Privates (2013) s01e05 Episode Script
Episode 5
1 What would you do if you was the one Barrowman had it in for? Find his weak point.
Aim your fire at that.
Corporal, I'm worried about Wratten.
He said he couldn't carry on.
No! White-Bowne doesn't get exemption unless somebody else gets selected as Tory candidate.
Some things were said about Grandpa Gilbert.
What kind of things? He couldn't do it.
The shooting started.
He ran.
Connie, am I pregnant? Yes.
The whole act gets a bit tedious after a while.
So it is an act? It's not about getting out.
It's about taking a stand.
Putting things right.
We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do We gotta get outta this place Girl, there's a better life for me and you Somewhere, baby Somehow I know it, baby We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do.
As always, Remembrance Day should be a very humbling and stately occasion.
Dignitaries and officers' wives here on the left, Major Cunnicliffe and the officers here on the right as I give my address on the theme of sacrifice and renewal.
Father McGregor from St Luke's has accepted my invitation to read the prayers and dedications this year.
After the dedi What in hell's name is that? A delivery, sir, for the Quartermasters.
Wasn't meant to happen till tomorrow.
Get it moved, Sergeant.
Actions like that can undercut the solemnity of the moment.
Yes, sir.
A telegram for you, sir.
Corporal Barrowman has always carried the regimental colours with great dignity.
Will he be fit for duty today? I hope so, sir.
Jolly good.
Carry on.
The 11th day of the 11th month.
Any other year, I'd be polishing my buckles by now.
Looking at my face in the toecaps of my best boots.
What's so different about this year? I am.
Today, until the Conservative selection panel call me in for the interview, I need to think, talk and act like a Tory.
I need to out-White-Bowne White-Bowne.
Here you are.
A white poppy from the Peace Pledge Union.
What do you think? I think for a long-haired sandal-wearing Utopian like you and your misguided Socialist friends it may seem like a symbol of the futility of wars in which nobody wins, but, as a Tory, I think it's deeply disrespectful to those who lost their lives so that shirkers like you could live free of the tyranny of the jackboot and rule of the mob.
I'm impressed.
Not too over the top? Pull it back a little.
You'd vote for such a fine chap as that, wouldn't you, Wratten? Wratten? Corporal Barrowman was a walking time bomb.
Yeah, and we set him off.
We performed a controlled explosion.
I'm sorry the telegram brought such bad news.
Obviously you were very close to your grandfather, Davies.
Yes, sir.
We will arrange leave so that you can attend the funeral.
Thank you, sir.
I understand he served.
Yes, sir.
The King's Own Rifles.
Really? Perhaps you're not aware that the King's Own were once based here at Bleakly Marsh.
Yes, sir.
It might be fitting to include your grandfather's name in the Roll of Honour today.
At the Remembrance Service.
Um Maybe not, sir.
If that's all right.
Of course.
I'll take a white one.
So you're feeling yourself today, Lomax? No movie speeches? I don't like the red one.
It's supposed to commemorate those who suffered on all sides of the war.
It's a symbol.
A signal? So we can recognise each other.
"We"? The enemy won't attack us with a great big bomb.
They'll do it with a million small explosions .
.
all detonated in our heads.
Right.
Explosions called ideas.
Planted right in our brains.
Yeah? White poppy? The idea is to remember and disarm.
Keenan, will you just leave it? Nearly 50 years since the war to end all wars.
SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it.
And I don't want a stupid white poppy! Oh dear(!) Seems like your "man of the people" image is crumbling, Keenan.
I just think you shouldn't rush into something like this without thinking, Colin.
I have thought.
And it's the right thing to do for our marriage, for our future.
The only thing I'm not sure about is whether to give my resignation to Cunnicliffe before or after the Remembrance Service.
Today?! You think it's possibly a little too theatrical? I just think it wouldn't hurt anything to wait a while.
Why? I know I'm not going to change my mind.
And we'll look back on this as the day our new life began.
Suddenly, things don't at all seem complicated.
What's all this I hear about white poppies? It's in remembrance, sir.
It's not meant disrespectfully.
Poppies are red around here.
Is that an order, Sergeant? It's useful advice.
There's no shortage of lads won't appreciate the niceties.
Unless, of course, you want to lose some teeth? I'll take my chances, Sergeant.
Private Keenan, if you want to do something useful, would you keep an eye on Davies for me? He just heard his grandfather died.
Fall in, Private Keenan.
Are you ready to lose Keenan's bet for him, Mr Rothman? I'm looking forward to seeing you grovel, Mr White-Bowne.
And I'm looking forward to seeing Keenan lick my boots clean.
Really? I thought Lomax was the deluded one! If you're so certain, why not make it more interesting with a bet on the side? What's wrong? Suddenly not so confident? Just feel bad about taking money off you, White-Bowne.
Two Section! Two Section, quick march! Squadhalt! What we have here is 500 mess tins, 1,000 water bottles, 2,000 sets of eating irons - all needs to go to the Quartermaster's stores to be logged in.
