The Long, Long Trail: War at Home, 1917

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Some infantry regiments just do not not fit into any of the classifications above. The Household Battalion But then the programme disappeared and was never broadcast again. However, shortly before he died in January 2013, Chilton gave a copy to the British Library, so we can now rediscover The Long, Long Trail. In 1962, Chilton, already a renowned pioneering BBC radio producer, adapted the programme with director Joan Littlewood and the cast of Theatre Workshop into the landmark stage musical Oh What a Lovely War. During the war, the army (through technical development and joint working) was also able to deploy trench mortars , a whole new form of artillery developed to meet the unusual conditions of war on the Western Front. The lighter mortars were manned by the regiments of infantry, while the RFA provided the manpower for the heavier mortars.

Broadcast in conjunction with BBC Radio 4’s Archive On 4: The Long, Long Trail – who have been on their own trail to trace the origins and importance of this most remarkable and forgotten musical documentary. On a family holiday to Italy in 1958, Charles Chilton stopped at the Arras Memorial in northern France to find his father’s grave, but was unable to locate a headstone. He eventually found his father’s name inscribed on a wall commemorating some 35,000 soldiers who died in the Battle of Arras, all "missing, presumed dead”. Roy Hudd explores Charles Chilton's forgotten 1961 radio masterpiece which inspired the musical Oh What a Lovely War. This section of the Long, Long Trail will be helpful for anyone wishing to find out about the history of the battalions of the British infantry.

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Some infantry regiments were exclusively composed of part-time volunteer soldiers of the Territorial Force and had no Regular or New Army battalions. Regiments by alphabet

This section of the Long, Long Trail will be helpful for anyone wishing to find out about the history of the units of the British artillery. The Royal Horse Artillery was armed with light, mobile, horse-drawn guns that provided firepower in support of the cavalry and in practice supplemented the Royal Field Artillery. Considered by many to be the elite of the infantry of the regular army, the Guards had no battalions of the Territorial Force and raised none for Lord Kitchener’s New Armies. In common with all other infantry regiments regiments they eventually took in both “duration only” volunteers and conscripts but the Guards took care to maintain their pre-war standards of efficiency and were amongst the infantry most feared by the enemy. Regiments by alphabet BBC Radio 4 Extra pays tribute to the remarkable talent of Charles Chilton who died on 2 January 2013 at the age of 95. Developed from fortress-based artillery located on British and Emoire coasts. From 1914 when the army possessed very little heavy artillery it grew into a very large component of the British forces. It was armed with heavy, large calibre guns and howitzers that were positioned some way behind the front line and had immense destructive power.The Royal Regiment of Artillery at the time of the Great War comprised three elements: Royal Horse Artillery The most numerous arm of the artillery, the horse-drawn RFA was responsible for the medium calibre guns and howitzers deployed close to the front line and was reasonably mobile. It was organised into brigades. Chilton’s 1961 BBC Home Service programme tells the story of the First World War through the songs sung by soldiers. It was the result of Chilton’s personal quest to learn about his father, who was killed in March 1918 at the age of 19 and whom he had never met. In 1962, Chilton adapted the programme with Joan Littlewood into the landmark stage musical Oh What A Lovely War, making The Long, Long Trail a hugely influential radio programme. The war of 1914-18 was an artillery war: artillery was the battle-winner, artillery was what caused the greatest loss of life, the most dreadful wounds, and the deepest fear”. For this programme, Roy Hudd, a close friend and collaborator of 'Charlie', is joined by satirist Ian Hislop, radio historian and Chair of the UK Radio Archives Advisory Committee Professor Hugh Chignell, archivist Helen O'Neill at the London Library, singer Pat Whitmore, Charles's widow Penny Chilton, and their children Mary and David Chilton. Together, they tell the story behind Charles Chilton's remarkable musical documentary, reveal why it was revolutionary and reflect on its significance today.