Witness History

The Pitcairn Sex Abuse Trial

November 07, 2016 08:58 - 11 minutes - 5.24 MB

In 2004 a child sex abuse trial on a remote island in the Pacific shocked the world. Nearly half the adult male population of Pitcairn Island stood accused of rape and sexual assault. The victims and the accused were all descendants of British sailors, including the famous rebel Fletcher Christian, who'd mutinied on a ship called Bounty in the eighteenth century. Claire Bowes spoke to Kathy Marks, one of just six journalists who were given permission to travel to Pitcairn to report on the tr...

War Photographer, Dickey Chapelle

November 04, 2016 10:49 - 9 minutes - 4.15 MB

On 4 November 1965, the American war photographer, Dickey Chapelle, was killed in Vietnam by shrapnel from a booby-trapped mortar. She was the first American woman war reporter to be killed in action, and had made her name covering many of the 20th Century's greatest conflicts at a time when war reporting was almost exclusively the domain of men. (Photo: Dickey Chapelle taking photos during a US Marines operation in 1958. Credit: US Marine Corps/Associated Press)

Octavio Paz

November 03, 2016 08:58 - 9 minutes - 4.26 MB

In October 1990 the Mexican poet and essayist was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. A prolific writer, Paz was the first Mexican to win the Prize. Mike Lanchin has been hearing from Professor Jason Wilson and Mexican writer, Alberto Ruy Sanchez, who knew him well. Photo: Octavio Paz and his wife speaking to the press in New York after learning he won the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature (EVY MAGES/AFP/Getty Images)

Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution

November 02, 2016 08:58 - 8 minutes - 4.03 MB

In 1966 China's communist leader declared the start of a Cultural Revolution. It was carried out by millions of young people, part of Mao's Red Guards. Lucy Burns has been speaking to Saul Yeung, who was just 20 years old when he joined up. Photo: Chinese Red Guards reading from Chairman Mao's Little Red Book (Getty Images)

A Black GI in China

November 01, 2016 08:58 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MB

In November 1950, Clarence Adams, an African-American soldier fighting in the Korean war, was captured by the Chinese Red Army. He was held in a prisoner of war camp until the war ended. But instead of returning home, Adams and 20 other GIs chose to settle in China. Rob Walker has been speaking to his daughter, Della Adams. (Photo: Clarence Adams and his Chinese wife, Liu Lin Feng, courtesy of the family)

Harry Houdini

October 31, 2016 09:00 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In 1904, the great American escape artist, Harry Houdini, made his reputation with a sensational performance at a theatre in London's West End. It became known as the Mirror Handcuff Challenge. Simon Watts introduces contemporary accounts of the show, and talks to magician and Houdini expert, Paul Zenon. (Photo: Houdini later in his career. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Abduction of Mehdi Ben Barka

October 28, 2016 06:50 - 9 minutes - 4.15 MB

In 1965 French agents in Paris helped kidnap and disappear Mehdi Ben Barka, a Moroccan dissident and global left-wing activist. He was taken to a villa in Paris where it is believed he was murdered by Moroccan security officials. His body has never been found. The case became a national scandal in France. The BBC's Alex Last hears from Bachir Ben Barka, who is still fighting to find out what really happened to his father. Photo: Mehdi Ben Barka (AP)

The Big Bang

October 27, 2016 07:55 - 8 minutes - 4.09 MB

In October 1986 London's financial heart, the Stock Exchange, underwent one of the biggest shake-ups in its history. Old-fashioned practices such as the long lunches and early train home, gave way to new ways of working, and to the computer. Susan Hulme has been hearing from former stockbroker, Justin Urquhart Stewart, about the impact of those changes. Photo: Traders in the London Stock Exchange, Aug 1984 (Victor Blackman/Express/Getty Images)

The Hungarian Uprising

October 26, 2016 07:56 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MB

In October 1956 students and workers took to the streets of Budapest to protest at Soviet rule in Hungary. The demonstrations turned violent and for a while the revolutionaries were in control before being brutally repressed. Ed Butler spoke in 2010 to one of the rebels, Peter Pallai. (Photo: November 10, 1956 - A crowd of people surround the demolished head of a statue of Josef Stalin, including Daniel Sego, the man who cut off the head, during the Hungarian Revolt, Budapest, Hungary.) (Cr...

