12 episodes
Letters of Love in WW2 Sky HISTORY
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- History
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4.9 • 115 Ratings
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From North Africa, back to Britain and then through Europe, Letters of Love in WW2 tells a unique story of the Second World War from the perspective of two real people that lived through it.
Three months after they wed, Cyril and Olga Mowforth found themselves separated by the Second World War. Between 1940 and 1946, their love was kept alive on the pages of a thousand letters and postcards, found decades later by their family after they had both passed on. With their family’s poignant and emotional interviews bookending each episode and featuring the voices of Mr Bates vs The Post Office and Downton Abbey’s Amy Nuttall and Afropean author and broadcaster Johny Pitts, Letters of Love in WW2 gives an incredible first-hand insight into what it was like to live through this tumultuous period.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1. At Sea: Optimistic Goodbyes
When Sue Mowforth found a bundle of letters written by her belated parents, she was about to uncover the love story that made her family who they are today. In 1940, just three months after they wed, Cyril and Olga were forced apart by WW2. Unsure how long the war would last, the couple begin the long road without each other with optimism and longing for happier times.
Leave a review of Letters of Love in WW2 on your favourite podcast app or get in touch on social media using #LettersOfLoveInWW2.
Sky HISTORY's Letters of Love in WW2 is written and produced by Anna Priestland, edited by Joel Porter and produced and directed by Sam Pearson.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
2. North Africa: Lost Messages
Cyril and Olga face months of agonising delays in their letters to one another, and they get a taste of the frustrations to come. Olga, facing air raids at home in Sheffield, settles into her role in the Civil Defence emergency services.
Leave a review of Letters of Love in WW2 on your favourite podcast app or get in touch on social media using #LettersOfLoveInWW2.
Sky HISTORY's Letters of Love in WW2 is written and produced by Anna Priestland, edited by Joel Porter and produced and directed by Sam Pearson.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
3. Siege of Tobruk: Battlefields and Reality
The realities of war hit when, after a long gap in correspondence, Cyril reveals in one long letter that he has been involved in the siege of Tobruk. In England, Olga is aware there is heavy battle going on and has hopes Cyril is safe.
Leave a review of Letters of Love in WW2 on your favourite podcast app or get in touch on social media using #LettersOfLoveInWW2.
Sky HISTORY's Letters of Love in WW2 is written and produced by Anna Priestland, edited by Joel Porter and produced and directed by Sam Pearson.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
4. El Alamein: Silence and Roses
Frustrations are high for Cyril who suffers periods of illness and depression triggered by long periods of idleness. As the couple cross the eighteen-month mark of their separation, the sense of helplessness is forever on the surface.
Leave a review of Letters of Love in WW2 on your favourite podcast app or get in touch on social media using #LettersOfLoveInWW2.
Sky HISTORY's Letters of Love in WW2 is written and produced by Anna Priestland, edited by Joel Porter and produced and directed by Sam Pearson.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
5. D-Day: Visitations
As troops prepare for the invasion of Normandy, Cyril is suddenly sent back to British soil to retrieve a new, heavier, tank, surprising Olga for a short time. Based at the Catterick Army Camp, Olga gets a shock to have learnt that he had been sent back to France to aid the cleanup of Normandy.
Leave a review of Letters of Love in WW2 on your favourite podcast app or get in touch on social media using #LettersOfLoveInWW2.
Sky HISTORY's Letters of Love in WW2 is written and produced by Anna Priestland, edited by Joel Porter and produced and directed by Sam Pearson.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. -
6. Germany: On the Approach
Cyril joins the British Liberation Army as a Corporal, beginning the trek from Normandy across Belgium and Holland en route to Germany. The pace of his unit means that his letters become less frequent as he moves from “C” Squadron, 42nd Royal Tank Regiment of the 11th Armoured Division, 23rd Hussars to the newly formed “A” squadron.
Leave a review of Letters of Love in WW2 on your favourite podcast app or get in touch on social media using #LettersOfLoveInWW2.
Sky HISTORY's Letters of Love in WW2 is written and produced by Anna Priestland, edited by Joel Porter and produced and directed by Sam Pearson.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Customer Reviews
Just adorable
Love in the middle of a hateful world ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Only just starting but already hooked!
What a delightful treasure for this family - and all the rest of us. How Is love to have letters between my parents or grandparents.
10 minutes to be hooked
What a delightful surprise to find the beautiful letters read by such charming voices.
I can see this couple writing their words to one another from different places in the world. Connected by love, surviving on conviction and a special quality of hardiness that was so unique to this generation of people. The hope of a future that would be free of fascism.
What a great gift to be able to partake in this families legacy of words.