Synopsis
In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop uncovers the powerful stories of First World War soldiers from across the British Empire—including India, Jamaica, Ireland, and Canada—examining why they fought, how they were treated, and the legacy they left behind. Through memorials, battlefields, and family histories, he asks whether they should have fought for Britain—and reveals they were, in fact, part of Britain themselves.
- Programme: Not Forgotten
- Episode: 5: Shot at Dawn
- Channel: Channel 4
- Broadcast year: 2007
- History | World War I
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from Not Forgotten
1: Commemoration | Not Forgotten
1: Commemoration | Not Forgotten
Commemoration, examining the movement for war memorials following the First World War, and the continuation of this tradition for subsequent...
3: Women | Not Forgotten
3: Women | Not Forgotten
Women, discussing how women's roles and expectations in society changed as a result of the war.
4: Survivors | Not Forgotten
4: Survivors | Not Forgotten
Survivors, examining how society dealt with those who returned from the war injured and disabled.
6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten
6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten
In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop explores the powerful and often overlooked stories of conscientious object...
7: Soldiers of Empire | Not Forgotten
7: Soldiers of Empire | Not Forgotten
In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop uncovers the overlooked stories of soldiers from across the British Empire who fou...
More resources about The British empire
1: A People Stolen | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
1: A People Stolen | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
Samuel L Jackson and a team of journalists and divers explore 400 years of slavery. What happened to the 12 million ensla...
1: A Taste of Power | Empire
1: A Taste of Power | Empire
Jeremy Paxman begins by asking how such a small country got such a big head and came to rule a quarter of the world.
1: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj
1: Home from Home | Lost World of the Raj
The first episode recreates the era of the 1930s, when British expatriates attempted to create an idyllic version of English life i...
1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian, ...
1: The Atlantic Slave Trade | History File
1: The Atlantic Slave Trade | History File
The development of the triangular trade is described from its ancient origins, through the European involvement in the 16th and 17...
1: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain
1: The Viceory of India | A Passage to Britain
Dr Yasmin Khan tracks down passengers who travelled from Mumbai to Britain in the 1930s on the luxurious P&O liner The Viceroy...
1: Why Britain? | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
1: Why Britain? | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
In this programme we learn about the origins of the British empire in the 17th century and how its foundations we...
10: India: The Brightest Jewel | Twentieth Century History
10: India: The Brightest Jewel | Twentieth Century History
Programme covers events in India from the 1930s to Independence and Partition in 1947.
2: A Precious Cargo | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
2: A Precious Cargo | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
Samuel L Jackson examines how, for over 400 years, the transatlantic slave trade became the greatest wealth-generating m...
2: Foreign Legions | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
2: Foreign Legions | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
In part two, historian David Olusoga explains how the First World War spread far beyond the mud and trench...
2: Making Ourselves at Home | Empire
2: Making Ourselves at Home | Empire
Jeremy Paxman continues by examining how traders, conquerors and settlers spread the British way of doing things.
2: Pirates | Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues
2: Pirates | Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues
Sam Willis explores the golden age of piracy during the early 18th century and charts the devastating impact p...
2: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj
2: Sex and Sensibility | Lost World of the Raj
Raj society was based on a formal order of precedence, but behind the scenes there was a great deal of flirtation, fun, affair...
2: White Plague | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
2: White Plague | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
The concept of 'plantation' is explored in this programme, referring not to crops but the settlement of British p...
2. On trial | The Compass
2. On trial | The Compass
Ken Saro Wiwa and Ledum Mittee come face to face with the power of the Nigerian state.
3: Playing the Game | Empire
3: Playing the Game | Empire
Jeremy Paxman continues by tracing the growth of a peculiarly British type of hero.
3: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj
3: Pomp and Power | Lost World of the Raj
Set against the backdrop of British India from the 1920s to Independence in 1947, this third and last programme in the series tells...
3: Resistance | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
3: Resistance | Enslaved with Samuel L Jackson
Samuel L Jackson and the team travel through the US to tell the stories of those who resisted slavery, often making the danger...
3: The Jewel in the Crown | British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
3: The Jewel in the Crown | British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
Lucy explores how British history is a concoction of fibs. She debunks the fibs that surround th...
3: The Mission | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
3: The Mission | Empire: How Britain Made The Modern World
Following the religious revival that started in the late 18th century, missionaries began working in Africa and In...
More from Ian Hislop
3: Sinful Sex and Demon Drink | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders
3: Sinful Sex and Demon Drink | Ian Hislop's Age of the Do-Gooders
The perils of booze and sex are the focus for the final episode of Ian Hislop's series about Victorian ref...
Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History
Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History
Ian Hislop's sharp, provocative take on 200 years of fake news and its consequences - from Victorians on the moon to 21st-century deep...
Workers or Shirkers? Ian Hislop's Victorian Benefits
Workers or Shirkers? Ian Hislop's Victorian Benefits
Ian Hislop presents an entertaining and provocative look at Victorian attitudes to the poor, exploring the views of five...
1: Heroes for All Times | Ian Hislop's Olden Days
1: Heroes for All Times | Ian Hislop's Olden Days
Documentary series in which Ian Hislop explores the British trait of obsession with the past. Here he examines King Arthur ...
3: Last Hurrah? | Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip - An Emotional History of Britain
3: Last Hurrah? | Ian Hislop's Stiff Upper Lip - An Emotional History of Britain
Ian Hislop investigates Britain's emotional history. He takes a wry and witty look at the up...
Elizabeth Fry | Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good
Elizabeth Fry | Ian Hislop: When Bankers Were Good
Like so many other Victorian bankers, Samuel Gurney was a Quaker. Banking and its rewards seemed at odds with a faith that...
6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten
6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten
In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop explores the powerful and often overlooked stories of conscientious object...
Power: the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846 | A Revolution in Five Acts
Power: the Repeal of the Corn Laws, 1846 | A Revolution in Five Acts
An ear of corn is at the heart of the second programme in the daily series. Ian Hislop charts an Act tha...