But before that, in here, we have 2,000 used pairs of boots and 5,000 no longer issued tin helmets.
All these items need to be cleared out before the new delivery can be brought in.
Question, Sergeant.
Private Rothman? Once we take all the stuff from this store room, where does it all go? That, Private Rothman, is a very good question.
MUSIC: "Down In The Bottom" by Howlin' Wolf Well, now, meet me in the bottom Bring me my runnin' shoes Well, now, meet me in the bottom Bring me my runnin' shoes Squad halt! Right turn! The kit you move from the Quartermaster's will be stored here.
But before that can happen .
.
it needs to be cleared out.
Removed and sorted into three piles.
Big stuff, small stuff, and stuff that is neither big nor small.
Do you understand, Two Section? ALL: Yes, Sergeant.
Carry on.
.
.
Though my life is at stake LOUD FOOTSTEPS Private Lomax, I presume.
Now, I hope "You claimed to have a breakdown, didn't you?" I" don't think I'll have one today, thank you.
"You see, Doctor, "the maternal instinct springs from an urge to control.
" Ah.
That was everything I was led to expect.
You never loved me.
You never even wanted me! Step into my parlour, Private Lomax.
Sergeant Butcher told me.
About your grandfather.
I'm sorry.
I just can't believe I'm not going to get the chance to talk to him again.
I had this idea, right.
That I'd come back from some posting, seen a bit of action, not too much, mind, but enough.
And I'd go and see my Grandpa And he'd just know what I was talking about.
I know a bit about what he went through in the trenches.
And then what? I don't know.
I'd I'd just ask him .
.
straight out .
.
when the shooting started, did you turn and run? And if he says yes, would you have thought any less of him for it? I don't know.
I'm going to miss all of this.
Sir? I've always thought of you as a good man, Butcher.
A loyal support.
And I shall miss that, too.
I'll be handing a letter of resignation to Major Cunnicliffe today.
Resignation, sir? For, let's just call them domestic reasons, although very positive and optimistic reasons.
Oh, God, here come the press gang to steal our personnel! Captain Gulliver.
Eileen Babcombe, chairman of the Conservative party selection panel.
Welcome.
Though the welcome is tempered with some regret.
Whatever your decision today, we'll lose one of our men and the army never likes losing men.
Please, if you'll follow me.
Why does the army keep all this junk? It's not junk.
It's the story of some soldier's war you've got there.
What, and this? It's not exactly Montgomery's pistol, is it? You might think more of it if you'd had to dig yourself in under mortar fire in the Sinai Desert.
The Suez Crisis? That wasn't a real war.
Are you serious? You should try telling that to the boys who faced the bullets and the shells.
No, Hoy's right.
All these scraps from obscure places only some professor's heard of, they weren't proper wars.
Exactly.
Compared to the big ones.
Compared to the Great War and that last business sorting out Hitler.
These lads had an easy time of it.
Hoy, shut your mouth.
You don't know what you're talking about.
I'll tell you something.
I would go out of my way to do something nice for her, to make her happy, and she would never give me any acknowledgement Come to finish me off, Wratten? I just wanted to apologise.
For what? I didn't get anything I didn't deserve.
I didn't mean for it to happen like that.
Yes, you did.
You wanted to get the better of me.
And you did.
Darling, you-oo-oo send me I know you-oo-oo send me Darling, you-oo-oo send me Honest you do, honest you do, honest you do, wo-oh-oh-oh You-oo-oo thrill me I know you, you, you thrill me The problem is, Jimmy, you didn't trust me to understand you.
You filled me up with big plans and then you chose the army over me.
Norah, if you've come here just to talk about that And after all that, I'm sat here now .
.
and I'm still wearing your ring.
That either means I'm stupid or I think there's something worth trying to hold onto here.
And the honest truth, Jimmy, is .
.
I don't know which it is.
So what do we do now? I think until I can work it out, we shouldn't see each other for a while.
He seems pretty sure there's going to be a happy ever after.
Michael Audrey, here's what I think.
Here's what you need to hear.
I think this country's in a mess.
Can't see it getting any better before we're both in the grave.
So I'm going.
I'm leaving it behind.
I want you to come with me.
To Australia.
Australia?! They're inviting ex-servicemen to settle there.
And we justget on a boat? Yes.
We start again.
We can start a new life.
As man and wife.
With our child.
Have you got it? Ready? Lift.
Sorry! Whoa! What are they doing hidden away in here? "Sergeant S.
Hardiman, King's Own Rifles, "15 November, 1917.
" That's the Long Service and Good Conduct medal, that.
Hey, that's the Military Cross.
That's another Long Service there.
Oh, my Lord! What? The Victoria Cross! It's like the FA Cup and the Olympic gold all rolled into one! "25 September 1915.
"King's Own Rifles.
Private G.
F .
.
Davies.
What? So, um, we thought, sir, since it's definitely Grandpa Gilbert's medal, that maybe, um, it could be buried with him.
You had no idea your grandfather had been awarded this very highest of honours? No, sir.
And to be honest, until Private Keenan found it in the store room, I thought he might have been a deserter.
Sir.
Private Davies mentioned your idea of mentioning his grandfather's name in the Roll of Honours.
The Remembrance Service, sir.
Yes, um Of course.
Extraordinary deeds should be acknowledged.
See the adjutant.
Give him the details as inscribed and he'll include it in my address.
Dismissed.
I told myself it was all about discipline.
For the good of the lads.
But I knew something was wrong.
I started to enjoy it.
Pushing them, goading them.
The ones that didn't want to play the game.
Lads like me.
Lads like you.
I wonder what kind of Tory Private Keenan taught you to play.
The kind who supports the prime minister, sucking up to the Americans, giving away the colonies and telling us, "You've never had it so good.
" Or the kind who wants to keep a foot on the throats of the savages in the hot countries.
Wants to keep their black faces out of England and wouldn't let a Jew like you anywhere near their daughter! Hmm? Michael says he wants to leave with me, but my husband has a strange sense of purpose about him that I haven't seen in years! It's quite peculiar.
What will you do? Where was this fire a year, two years ago, when I needed to see it? If I decide to stay with Colin and we start again somewhere else, I'll have to tell him that I'm pregnant and let him think the child is his.
And what What about Sergeant Butcher? With all this ridiculous resignation business, I thought I knew what I should do.
'I need more time.
'Colin is insisting on handing in his resignation today!' I I don't know what to think.
Sergeant Butcher.
Sorry.
I'm sorry.
I had to speak to someone or go mad.
Audrey.
It's not complicated.
I love you.
I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
It's me or him.
This is not right, the three of us doing all this work.
Where did everybody else go? What do they take us for, mugs or summat? Absolutely.
Don't expect us to cover for you! For any of you, when Sergeant Butcher gets back.
Come on.
Oh, sod it! It's a list of men court-martialled for desertion, cowardice and other offences.
Davies' grandfather was recorded as tried and guilty and sentenced to death.
I don't understand.
How could he have been? He was alive until yesterday.
It says that 3,000 men were sentenced to be executed in the Great War.
300 of them were shot at dawn.
The rest were given prison sentences.
So what are you going to tell him? I gave Davies a medal and told him his grandfather was a hero.
Now I'm supposed to tell him what? That he was a coward? No.
That man goes to his grave with his medal pinned to his chest.
I just hope Keenan chose the right act for you to give them.
Mr Rothman? Good luck! I think there is a need after the humiliation of Suez .
.
to find our new position in the world.
I think we need to recognise as Disraeli had it, almost everything that is great has been done by youth.
Above all, what we need to recognise is that this is the sixties.
We're in the closing decades of the 20th century.
'A most excellent question.
' And in response, I'd say I think there are moments in history when change is necessary, and others when it is dangerous.
I strongly believe that there has never been a greater need for true Conservatism than there is today.
A need to consolidate.
A need for "anti-socialism", as my father puts it.
Your father? Yes.
My father is Sir Anthony White-Bowne.
Minister of State for Trade.
Although I would hate for that to in any way influence your opinion.
That's Freddie, Baxter, Taff, Slim.
All dead in the space of a minute in the Malayan jungle.
Are you going somewhere, Corporal? You sweat your way through a three-day patrol carrying a 70lb-pack and see nothing.
Then an ambush.
I used to be like you, Wratten.
Mess around, being part of the awkward squad.
Don't clean your weapon, have a beer with your mates.
Then came the ambush.
I saw the first man.
A grenade in each hand.
I got him in my sights.
Then the rifle jammed.
By the time I got a round off, we were five men down.
I watched the bodies of my friends float by me down the river.
It never leaves you.
The fear and the guilt.
More than that.
They grow in you.
And then they look for a way out.
You should have this.
For the honour of carrying the regimental colours.
I won't be needing it today.
Bewildered Lost in a dream of you Where is the love I need Why did we part? Bewildered Has love, has love died Dear, wishing your heart Could feel What's in my heart Must I have sleepless nights I think it went OK.
If they do choose me, I shall try and win the by-election.
This modern, winds of change, friend of America Tory act, it's not such a bad fit.
Plus I don't suppose Estelle's parents would mind having a son-in-law in Westminster.
Seriously? I thought I saw the flicker of a smile at one point, when I made a little joke about the Queen.
You made a joke about the Queen? Just a little one.
No, no, no, no, no, no! Only idiots and socialists make jokes about the Queen! Damn.
Blown my chances, haven't I? I knew I shouldn't have put a bet on it.
You put a bet on with White-Bowne? Ten quid I haven't got.
And it was Shut up! Take it back! What's going on? I just said a Victoria Cross doesn't gather dust for 40 years because Grandpa forgot to pick it up! He said they take your medals at a court-martial.
They do.
You're such an idiot, White-Bowne.
'It's Remembrance Day, Alice, and they say to understand is to forgive.
'Now I know what happened between you and Hobbs, 'I do forgive him.
'But if Davies understood what happened to his grandfather, 'could he also forgive?' To be honest, Captain Gulliver, I wasn't sure of your welcome today.
Major, it's always a pleasure to see you at Bleakly Marsh.
After tempting you with the offer of a posting that then dematerialised.
One rises above these things when there are bigger fish to fry.
In fact, this might be the right moment for one particular fish.
Mrs Gulliver.
Major Cunnicliffe.
I wonder if I might borrow my husband for a moment.
Darling, I was just about to Please, Colin.
Very well.
Would you excuse us for a moment, Major? Well? This is very hard.
I was about to hand Cunnicliffe my resignation.
Colin, please listen.
You may change your mind when you hear what I have to say.
I doubt it.
I've never been more sure about anything in my life.
For the sake of our future Colin! I'm leaving you.
What? For the last year and a half .
.
I've been having an affair.
With Michael.
We're leaving the country together.
Audrey To start a new life.
Audrey! Who Who's Michael? Private Lomax's problems began, I believe, with his mother.
She moulded him into what she thought her son should be and he learnt to use this other self to keep his true self hidden.
And then Captain Bulgakov .
.
although in our session there were glimpses of what I think he wanted me to think were his true self.
But I believe those glimpses, fascinatingly, are also a construct.
Private Lomax is truly a doll within a Russian doll.
Captain .
.
can you just tell me, is he mad or is he faking? I would say quite possibly both.
Sir, is Captain Gulliver not with you? He was, and then he went in there - for a discussion with his wife.
Sir? Do you think, given the circumstances, this show of respect is appropriate? No.
No, I don't.
I'm curious to know how .
.
how long you two love-birds have been planning this.
Don't be foolish, Colin.
The truth is, we didn't plan for any of this.
We didn't plan for this to begin, or what it's become for both of us.
And I'm supposed to just allow this to happen? Colin.
I'm pregnant.
DOOR SLAMS I think you should read this.
I've heard enough.
Just let it go.
"On 25 September 1915 near Loos, France, "Private G.
F.
Davies went out on six different occasions "under very heavy shell, rifle and machine gun fire.
"Each time, he carried into a place of safety a wounded man lying in the open.
"He himself was wounded, so he handed the last soldier over the parapet.
" They read that out at your grandfather's court-martial.
There's more.
Read it.
"Three times wounded, three times Private Davies returned to the front.
"He served with valour at Bazentin Ridge, Delville Wood, "Thiepval, Ancre, "before going absent on November 14, 1916.
"At this time, his unit were under orders to move "and he believed the division was to go back to the battlefield of The Somme.
"His sentence was amended to four years' imprisonment "and then commuted to 90 days.
"After which he returned to the front.
" The choice between two strong candidates to challenge a safe but not unassailable lead was hard to make.
But we believe that in our choice of a young, energetic, if somewhat unconventional candidate, the party will be well served by Mr Rothman.
Oh! Thank you.
Thanks very much.
Thank you! Thank you very much.
Thank you! Thank you so much.
Thank you! Thank you.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
MUSIC: Mannish Boy by Muddy Waters Everything Everything Everything goin' be all right this morning Oh, yeah Woo I'm a man I spell M- too A-N A-N That represents man No B- O-Y -Y That means mannish boy I'm a man A full-grown man I'm a man I'm a natural-born lovers man A man DAVIES: Come on, then, Two Section.
Let's get moving! DOOR CLOSES, SILENCE CRACKLING INTERFERENCE SEARCHES FOR STATION CRACKLING Sigma One calling unit.
Over.
Affirmative.
Target assessed.
Intelligence confirmed.
Bulgakov spy master for Red agents.
Escalation required.
Over.
Affirmative.
Over and out.
They shall grow not old .
.
as we that are left grow old.
Age will not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning .
.
we will remember them.
ALL: We will remember them.
MUSIC: The Last Post STRAINS OF THE LAST POS FILTER THROUGH WINDOW We pledge ourselves anew to our work in support of the war-time generations and all those We promise to .
.
in peace time as in war, we all must make sacrifices.
But who among us, when the moment comes, know if they would make that ultimate sacrifice.
To give our own life so that others may live.
To give up our today .
.
for their tomorrow.
My name is Andrew Gordon Lomax and I will gladly leave this world to save you who are damned from yourselves.
Lomax! No! Keenan! Keenan! Get back! EXPLOSION MUSIC: "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones I see a red door and I want it painted black No colours any more, I want them to turn black I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes I see a line of cars and they're all painted black With flowers and my love both never to come back I see people turn their heads And quickly look away Like a new-born baby it just happens every day I look inside myself and see my heart is black I see my red door, I must have it painted black Maybe then I'll fade away And not have to face the facts Not easy facin' up when your whole world is black No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue.
We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do We gotta get outta this place Girl, there's a better life for me and you We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do We gotta get outta this place.
Aim your fire at that.
Corporal, I'm worried about Wratten.
He said he couldn't carry on.
No! White-Bowne doesn't get exemption unless somebody else gets selected as Tory candidate.
Some things were said about Grandpa Gilbert.
What kind of things? He couldn't do it.
The shooting started.
He ran.
Connie, am I pregnant? Yes.
The whole act gets a bit tedious after a while.
So it is an act? It's not about getting out.
It's about taking a stand.
Putting things right.
We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do We gotta get outta this place Girl, there's a better life for me and you Somewhere, baby Somehow I know it, baby We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do.
As always, Remembrance Day should be a very humbling and stately occasion.
Dignitaries and officers' wives here on the left, Major Cunnicliffe and the officers here on the right as I give my address on the theme of sacrifice and renewal.
Father McGregor from St Luke's has accepted my invitation to read the prayers and dedications this year.
After the dedi What in hell's name is that? A delivery, sir, for the Quartermasters.
Wasn't meant to happen till tomorrow.
Get it moved, Sergeant.
Actions like that can undercut the solemnity of the moment.
Yes, sir.
A telegram for you, sir.
Corporal Barrowman has always carried the regimental colours with great dignity.
Will he be fit for duty today? I hope so, sir.
Jolly good.
Carry on.
The 11th day of the 11th month.
Any other year, I'd be polishing my buckles by now.
Looking at my face in the toecaps of my best boots.
What's so different about this year? I am.
Today, until the Conservative selection panel call me in for the interview, I need to think, talk and act like a Tory.
I need to out-White-Bowne White-Bowne.
Here you are.
A white poppy from the Peace Pledge Union.
What do you think? I think for a long-haired sandal-wearing Utopian like you and your misguided Socialist friends it may seem like a symbol of the futility of wars in which nobody wins, but, as a Tory, I think it's deeply disrespectful to those who lost their lives so that shirkers like you could live free of the tyranny of the jackboot and rule of the mob.
I'm impressed.
Not too over the top? Pull it back a little.
You'd vote for such a fine chap as that, wouldn't you, Wratten? Wratten? Corporal Barrowman was a walking time bomb.
Yeah, and we set him off.
We performed a controlled explosion.
I'm sorry the telegram brought such bad news.
Obviously you were very close to your grandfather, Davies.
Yes, sir.
We will arrange leave so that you can attend the funeral.
Thank you, sir.
I understand he served.
Yes, sir.
The King's Own Rifles.
Really? Perhaps you're not aware that the King's Own were once based here at Bleakly Marsh.
Yes, sir.
It might be fitting to include your grandfather's name in the Roll of Honour today.
At the Remembrance Service.
Um Maybe not, sir.
If that's all right.
Of course.
I'll take a white one.
So you're feeling yourself today, Lomax? No movie speeches? I don't like the red one.
It's supposed to commemorate those who suffered on all sides of the war.
It's a symbol.
A signal? So we can recognise each other.
"We"? The enemy won't attack us with a great big bomb.
They'll do it with a million small explosions .
.
all detonated in our heads.
Right.
Explosions called ideas.
Planted right in our brains.
Yeah? White poppy? The idea is to remember and disarm.
Keenan, will you just leave it? Nearly 50 years since the war to end all wars.
SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it.
And I don't want a stupid white poppy! Oh dear(!) Seems like your "man of the people" image is crumbling, Keenan.
I just think you shouldn't rush into something like this without thinking, Colin.
I have thought.
And it's the right thing to do for our marriage, for our future.
The only thing I'm not sure about is whether to give my resignation to Cunnicliffe before or after the Remembrance Service.
Today?! You think it's possibly a little too theatrical? I just think it wouldn't hurt anything to wait a while.
Why? I know I'm not going to change my mind.
And we'll look back on this as the day our new life began.
Suddenly, things don't at all seem complicated.
What's all this I hear about white poppies? It's in remembrance, sir.
It's not meant disrespectfully.
Poppies are red around here.
Is that an order, Sergeant? It's useful advice.
There's no shortage of lads won't appreciate the niceties.
Unless, of course, you want to lose some teeth? I'll take my chances, Sergeant.
Private Keenan, if you want to do something useful, would you keep an eye on Davies for me? He just heard his grandfather died.
Fall in, Private Keenan.
Are you ready to lose Keenan's bet for him, Mr Rothman? I'm looking forward to seeing you grovel, Mr White-Bowne.
And I'm looking forward to seeing Keenan lick my boots clean.
Really? I thought Lomax was the deluded one! If you're so certain, why not make it more interesting with a bet on the side? What's wrong? Suddenly not so confident? Just feel bad about taking money off you, White-Bowne.
Two Section! Two Section, quick march! Squadhalt! What we have here is 500 mess tins, 1,000 water bottles, 2,000 sets of eating irons - all needs to go to the Quartermaster's stores to be logged in.
But before that, in here, we have 2,000 used pairs of boots and 5,000 no longer issued tin helmets.
All these items need to be cleared out before the new delivery can be brought in.
Question, Sergeant.
Private Rothman? Once we take all the stuff from this store room, where does it all go? That, Private Rothman, is a very good question.
MUSIC: "Down In The Bottom" by Howlin' Wolf Well, now, meet me in the bottom Bring me my runnin' shoes Well, now, meet me in the bottom Bring me my runnin' shoes Squad halt! Right turn! The kit you move from the Quartermaster's will be stored here.
But before that can happen .
.
it needs to be cleared out.
Removed and sorted into three piles.
Big stuff, small stuff, and stuff that is neither big nor small.
Do you understand, Two Section? ALL: Yes, Sergeant.
Carry on.
.
.
Though my life is at stake LOUD FOOTSTEPS Private Lomax, I presume.
Now, I hope "You claimed to have a breakdown, didn't you?" I" don't think I'll have one today, thank you.
"You see, Doctor, "the maternal instinct springs from an urge to control.
" Ah.
That was everything I was led to expect.
You never loved me.
You never even wanted me! Step into my parlour, Private Lomax.
Sergeant Butcher told me.
About your grandfather.
I'm sorry.
I just can't believe I'm not going to get the chance to talk to him again.
I had this idea, right.
That I'd come back from some posting, seen a bit of action, not too much, mind, but enough.
And I'd go and see my Grandpa And he'd just know what I was talking about.
I know a bit about what he went through in the trenches.
And then what? I don't know.
I'd I'd just ask him .
.
straight out .
.
when the shooting started, did you turn and run? And if he says yes, would you have thought any less of him for it? I don't know.
I'm going to miss all of this.
Sir? I've always thought of you as a good man, Butcher.
A loyal support.
And I shall miss that, too.
I'll be handing a letter of resignation to Major Cunnicliffe today.
Resignation, sir? For, let's just call them domestic reasons, although very positive and optimistic reasons.
Oh, God, here come the press gang to steal our personnel! Captain Gulliver.
Eileen Babcombe, chairman of the Conservative party selection panel.
Welcome.
Though the welcome is tempered with some regret.
Whatever your decision today, we'll lose one of our men and the army never likes losing men.
Please, if you'll follow me.
Why does the army keep all this junk? It's not junk.
It's the story of some soldier's war you've got there.
What, and this? It's not exactly Montgomery's pistol, is it? You might think more of it if you'd had to dig yourself in under mortar fire in the Sinai Desert.
The Suez Crisis? That wasn't a real war.
Are you serious? You should try telling that to the boys who faced the bullets and the shells.
No, Hoy's right.
All these scraps from obscure places only some professor's heard of, they weren't proper wars.
Exactly.
Compared to the big ones.
Compared to the Great War and that last business sorting out Hitler.
These lads had an easy time of it.
Hoy, shut your mouth.
You don't know what you're talking about.
I'll tell you something.
I would go out of my way to do something nice for her, to make her happy, and she would never give me any acknowledgement Come to finish me off, Wratten? I just wanted to apologise.
For what? I didn't get anything I didn't deserve.
I didn't mean for it to happen like that.
Yes, you did.
You wanted to get the better of me.
And you did.
Darling, you-oo-oo send me I know you-oo-oo send me Darling, you-oo-oo send me Honest you do, honest you do, honest you do, wo-oh-oh-oh You-oo-oo thrill me I know you, you, you thrill me The problem is, Jimmy, you didn't trust me to understand you.
You filled me up with big plans and then you chose the army over me.
Norah, if you've come here just to talk about that And after all that, I'm sat here now .
.
and I'm still wearing your ring.
That either means I'm stupid or I think there's something worth trying to hold onto here.
And the honest truth, Jimmy, is .
.
I don't know which it is.
So what do we do now? I think until I can work it out, we shouldn't see each other for a while.
He seems pretty sure there's going to be a happy ever after.
Michael Audrey, here's what I think.
Here's what you need to hear.
I think this country's in a mess.
Can't see it getting any better before we're both in the grave.
So I'm going.
I'm leaving it behind.
I want you to come with me.
To Australia.
Australia?! They're inviting ex-servicemen to settle there.
And we justget on a boat? Yes.
We start again.
We can start a new life.
As man and wife.
With our child.
Have you got it? Ready? Lift.
Sorry! Whoa! What are they doing hidden away in here? "Sergeant S.
Hardiman, King's Own Rifles, "15 November, 1917.
" That's the Long Service and Good Conduct medal, that.
Hey, that's the Military Cross.
That's another Long Service there.
Oh, my Lord! What? The Victoria Cross! It's like the FA Cup and the Olympic gold all rolled into one! "25 September 1915.
"King's Own Rifles.
Private G.
F .
.
Davies.
What? So, um, we thought, sir, since it's definitely Grandpa Gilbert's medal, that maybe, um, it could be buried with him.
You had no idea your grandfather had been awarded this very highest of honours? No, sir.
