WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk

Today we're dropping an episode by our friends at Noiser podcast. Their podcast takes a trip back in time to Ancient Rome, to discover the bizarre and barbaric world of the gladiators. But who were these mysterious warriors? And how much truth lies behind the legends? Take your seat in the Roman Colosseum, the games are about to begin. https://podfollow.com/short-history-of Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did Indians join the British Army? Al Murray and James Holland speak to Exeter University's Dr Gajendra Singh about the reasons why young Indian men took part in the Second World War. The discussion spreads to Indian independence, the spread of fascism and how people view the conflict outside of the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al and James discuss the new Netflix film Munich: The Edge of War, which is of course based on the book Munich, written by friend of the pod Robert Harris. Is it any good? Was it right to sign the Munich Agreement? James also tells us about recent research he's been doing into the Battle of Luzon and General Douglas MacArthur. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Jon Gill Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s family stories include a long and eventful walk to freedom, an airman becoming a member of a select and unwanted club and a trumpeter’s escape from Dunkirk. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What measures did the government put in place to protect great works of art and culture from air raids? Al Murray and James Holland speak to archivist and historian Caroline Shenton to find out more. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al and James discuss the Mafia’s role in the Second World War, they also talk about Midway and the war in the Pacific. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s stories include a sailor who witnessed the atomic bomb exploding and lived to tell the tale, a medical emergency solved by a POW, a training exercise with an explosive ending and parents whose paths first crossed in wartime. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray and James Holland are joined by one of Canada's leading military historians Mark Zuehlke to discuss the nation's effort throughout the Second World War. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al and James discuss the arrest of Jean Moulin and the involvement of SIS. They also talk about All Arms cooperation and British signalling problems. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s stories take us from the attempts to sink the Tirpitz, through a tale of survival straight out of Das Boot, to life through a child’s eyes in occupied Holland and on to an Arctic convoy with a dark secret. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We take a new look at the fighting post D-Day with Canadian expert Marc Milner. Why has the Canadian contribution in north west Europe been downplayed? A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray and James Holland examine training methods for Allied forces faced with fighting the Japanese in Burma. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Linker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s stories take us from the skies with Bomber Command in the company of a Mad Dane, through defying the Nazis from within and suffering the terrible consequences, to the life of children under German occupation and seeing one of Hitler’s right-hand men behind bars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are you having We Have Ways Festival withdrawal symptoms? You're in luck! Today's episode is a live recording from the 2021 event. The boys talk field guns, howitzers, quads, and much much more. Come for the conversation with the Garrison Artillery Volunteers' Keith Brigstock, stay for the firing of a 25-pounder live on the pod! Buy tickets for this year's festival (Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th July 2022) here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-have-ways-fest-2022-tickets-193667523777 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Willow Murray reads a chapter from The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley. The book tells the story of a family reliving their memories of the Second World War at a funeral, 50 years later. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray read a chapter from A Midnight Clear written by William Wharton. The book follows six American soldiers who are sent to keep watch at a German outpost in the Ardennes. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland reads a chapter from one of his favourite books, The Thin Red Line. Written by James Jones, the book draws upon his own experience at the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse during World War II's Guadalcanal campaign. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al reads a chapter from Warriors for the Working Day. The novel is based on events from June 1944, during the Battle of Normandy, to the invasion of Germany in the Spring of 1945. The book describes fighting by the men of a small unit of British tanks during this period, with the focus on one tank crew. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland reads from Richard Flannagan's "The Narrow Road to the Deep North", a novel that tells the story of a far east prisoner of war during the construction of the Burma Railway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray reads chapters 1 through 6 from Life and Fate written by Vasily Grossman, an epic tale of a country told through the fate of a single family, the Shaposhnikovs A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland reads a chapter from Suite Francaise, the title of a planned sequence of five novels by Irène Némirovsky, a French writer of Ukrainian-Jewish origin, who was tragically murdered before she could complete all five volumes. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray reads a chapter from Sword of Honour written by Evelyn Waugh. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland reads a chapter from Alan Furst's The World at Night. The novel follows the upper-class life of film producer Jean Casson during the German occupation of Paris. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray read a chapter from The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. This book tells the story of the lives of a group of Royal Navy sailors fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website:www.wehavewayspod.com Email:[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland reads a chapter from one of his own books, The Burning Blue. This book tells the story of a small group of RAF fighter pilots who first fight in the Battle of Britain and then amid the sand and heat of North Africa's deserts. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray reads a chapter from Bomber written by Len Deighton. Bomber is a fictionalised account of "the events relating to the last flight of an RAF Bomber over Germany on the night of June 31st, 1943" A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland gives a guided tour of his new exhibition at the National Army Museum. This episode was recorded live at the museum as a part of our Independent Company livestream. If you enjoyed this episode, join the IC on Patreon for more exclusive live content every Monday www.patreon.com/wehaveways Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historian and television presenter Tessa Dunlop introduces Grace Taylor, a former royal artillery member of the anti-aircraft gun team and so-called 'Gunner Girl'. Grace volunteered far before conscription for women was decreed, out of both a love of her country and her boyfriend at the time. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can buy Tessa Dunlop's book 'Army Girls' here; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Army-Girls-secrets-stories-military/dp/1472282086 A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s stories take us from cricket in Australia to the skies over Nazi Germany, from life as an evacuee to setting fire to your own tank in front of Winston Churchill. Plus the story of two women facing very different forms of occupation. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special episode of We Have Ways, (recently afflicted) journalist Autumn Hendrickson brings to Al and James a year's worth of research into the war contributions of both the men and women of Reading, Massachusetts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al and James discuss bugging and intelligence during the war. Al also reveals details of a new We Have Ways project. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s family stories include witnessing a cavalry charge in East Africa, fighting in the Fjords, doodlebugs over London and tragedy in the Atlantic. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“December 1941 is the time the decision was made for the physical extermination of all the Jews in Europe” Al and James are joined by Waitman Beorn to discuss the Wannsee Conference and how the Nazis began the Holocaust. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why did the Japanese get involved in the Second World War? Could they have stayed out of it altogether? Robert Lyman speaks to Al Murray and James Holland. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“December 1941, you literally couldn’t pack more events into it if you tried”. Did FDR know that a deadly attack from Japanese forces was imminent? How did US generals decide on allocating troops in the Atlantic (instead of the Pacific)? Historian Mike Neiberg joins James Holland to explore the intricate complexities of American geopolitics following one of history's most audacious attacks, Pearl Harbour. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al and James discuss the Western Desert Campaign of 1941, especially looking into the Siege of Tobruk. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Al and James are joined by the 'Pacific War Trilogy' author Ian Toll to discuss the monumental event. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Twitter #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did Hitler and Stalin have a misapprehension of each other? And was scale the main reason Germany couldn’t invade Moscow? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s family stories include an act of outstanding bravery on the high seas, a trans-Atlantic friendship, a plate of dodgy sandwiches and a so-called ‘ordinary’ soldier’s war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Battle of the Atlantic was the most important theatre of the war, so why don’t we ever talk about it? Military and Naval historian, Marc Milner, joins Al and James to navigate their way through the often snubbed battle. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al and James debate whether the British produced the best tanks during the war. They also discuss the key characters involved in the development of the Maginot Line and read extracts from the Alanbrooke Diaries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In today’s Family Stories we hear about a young Englishwoman who found herself in Germany in 1936 and went to hear Hitler speak. Plus stories from South Africa, Australia and the Scottish Isles. Read by Al Murray and James Holland, these extraordinary stories of normal people’s wartime adventures were sent in by you, our listeners. Email your stories to [email protected] or leave them on the Family Stories page of our members’ site: patreon.com/wehaveways A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland and James Petrie walk the hills and caves around the River Ebro, site of the final battle of the Spanish Civil War. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Joey McCarthy Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Al Murray and James Holland discuss Dwight Eisenhower's decision not to cross the Rhine at the end of 1944. Al also questions James on his love for Battle Dress. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new series of Family Stories, the podcast written by you, our listeners. Each week Al Murray and James Holland read out the stories you send us describing the war experiences of your relatives. Email your stories to [email protected] or leave them on the Family Stories page of our members’ site: patreon.com/wehaveways A Goalhanger Films production Script: Robin Scott-Elliot Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What common mistakes do people make about the Nazis and the Red Army? Alex Richie, Katja Hoyer and Waitman Wade Beorn talk about the atrocities that happened on the Eastern Front during the Second World War A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Holland joins us from Spain where he is exploring the battle sites of the Spanish Civil War. Meanwhile Al Murray has his mind changed about the Typhoon. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each year on November 11th we pause to remember those who have died in the line of duty. In this Remembrance Day special, Al Murray and James Holland remember the family and friends of our listeners. We Have Ways’ members club, the Independent Company, now has 15 regional hubs in which members meet to discuss the history of the Second World War, frequently with a pint of beer in their hand. If you’d like to join like-minded people for lots of war-jaw join us at patreon.com/wehaveways and tell us which hub you’d like to join. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The British Army relied heavily on public school boys for its officer class at the start of the war but was forced to abandon its class prejudice as the conflict took its toll. Al Murray and James Holland explore the way in which the war forced a more egalitarian approach to army recruitment. We Have Ways’ members club, the Independent Company, now has 15 regional hubs in which members meet to discuss the history of the Second World War, frequently with a pint of beer in their hand. If you’d like to join like-minded people for lots of war-jaw join us at patreon.com/wehaveways and tell us which hub you’d like to join. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Harry Lineker Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hans Frank ran Poland for the Nazis during the Second World War and was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity at Nuremberg. His son Niklas was seven years old when Frank was hanged. In this extraordinarily candid conversation Niklas Frank talks to James Holland about living with his father’s legacy. Hold the date: WarFest 2022 will take place near Silverstone from July 22 to July 24. A Goalhanger Films production Produced by Vasco Andrade Exec Producer Tony Pastor Twitter: #WeHaveWays @WeHaveWaysPod Website: www.wehavewayspod.com Email: [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices