Television TV

A Family At War

This Memory is looking a little short on nostalgia! Have you got anything you could add?

A classic wartime drama series from Granada TV, following the Ashton family in Liverpool as they faced up to the trials, struggles, hardships and tragedy of life during World War Two.


Author of this article:



Contributors to this article:

  • There are no contributors yet

Do You Remember A Family At War?

Do You Remember A Family At War?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    I am racing through the 52 episodes here in NZ. In a world of unreal reality TV this is like spring water in the desert. The world is at war. The family is at war with itself. Clearly made on a shoestring budget using corner-cutting methods, the program still packs amazing punch. The people are so very real and the easy soap opera options are avoided. It takes some real patience (as the war did) but that is mightily rewarded.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I do. I was in one of the episodes. When the character Philip Ashton was in Guernsey with the army. One of his colleagues was Michael Williams ( who was married to Judyi Dench ).
  • Anonymous user
    on
    After forty years I find A Family at War brilliant. And the actors are professional! One of the characters, John Porter´s mother, Celia, come to life as a really tragic person. Longing for love but not capable of doig the right thing for her self or for her husband or son. Goran Dath, Koroni, Greece
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I loved this series .We watched it when it was broadcast in Canadathirty-odd years ago. Iam trying to get advd copy. Eliza beth in Toronto
  • Action Man
    on
    The theme is the First Movement (Allegro) from his 6th Symphony (I'm not being a smarty-pants, I looked on Wikipedia) This was, I remember, broadcast on weekday afternoons and as my mum used to watch it I would usually see a bit of it when I got home from school. The closing theme and shot of the sandcastle on the beach with the tide coming in was very evocotive.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    can anybody tell me the name of the vaughan williams music used in a family at war
  • Anonymous user
    on
    I love A Family at War. I am too young to remember it very well when it was televised, my mom used to put it on every week and was spellbound. I found myself following the story and now I love it. To me it depicts the old family 'values' when families looked after each other. You don't see much of that these days!
  • Anonymous user
    on
    We have bought Series 1 and 2 on DVD and are enjoying it all over agian. It has dated in terms of technical production but is just as gripping as I first remember. There is something special about this series, especially if you grew up in the UK in wartime or just post-war as I did.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    First, a Family at War introduced me to the beautiful music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Living in the USA, this compelling wartime drama held my attention every week...the most tragic figure was the Mother, who could not live with the lose of her youngest son, and to watch her slowly deteriorate was heartwrenching. It was a series I will never forget and I hope they will release it here in the states someday.