And to be honest, until Private Keenan found it in the store room, I thought he might have been a deserter.
Sir.
Private Davies mentioned your idea of mentioning his grandfather's name in the Roll of Honours.
The Remembrance Service, sir.
Yes, um Of course.
Extraordinary deeds should be acknowledged.
See the adjutant.
Give him the details as inscribed and he'll include it in my address.
Dismissed.
I told myself it was all about discipline.
For the good of the lads.
But I knew something was wrong.
I started to enjoy it.
Pushing them, goading them.
The ones that didn't want to play the game.
Lads like me.
Lads like you.
I wonder what kind of Tory Private Keenan taught you to play.
The kind who supports the prime minister, sucking up to the Americans, giving away the colonies and telling us, "You've never had it so good.
" Or the kind who wants to keep a foot on the throats of the savages in the hot countries.
Wants to keep their black faces out of England and wouldn't let a Jew like you anywhere near their daughter! Hmm? Michael says he wants to leave with me, but my husband has a strange sense of purpose about him that I haven't seen in years! It's quite peculiar.
What will you do? Where was this fire a year, two years ago, when I needed to see it? If I decide to stay with Colin and we start again somewhere else, I'll have to tell him that I'm pregnant and let him think the child is his.
And what What about Sergeant Butcher? With all this ridiculous resignation business, I thought I knew what I should do.
'I need more time.
'Colin is insisting on handing in his resignation today!' I I don't know what to think.
Sergeant Butcher.
Sorry.
I'm sorry.
I had to speak to someone or go mad.
Audrey.
It's not complicated.
I love you.
I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
It's me or him.
This is not right, the three of us doing all this work.
Where did everybody else go? What do they take us for, mugs or summat? Absolutely.
Don't expect us to cover for you! For any of you, when Sergeant Butcher gets back.
Come on.
Oh, sod it! It's a list of men court-martialled for desertion, cowardice and other offences.
Davies' grandfather was recorded as tried and guilty and sentenced to death.
I don't understand.
How could he have been? He was alive until yesterday.
It says that 3,000 men were sentenced to be executed in the Great War.
300 of them were shot at dawn.
The rest were given prison sentences.
So what are you going to tell him? I gave Davies a medal and told him his grandfather was a hero.
Now I'm supposed to tell him what? That he was a coward? No.
That man goes to his grave with his medal pinned to his chest.
I just hope Keenan chose the right act for you to give them.
Mr Rothman? Good luck! I think there is a need after the humiliation of Suez .
.
to find our new position in the world.
I think we need to recognise as Disraeli had it, almost everything that is great has been done by youth.
Above all, what we need to recognise is that this is the sixties.
We're in the closing decades of the 20th century.
'A most excellent question.
' And in response, I'd say I think there are moments in history when change is necessary, and others when it is dangerous.
I strongly believe that there has never been a greater need for true Conservatism than there is today.
A need to consolidate.
A need for "anti-socialism", as my father puts it.
Your father? Yes.
My father is Sir Anthony White-Bowne.
Minister of State for Trade.
Although I would hate for that to in any way influence your opinion.
That's Freddie, Baxter, Taff, Slim.
All dead in the space of a minute in the Malayan jungle.
Are you going somewhere, Corporal? You sweat your way through a three-day patrol carrying a 70lb-pack and see nothing.
Then an ambush.
I used to be like you, Wratten.
Mess around, being part of the awkward squad.
Don't clean your weapon, have a beer with your mates.
Then came the ambush.
I saw the first man.
A grenade in each hand.
I got him in my sights.
Then the rifle jammed.
By the time I got a round off, we were five men down.
I watched the bodies of my friends float by me down the river.
It never leaves you.
The fear and the guilt.
More than that.
They grow in you.
And then they look for a way out.
You should have this.
For the honour of carrying the regimental colours.
I won't be needing it today.
Bewildered Lost in a dream of you Where is the love I need Why did we part? Bewildered Has love, has love died Dear, wishing your heart Could feel What's in my heart Must I have sleepless nights I think it went OK.
If they do choose me, I shall try and win the by-election.
This modern, winds of change, friend of America Tory act, it's not such a bad fit.
Plus I don't suppose Estelle's parents would mind having a son-in-law in Westminster.
Seriously? I thought I saw the flicker of a smile at one point, when I made a little joke about the Queen.
You made a joke about the Queen? Just a little one.
No, no, no, no, no, no! Only idiots and socialists make jokes about the Queen! Damn.
Blown my chances, haven't I? I knew I shouldn't have put a bet on it.
You put a bet on with White-Bowne? Ten quid I haven't got.
And it was Shut up! Take it back! What's going on? I just said a Victoria Cross doesn't gather dust for 40 years because Grandpa forgot to pick it up! He said they take your medals at a court-martial.
They do.
You're such an idiot, White-Bowne.
'It's Remembrance Day, Alice, and they say to understand is to forgive.
'Now I know what happened between you and Hobbs, 'I do forgive him.
