We meet some of the extraordinary last survivors of the generation who fought or lived through World War II. Now in their nineties and hundreds - the oldest is 110 - they come from both rich and poor backgrounds. We find out how these men and women of Britain's Greatest Generation were shaped by their childhood experiences. For no generation of Britons in modern history has war been such a defining feature than in the lives of those born just before, during, or soon after the First World War. The euphoria of victory in 1918 had imbued many with an overwhelming sense of patriotism and pride in Britain that would remain deep-rooted for years to come. But national unity was seriously tested in the 1920s and 30s, as Britain became a country riven with class conflict and inequality. As unemployment soared, there was widespread civil unrest. Despite these upheavals, those growing up in the interwar years remember much that was positive about life in Britain at the time. Their stories reveal that personal qualities of courage, initiative, obedience and fairness - seeded by parents of all classes - were highly valued. Most strikingly, they shared a delight in exercising freedom and independence - attributes that would come in useful as another world war approached. When war broke out in September 1939, the men and women of this generation had just come of age and were ready to risk their lives for their country. But the evacuation of the British Army from the beaches of Dunkirk was a wake-up call for those who expected a swift victory. By the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone, with the Nazis massed across the English Channel. The Battle of Britain was about to begin - and the men and women of Britain's Greatest Generation were ready to fight it.

We meet one of the last surviving pilots of the Battle of Britain. We hear from men who did some of the most dangerous war work of all - getting the convoys through. And we find out what kept people going when defeat was staring them in the face. This would be the defining moment of Britain's Greatest Generation - when an indomitable spirit helped turn our darkest hour into our finest hour. The early years of the war between 1940 and 1942 are widely remembered as a time when people from all classes of society - and from all over the country - came together to fight Hitler. Though many deep-seated social problems and injustices remained, Britain's battle for survival came to be called 'the people's war'. Popular memory suggests that there was indeed a strong shared sense of purpose. Britain's young men and women were about to face the biggest test of their lives. They were needed to come to the defence of the realm. The desperate need for labour opened the doors to women who had before the war been excluded from doing many jobs. Now there were opportunities for them to serve in everything from anti-aircraft gun batteries in London to the steel works of Sheffield. The terror of the Blitz also brought out the best in men and women in bombed cities all over Britain. During air raids, rescue workers, volunteers and neighbours risked everything to save people trapped in the rubble of bombed houses. It was painstaking work. But there was always hope that loved ones would be found alive. For many of the last survivors who remember when Britain stood alone, the defiant spirit that brought the nation together remains one of the proudest moments of their life. Britain was not invaded and not defeated, but was now looking across the channel to help liberate Europe.

This film interweaves stories of extraordinary courage, terrible suffering and miraculous survival from servicemen and women between 1942 and 1945. We meet the bomber boys who flew on some of the most dangerous missions of the war. We discover what it was like for the soldiers who helped turn the tide against the Germans - from El Alamein to the beaches of Normandy. We hear from the frontline nurses who risked everything to care for them. And we'll find out what it took to survive years of hard labour, disease and punishment as a prisoner in the far east. The fight for freedom was finally won in 1945 - only then did the full truth about the extermination of Jews in German concentration camps finally come to light. We begin with the extraordinary story of Fergus Anckorn who was once the youngest member of the Magic Circle and - at 96 - is now the oldest. He was captured and taken prisoner by the Japanese in Singapore, then miraculously survived a massacre of wounded British soldiers. He was put to work on the Burma Railway but - starved and beaten - he used his magic to entertain the Japanese troops, who rewarded him with food which helped keep him and his fellow prisoners alive. Alongside Fergus we hear other equally remarkable stories like that of the last surviving Dambuster Jonny Johnson. Once a slave boy in the East Anglian countryside, he was to play a vital role in the Dambuster raid. Another bomber boy, Bob Frost, emotionally recalls how his plane was shot down and how he secretly made his way back across Europe to Britain, to be reunited with his mother who feared he was dead. We hear some deeply moving, untold stories from D-Day, the great turning point in the war in Europe. Fred Glover, a boy soldier who lied about his age to join the Parachute Regiment, tells the deeply moving story of how he survived one of the dangerous missions of all. We see rare footage of nurses like Betty Evans - one of the unsung female heroes of D-Day - treating the inju

This final episode of Britain's Greatest Generation follows the lives of some of the servicemen and women of the Second World War across seventy years of British history, from 1945 up to the present day. This episode features Arctic convoy survivor Austin Byrne, former Fleet Air Arm pilot and Scotland football manager Bobby Brown and ex-prisoner of war Jim Purcell - just a few of the extraordinary and inspiring members of Britain's Greatest Generation who recall their stories and memories. Also appearing will be individuals who played their part in creating a more culturally diverse postwar Britain, such as pioneering actor Earl Cameron, gay rights activist George Montague and Brian Rix, who has campaigned passionately on the issue of disability. Whilst for some, life was getting better after the Second World War, there were still many people in society who were victims of prejudice. Earl Cameron was determined to change this and recalls how he broke through the colour bar in the British film industry. Novelist Diana Athill also played an important role in the movement towards both sexual and racial openness in the 1960s and speaks about how she flouted the taboo on mixed-race relationships at that time. One of the defining features of many of our greatest generation is a commitment to their local community. People such as Gladys Parry, who became a local magistrate in Manchester after the Second World War, and former railwayman Bill Graves, who became a local councillor in Bristol, are no exception. Others who display a strong sense of civic duty are Dorothy Hughes, who has made numerous public appearances as one of the first female Chelsea Pensioners and Jim Purcell, who is a local legend in his home town of Jarrow, having raised money for charity through running several marathons since his 60s and still takes part in long-distance races in memory of his partner Betty.