Large Fierce Mammal

V2 rocket damage in southwest England. Source: Getty Images

On our last Long Winter’s Night I spoke of the role “position” can play in meeting the onset of hardship, and staying functional as its challenges unfold. Today we’ll expand on that and look at a 20th century historical comparison. One of two we’ll be talking about this season.

History is rife with massive social upheavals of both man-made and Natural cause, and outcomes having far more to do with the the coping mechanisms brought to bear by the common man than the commandments of any sovereign or elected official. While it is said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, one of those coping mechanisms I refer to is a determining factor in making that happen. You see, coping continues through and beyond the upheaval until the return of something resembling stability permits acceptance of the new reality, and the tentative daring of hope for its improvement. Among those who shared the experience, little needs to be said, if it even can be said, and subsequent generations may thereby become progressively more detached from its grim realities in the spirit of being spared it.

Whatever the source of travail, the common thread is the human factor, and to study history without that in mind will provide but a skewed and meagre understanding indeed. Tonight, and in the proper spirit of the season, we will examine life as it would have centered around a British farm in December of 1944 when another population was denied a Christmas in the company of loved ones. Not, as now, out of fear of spreading an infectious disease, but far worse — these people risked daily bombardment from German V2 rocket batteries in Europe as their loved ones spent themselves in the two-way shooting range that was the fight against the Axis.

Wartime Farm is an 8 part BBC documentary series that studies the history of World Way 2 from the perspective of the ever so vital farmer. What you will be watching today is the additional Christmas Special episode.