'But if Davies understood what happened to his grandfather, 'could he also forgive?' To be honest, Captain Gulliver, I wasn't sure of your welcome today.
Major, it's always a pleasure to see you at Bleakly Marsh.
After tempting you with the offer of a posting that then dematerialised.
One rises above these things when there are bigger fish to fry.
In fact, this might be the right moment for one particular fish.
Mrs Gulliver.
Major Cunnicliffe.
I wonder if I might borrow my husband for a moment.
Darling, I was just about to Please, Colin.
Very well.
Would you excuse us for a moment, Major? Well? This is very hard.
I was about to hand Cunnicliffe my resignation.
Colin, please listen.
You may change your mind when you hear what I have to say.
I doubt it.
I've never been more sure about anything in my life.
For the sake of our future Colin! I'm leaving you.
What? For the last year and a half .
.
I've been having an affair.
With Michael.
We're leaving the country together.
Audrey To start a new life.
Audrey! Who Who's Michael? Private Lomax's problems began, I believe, with his mother.
She moulded him into what she thought her son should be and he learnt to use this other self to keep his true self hidden.
And then Captain Bulgakov .
.
although in our session there were glimpses of what I think he wanted me to think were his true self.
But I believe those glimpses, fascinatingly, are also a construct.
Private Lomax is truly a doll within a Russian doll.
Captain .
.
can you just tell me, is he mad or is he faking? I would say quite possibly both.
Sir, is Captain Gulliver not with you? He was, and then he went in there - for a discussion with his wife.
Sir? Do you think, given the circumstances, this show of respect is appropriate? No.
No, I don't.
I'm curious to know how .
.
how long you two love-birds have been planning this.
Don't be foolish, Colin.
The truth is, we didn't plan for any of this.
We didn't plan for this to begin, or what it's become for both of us.
And I'm supposed to just allow this to happen? Colin.
I'm pregnant.
DOOR SLAMS I think you should read this.
I've heard enough.
Just let it go.
"On 25 September 1915 near Loos, France, "Private G.
F.
Davies went out on six different occasions "under very heavy shell, rifle and machine gun fire.
"Each time, he carried into a place of safety a wounded man lying in the open.
"He himself was wounded, so he handed the last soldier over the parapet.
" They read that out at your grandfather's court-martial.
There's more.
Read it.
"Three times wounded, three times Private Davies returned to the front.
"He served with valour at Bazentin Ridge, Delville Wood, "Thiepval, Ancre, "before going absent on November 14, 1916.
"At this time, his unit were under orders to move "and he believed the division was to go back to the battlefield of The Somme.
"His sentence was amended to four years' imprisonment "and then commuted to 90 days.
"After which he returned to the front.
" The choice between two strong candidates to challenge a safe but not unassailable lead was hard to make.
But we believe that in our choice of a young, energetic, if somewhat unconventional candidate, the party will be well served by Mr Rothman.
Oh! Thank you.
Thanks very much.
Thank you! Thank you very much.
Thank you! Thank you so much.
Thank you! Thank you.
Thanks a lot.
Thank you.
MUSIC: Mannish Boy by Muddy Waters Everything Everything Everything goin' be all right this morning Oh, yeah Woo I'm a man I spell M- too A-N A-N That represents man No B- O-Y -Y That means mannish boy I'm a man A full-grown man I'm a man I'm a natural-born lovers man A man DAVIES: Come on, then, Two Section.
Let's get moving! DOOR CLOSES, SILENCE CRACKLING INTERFERENCE SEARCHES FOR STATION CRACKLING Sigma One calling unit.
Over.
Affirmative.
Target assessed.
Intelligence confirmed.
Bulgakov spy master for Red agents.
Escalation required.
Over.
Affirmative.
Over and out.
They shall grow not old .
.
as we that are left grow old.
Age will not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning .
.
we will remember them.
ALL: We will remember them.
MUSIC: The Last Post STRAINS OF THE LAST POS FILTER THROUGH WINDOW We pledge ourselves anew to our work in support of the war-time generations and all those We promise to .
.
in peace time as in war, we all must make sacrifices.
But who among us, when the moment comes, know if they would make that ultimate sacrifice.
To give our own life so that others may live.
To give up our today .
.
for their tomorrow.
My name is Andrew Gordon Lomax and I will gladly leave this world to save you who are damned from yourselves.
Lomax! No! Keenan! Keenan! Get back! EXPLOSION MUSIC: "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones I see a red door and I want it painted black No colours any more, I want them to turn black I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes I have to turn my head until my darkness goes I see a line of cars and they're all painted black With flowers and my love both never to come back I see people turn their heads And quickly look away Like a new-born baby it just happens every day I look inside myself and see my heart is black I see my red door, I must have it painted black Maybe then I'll fade away And not have to face the facts Not easy facin' up when your whole world is black No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue.
We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do We gotta get outta this place Girl, there's a better life for me and you We gotta get outta this place If it's the last thing we ever do We gotta get outta this place.