James Cameron presents a personal account of Britain in the post-war years in ten programmes covering 1945-56.
2:1 say that this country cannot today give greater proof of its international faith than by preparing to ration its own bread. More we can't do. more we shouldn't be asked to do.'
(JOHN STRACHEY)
In 1946 Britain was short of food, homes, coal, machinery and money. Whalemeat failed to satisfy the palate and prefabs failed to house the homeless. There was little enough to cheer about although 14,000 sets tuned in to the reopening of tv, there was dancing at the palais, and the start of the Third Programme. The Attlee Government, with a huge majority. passed their nationalisation bills, while Ernest Bevin grew disillusioned with the intractable Russians. The Americans raised a third mushroom cloud of atomic destruction over Bikini, and the War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremberg judged and sentenced the Nazi prisoners. Producers HELEN FRY and GWYNETH HENDERSON