Shell Shock

October 25, 2016 06:50 - 9 minutes - 4.12 MB

In World War One, thousands of troops began suffering from psychiatric disorders which were given the name 'shell shock'. It was initially thought that shell shock was caused by soldiers' proximity to exploding shells, but it soon became clear that the conflict was having an unprecedented psychological impact. Alex Last presents BBC archive recordings of WW1 veterans talking about their experiences. Photo: French soldiers taking cover during a German bombardment, 1918 (Photo by General Photo...

Marvel Comics and 'The Fantastic Four'

October 24, 2016 07:51 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MB

In 1961 a new generation of comic-book super heroes with more credible characters, was launched in the US to great acclaim. The 'Fantastic Four' was the creation of Marvel's writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. It propelled the company from a small division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. Ashley Byrne has been speaking to Roy Thomas, who began as a young writer at Marvel in the 1960s and rose to become its editor-in-chief. (Photo: The Fantastic Four, first issue, No...

The Aberfan Disaster

October 21, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MB

On 21st October 1966, tragedy struck a village in Wales when a landslide of coal waste engulfed a primary school. 144 people, most of them children, were killed. Rob Walker introduces interviews and reports from the BBC archive to commemorate the disaster. Photo: Rescue workers trying to reach children trapped in Pantglas Junior school. Credit: Press Association.

Marcel Duchamp and His Fountain

October 20, 2016 10:40 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In October 1942, the great French conceptualist artist Marcel Duchamp helped put on the first major surrealist exhibition in New York. Louise Hidalgo has been speaking to Carroll Janis, whose parents were friends of Duchamp, about the exhibition, the man and his art, including Duchamp's famous urinal. Picture: A replica of Marcel Duchamp's iconic work, Fountain, at the opening of an exhibition in London in 2010. Duchamp first exhibited Fountain in 1917 (Credit: Geoff Caddick)

The Mau Mau Rebellion

October 19, 2016 10:29 - 8 minutes - 4.01 MB

During the 1950s in Kenya, rebels known as the Mau Mau were fighting a bitter battle against colonial rule. Thousands of rebels were taken captive and interned in camps. Many of the prisoners suffered beatings and torture at the hands of the British authorities. Louise Hidalgo has spoken to a former Mau Mau rebel, Gitu wa Kahengeri, about his internment and about the day the Mau Mau leader, Dedan Kimathi was caught. Photo:Gitu wa Kahangeri in Kenya in 2016. Credit: BBC

Father Charles Coughlin - America's First Radio Priest

October 18, 2016 08:00 - 8 minutes - 4.09 MB

In the 1930s, a controversial Catholic priest called Father Charles Coughlin had a weekly radio programme with millions of listeners in the United States. As the decade wore on, Father Coughlin's views became so extreme and anti-Semitic that he was seen as a threat to national security by the White House. Simon Watts introduces recordings of Father Coughlin and talks to his biographer, Sheldon Marcus. PHOTO: Father Coughlin at the microphone (Associated Press)

Bugging the US Embassy in Moscow

October 17, 2016 07:52 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In the mid 1980s the US discovered that the Soviets had hidden listening devices deep inside the walls of its new embassy building in Moscow, while it was still under construction. It sparked a trans-Atlantic row between the two super powers. President Reagan threatened to have the whole building pulled down. Mike Lanchin hears from Thomas Jendrysik, an American engineer stationed at the embassy, tasked with dismantling the secret Soviet equipment. (Photo: A US Marine stands guard inside ...

The Hoover Free Flights Promotion

October 14, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MB

In 1992 the vacuum cleaner manufacturer Hoover began offering free flights to British customers with every appliance they bought. The promotional campaign soon came unstuck when thousands of people took them up. Harry Cichy led the campaign to try to make the company provide the flights. He's been speaking to Susan Hulme for Witness. Photo: A cleaning lady vacuuming a red carpet. Credit: Getty Images.

The Last Day of Lebanon's Civil War

October 13, 2016 09:27 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MB

On October 13th 1990, the Syrian airforce forced their most outspoken opponent in Lebanon, General Michel Aoun, to take refuge in the French embassy in Beirut, ending the last chapter of Lebanon's bitter 15-year civil war. Veteran Lebanese journalist, Hanna Anbar, remembers that day. Photo: Syrian soldiers celebrate in front of the presidential palace in east Beirut after capturing it from troops loyal to General Michel Aoun, October 13th 1990 (Credit: Nabil Ismail/AFP/Getty Images)

Chile Votes Against Pinochet

October 12, 2016 16:35 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MB

In October 1988 Chile held an unprecedented referendum on whether the country's ruler, General Augusto Pinochet, should remain in power. A majority of voters rejected the dictator, ending 15 years of brutal military rule. Mike Lanchin has been speaking to Eugenio Garcia, who was creative director of the campaign to oust the dictator. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

