Gone to Earth

Original version

BBC Radio 4 Extra

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 LW

Gone to Earth: 2. Cover from View

gone-to-earth_0714_s_el.jpg

2. Cover from View

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Gone to Earth, 2. Cover from ViewSearch BBC

Horatio Clare explores infantry soldiers' relationship with the Brecon Beacons

Horatio Clare explores soldiers' relationship with the Brecon Beacons, a training area and a place of healing. From 2014.

Infantry soldiers are trained, challenged and shaped by the Brecon Beacons. 

Horatio Clare continues his walk with former soldiers to see the Welsh mountains through their eyes.
 
In the last of two episodes, Horatio spends a night bivouacking in the hills with former Parachute Regiment reserve officer Nic Shugar and Royal Marine Gary Mapletoft who teach him the skills of remaining unseen in the landscape; of using it strategically; of dead ground, cover from view and cover from fire. And they explore inner landscapes as they consider the hills' importance in the healing process for both military and civilian mental health casualties.
 
The landscape of the Brecon Beacons played an important part in preparing soldiers for the Falklands War. Horatio talks to Col. John Crosland who fought with the Parachute Regiment at the Battle of Goose Green. John recalls how British infantry soldiers felt on familiar terrain in the Falklands because it reminded them of the Beacons where they had trained.
 
Horatio also meets Maj. Gen Tony Jeapes, a former Commanding Officer of the SAS who ran selection for the regiment in the Brecon Beacons in the early 1960s.
 
Producer: Jeremy Grange

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2014.

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Horatio Clare discovers how infantry soldiers are shaped by the Brecon Beacons' landscape.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Gone to Earth

2. Cover from View

Genres

Series

BBC Radio 4 Extra

About BBC Radio 4 Extra