What Did You Do in the War, Auntie?

During World War II the BBC became part of people's lives. Not only was its reporting crucial to public awareness of the progress of events, but to a great extent it was responsible for maintaining day-to-day morale, with popular entertainment and practical advice. This book combines archive research and first-hand reminiscences to provide an account of broadcasting in wartime Britain. How closely did the Government control the BBC? What was the BBC's role in encouraging and supporting resistance movements in Nazi-occupied Europe? What did the BBC mean to the nation? Part nostalgia and part social history, the book includes interviews with people as disparate as Lord Weidenfeld and Dame Vera Lynn, war reporters and post-room messenger boys, to build a picture of what "London calling" really meant.