening, the war would be over tomorrow" stated David Lloyd George to the editor of the Manchester Evening News in 1917.

In this episode, we look at the press, their involvement in the front line, and how the War was reported back at home.  How accurate a picture did the British public get of the reality of War? How could reporters produce a balanced copy when hamstrung by censorship of every word they wrote?

Unwanted, censored, and followed at every step, the Press were viewed with suspicion bordering on hatred by the British Military establishment.  We meet some of the characters of the Press Corps, including the fabulously eccentric, airplane-loving, bowler hat-wearing H P Robinson, a man who wrote on average 3000 words a day with a gold Cartier fountain pen.  We hear about the origin of the acronym "3Bs", the dangers faced by reporters, and how the actions of one reporter produced a story of such political dynamite, it brought down the Government

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