October 11, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In 1918, more than fifty million people died in an outbreak of flu, which spread all over the world in the wake of the first World War. We hear eye-witness accounts of the worst pandemic of the twentieth century. PICTURE: An American policeman wearing a mask to protect himself from the outbreak of Spanish flu. (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Irina Ratushinskaya

October 10, 2016 07:50 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MB

On 9 October 1986 the dissident poet was released from a prison camp on the eve of a US-Soviet nuclear summit between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan. Irina Ratushinskaya has been speaking to Louise Hidalgo about her imprisonment, her poetry, and the day she was set free. (Photo: Irina and her husband Igor, arriving in London in December 1986. Credit: Topfoto)

Good Vibrations

October 07, 2016 07:50 - 9 minutes - 4.18 MB

In October 1966, California pop group the Beach Boys released their "pocket symphony" Good Vibrations. It's regularly named as one of the best pop songs ever written - but it came at a turning point for the band. Singer Mike Love tells Witness about recording the song. PICTURE: The Beach Boys in 1964. From left to right, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson (1944 - 1983) and Carl Wilson (1946 - 1998). (Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Exposing Child Abuse in the Catholic Church

October 05, 2016 23:03 - 9 minutes - 4.2 MB

In 1994, a TV programme broadcast in Northern Ireland lifted the lid on child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Rape help lines in Belfast and in the Republic of Ireland were inundated with calls as other victims came forward. Rebecca Kesby spoke to Chris Moore who made the programme for "Counterpoint" on UTV, "Suffer Little Children". Further investigations by Chris and his team uncovered hundreds of other cases, exposing the extent of child abuse around the world. (Photo: An Irish ch...

Thai University Massacre

October 05, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

On October 6th 1976 Thai security forces opened fire on student demonstrators in Bangkok. Dozens of students were killed and thousands were arrested. The killings heralded a new era of military rule in Thailand. Photo: Police stand guard over Thai students on a soccer field at Thammasat University, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Credit: AP Photo/Gary Mangkorn.)

The Poisoned Painkiller

October 04, 2016 08:00 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MB

In October 1982 seven people in the US died after taking, Tylenol, a painkiller which had been deliberately contaminated with cyanide. Claire Bowes has been speaking to David E Collins, the drug company executive who dealt with the aftermath of the tragedy. (Photo: Mrs. Helen Tarasiewicz, mother of Tylenol cyanide victim Theresa Tarasiewicz Janus, weeps over the casket containing her daughter"s body during graveside services at Maryhill Cemetery in Chicago Tuesday, 6 Oct 1982. Theresa, her ...

The Founding of Mensa

October 03, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In 1946, Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware were travelling on a train when they sparked up a conversation about intelligence testing. That chance encounter sparked the high IQ club, Mensa. Rachael Gillman speaks to the society's archivist Ian Fergus about those early days. (Photo: A computer generated image of the human head and brain. Credit: Getty Images)

Sir Stanley Spencer

September 30, 2016 07:51 - 9 minutes - 4.3 MB

In 1926 Stanley Spencer, one of the most admired British painters of the twentieth century, began work on an ambitious project in the village of Burghclere near London. He'd been commissioned to fill a new chapel with images of his experiences in the First World War, at home and abroad. Vincent Dowd speaks to Spencer's daughters, Shirin and Unity Spencer, about their father and his work. Photo: Stanley Spencer in 1958.(AP)

The Mayak Nuclear Disaster

September 29, 2016 07:51 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MB

On September 29th 1957 there was a major accident at a secret nuclear facility in the Soviet Union. Dozens of workers died and a huge cloud of radioactivity spread across the surrounding countryside. But news of the disaster was only made public decades later. Dina Newman has spoken to Zhores Medvedev, the first scientist to disclose what happened to the international community. Photo: The Mayak nuclear reprocessing plant in 2010. Credit: European Pressphoto Agency.

The Attica Prison Rebellion

September 27, 2016 23:03 - 9 minutes - 4.12 MB

In 1971 inmates at Attica maximum security facility in New York State rioted and seized control of the jail, taking guards hostage. When negotiations failed, the authorities stormed the prison, dropping tear gas from helicopters and firing hundreds of live rounds. At least 39 people were killed, including nine of the hostages. Former prisoner, Carlos Roche, spoke to Rebecca Kesby and described the chaos. This programme was first broadcast in 2013. (Photo: Rioting Inmates at the Attica maxim...

South Africa's 1985 State of Emergency

September 27, 2016 00:00 - 9 minutes - 4.21 MB

In the dying years of the Apartheid regime, the white minority government in South Africa was desperate to keep control as people took to the streets demanding change. A state of emergency was declared allowing the police and security forces sweeping new powers, which some individuals executed with extreme brutality. Rebecca Kesby spoke to Rev Dr Allan Boesak who was a political activist and church leader - he was one of those calling for an end to the unfair Apartheid system. (Photo: A ...

Outback Internment

September 26, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MB

During WWII some Germans and Austrians classed as 'enemy aliens' by the British were sent halfway across the world to be interned in prison camps in the Australian outback. Bern Brent was a 17 year old refugee from Berlin, who'd fled the Nazis on the Kindertransport - but he was taken away from his life in London and put on a troop ship heading for Melbourne. Hear his story. Photo: 'Enemy aliens' being rounded up in Britain. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

The Curious Story of Mary Toft

September 23, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.04 MB

In September 1726, a Surrey woman called Mary Toft claimed to be giving birth to rabbits. The case became a sensation which gripped Georgian England - but the real story may have been much darker. Witness hears eye-witness accounts from the time, and historian Karen Harvey puts the story into context. IMAGE: "Cunicularii or the wise men of Godliman in consultation", etching by William Hogarth illustrating the Mary Toft story, 1726. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.

The First Legal 'Physician-Assisted Suicide'

September 22, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

On September 22nd 1996, an Australian doctor called Phillip Nitschke, helped cancer sufferer Bob Dent, to die. He had connected a computer to a syringe full of lethal drugs - allowing Bob Dent to choose the time of his death. It was all done under a new law which had just been brought in to Australia's Northern Territory. But soon afterwards, politicians began working to overturn that law. Kevin Andrews MP, led the campaign to outlaw assisted suicide in Australia. Both he, and Dr Nitsc...

Domestic Violence in Brazil

September 21, 2016 07:51 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In September 2006 ground-breaking legislation came into effect in Brazil that for the first time recognised different forms of domestic violence. The "Maria da Penha" law was named after a women's rights activist who was left paraplegic by her abusive husband. Mike Lanchin has been hearing her chilling story. Photo: Maria da Penha now.

Voting Against the War on Terror

September 20, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MB

Just three days after the 9/11 attacks on America, Congress gave the President the power to order military action against any person, organisation or country suspected of involvement in the attacks - without needing Congressional approval. Witness speaks to Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the only member of the legislature to oppose the new powers. Photo: Barbara Lee in 2002. Credit: Getty Images News.

The West Australian Gold Rush

September 19, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MB

On 17 September 1892 gold was discovered in Coolgardie in Western Australia. It was not the first find but it was the biggest, and the one which began a gold rush that changed the fortunes of the colony which had just become independent from Britain. Claire Bowes presents an archive interview with Frank Gerald, who as a young man, witnessed the discovery. His account was recorded in 1937. (Photo: Gold prospectors in Australia panning water and silt in search of small nuggets. Credit: Three ...

The Capture of Abimael Guzman

September 16, 2016 07:57 - 9 minutes - 4.36 MB

In September 1992 security forces in Peru tracked down and arrested the leader of the Maoist rebels, Sendero Luminoso, or Shining Path. Abimael Guzman was found hiding in a safe house in the capital, Lima, which fronted as a ballet school. Mike Lanchin hears from two police officers who caught the elusive Guzman. Photo: Abimael Guzman behind the bars of a cage during his presentation to the press by Peruvian authorities, Sept. 1992 (HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images)

The First Tanks

September 15, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

Tanks were first used in warfare on 15 September 1916 by British soldiers fighting against German troops during the Battle of the Somme in World War One. Alex Last presents interviews with some of those soldiers from the BBC archive. A British tank in France during World War I. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Anthrax Attacks

September 14, 2016 10:12 - 9 minutes - 4.13 MB

One week after the 9/11 attacks, a series of letters were sent to journalists and politicians in the USA. They contained the deadly biological agent Anthrax. The United States was gripped with fear as postal workers fell ill. The FBI launched one of the biggest and most expensive investigations in its history. In 2013 Rebecca Kesby spoke to Special Agent Scott Stanley about the case. (Photo: Workers washing out rubbish bins. Credit: AP/Steve Mitchell)

The Great Fire of Smyrna

September 13, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.01 MB

Smyrna on Turkey's Aegean coast was one of the richest cities in the Ottoman Empire. It had a diverse mix of peoples and religions - Greeks, Turks, Armenians, Levantines, and Jews. The city was famous for its tolerant and cosmopolitan way of life. But that began to change in the aftermath of World War One. The Greek army occupied Smyrna and its surroundings and was responsible for atrocities against Turks. Then in September 1922, Turkish forces routed the Greek army and re-entered the city...

The Lascaux Caves

September 12, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.03 MB

On September 12th 1940 a group of French schoolboys discovered the Lascaux caves with their palaeolithic cave paintings in the Vézère Valley in south-western France. It was one of the biggest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Lisa Louis has spoken to Simon Coencas, one of the boys who found the cave.

Estonia's Bootleg Vodka Poisoning

September 09, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

In September 2001, 68 people died after a massive outbreak of alcohol poisoning in Parnu, Estonia. Rachael Gillman has been speaking to Dr. Raido Paasma, who was working as a doctor in the town when the first cases were discovered. Photo: Victims of the Parnu alcohol poisoning outbreak (AP Images)

How Europe won over the British left

September 08, 2016 09:14 - 8 minutes - 4.09 MB

In September 1988, a speech by Jacques Delors, the President of the European Commission, helped convince British trade unionists to support the European Community. For years, many on the left had been sceptical of the EC, regarding it as a 'rich man's club'. The Labour party and the unions had even called for withdrawal from the European Community, but as Europe geared up for the opening of the single market in 1992, Jacques Delors began to talk about something new. It was called the socia...

Star Trek - The Early Years

September 07, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

On 8 September 1966 the cult American science fiction series first went on air. It was not an immediate hit with audiences. Herb Solow, the original producer of the series, spoke to Ashley Byrne about how the first Star Trek was made. (Photo: Left to right, William Shatner as Captain James T Kirk, DeForest Kelley as Dr Leonard "Bones" McCoy and Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Remembering Chairman Mao

September 06, 2016 07:50 - 13 minutes - 6.27 MB

On September 9th 1976 the Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong died. American Sidney Rittenberg first met him in the 1940s and he spent decades living in Communist China. He spoke to Rebecca Kesby about of one of the world's great revolutionaries. Photo: a poster of Chairman Mao in Beijing in the 1960s. Credit: AFP.

Italy's Partisan Fighters

September 05, 2016 08:00 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MB

In September 1943, Partisan fighters in Italy began organising in large numbers to help the Allies defeat Nazi Germany and rid their country of the remnants of Benito Mussolini's fascist state. As World War Two drew to a close, there was vicious fighting in many villages between the Partisans and Italians still loyal to the dictator. Alice Gioia speaks to a brother and sister who both took part in the Partisan struggle. PHOTO: Italian Partisans celebrating victory, May 1945 (personal collec...

The Day Sweden Turned Right

September 02, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MB

On September 3rd 1967 all Swedish drivers had to change the habits of decades, and swap to driving on the right-hand side of the road. It brought them into line with most of the rest of Europe (except of course for Britain and Ireland) but caused a day of chaos. Ashley Byrne has been speaking to Bjorn Sylven who remembers that day. Photo: The moment when the traffic changed from left-hand drive to right-hand, in Kings Street, Stockholm, at exactly 5am, on September 3rd 1967. Credit: AP

The Mexican American War

September 01, 2016 07:56 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MB

In September 1847 American soldiers marched triumphantly into Mexico City. It was the end of a bloody conflict between the two nations, but the start of the first American occupation of a foreign capital. Mike Lanchin presents written testimonies from the time. (Photo: General Scott's entrance into Mexico City. Hand coloured lithograph. Credit: Adolphe Jean-Baptiste Bayot)

The Last Case of Smallpox in the UK

August 31, 2016 07:50 - 8 minutes - 4.04 MB

In the summer of 1978 a British woman, Janet Parker, became the last known victim of the deadly virus smallpox. Professor Alasdair Geddes describes diagnosing smallpox in Janet Parker in 1978 and the events that followed. This programme is a rebroadcast. Claire Bowes spoke to Professor Alasdair Geddes in 2014. Image: Smallpox virus, Credit: Science Photo Library

The Fall of Bukhara

August 30, 2016 08:00 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MB

In 1920, the Communist Red Army bombed the old city of Bukhara and took over the Central Asian kingdom. This was the end of an important centre of Islamic culture. Dina Newman speaks to the son of one of the Bukharan reformers who had made a pact with the Communists. Photo: The Last Emir of Bukhara, 1911 (credit: Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii; Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Prokudin-Gorskii Collection)

Episodes

Books