Must-watch
The World at War
Here in the story
City
Britain stands alone after the fall of France, through the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
What happened here
London was hit by Zeppelins and Gotha bombers in the First World War, and in May 1940 it became the seat of Churchill's war cabinet, run partly from the Cabinet War Rooms. The Blitz, from 7 September 1940 to May 1941, killed some 20,000 Londoners, and V-1 and V-2 rockets followed in 1944. The city also hosted the exiled governments of Poland, Norway, the Netherlands and Free France.
Films and series set in London
- Must-watch
Inglourious Basterds
Here in the story
Base
Lieutenant Hicox, a film critic turned commando, is briefed in front of Churchill on Operation Kino, a plan to blow up the premiere.
- Must-watch
The King's Speech
Here in the story
City
Before a silent stadium crowd, the Duke of York freezes at the microphone while closing the Empire Exhibition.
City
In Lionel Logue's shabby consulting room, the Duke reluctantly accepts a therapy built on equality, swearing and music.
City
Rehearsing the coronation in the empty abbey, the king and his therapist have their fiercest argument.
City
On the day war is declared, the king must speak live to the whole Empire, with Logue standing beside him.
Hell's Angels
Here in the story
City
Karl, now a Zeppelin observer, is lowered below the clouds to guide bombs onto Trafalgar Square while the brothers take off to intercept.
A Town Like Alice
Here in the story
City
Years later, an unexpected inheritance lets Jean return to Malaya to repay the village that saved her.
Sink the Bismarck!
Here in the story
Base
Captain Shepard plots the chase on a giant map, gambling ships, fuel and his own son's life on where Bismarck will go next.
Battle of Britain
Here in the story
City
The bombers turn on London, and the exhausted squadrons rise for the decisive day of the battle.
Army of Shadows
Here in the story
Base
Taken out by submarine, Gerbier seeks support from Free French headquarters while the Big Boss is decorated by de Gaulle.
Soldier of Orange
Here in the story
Base
Erik and Guus reach London, meet the Queen's intelligence chief and volunteer to bring Resistance leaders out by sea.
Hope and Glory
Here in the story
Home
War is declared, Billy's father joins up, and his mother pulls the children off an evacuation train at the last moment.
City
Nightly raids light up the sky, and Billy and his gang turn the ruined houses into their playground.
Michael Collins
Here in the story
City
Collins is sent to London to negotiate with Lloyd George and Churchill, knowing any deal will split the movement.
Lucie Aubrac
Here in the story
Base
After months in hiding, the couple is flown out of France to join the Free French in London.
Foyle's War
Here in the story
City
Retired from the police, Foyle is recruited by MI5 and pulled into the shadowy early years of the Cold War.
Atonement
Here in the story
City
Briony trains as a nurse and tends the wounded arriving from France while her guilt keeps growing.
Home
Briony visits Cecilia's flat in south London to ask for forgiveness.
Parade's End
Here in the story
City
Christopher marries the pregnant Sylvia, endures her infidelities for the sake of honour and meets Valentine Wannop at a disrupted golf match.
City
As the city celebrates the end of the war, Christopher must decide what kind of life is left for him.
Peaky Blinders
Here in the story
City
Expanding to London, the Shelbys collide with Sabini's Italian gang and strike a risky deal with Alfie Solomons in Camden Town.
City
Now a Member of Parliament, Tommy tries to turn the Wall Street Crash and Westminster politics to his advantage.
Testament of Youth
Here in the story
City
Nursing wounded soldiers, Vera waits for Roland's Christmas leave and a telephone call changes everything.
The Heavy Water War
Here in the story
Base
Having escaped occupied Norway, Tronstad persuades the British that Vemork's heavy water must be stopped and plans the operations.
Their Finest
Here in the story
City
Catrin is hired to write 'slop', the women's dialogue, and turns two sisters' small Dunkirk story into a screenplay while bombs fall on London.
Darkest Hour
Here in the story
City
Neville Chamberlain loses the confidence of Parliament, and his party turns, without enthusiasm, to Winston Churchill.
City
A wary King George VI receives Churchill and asks him to form a government.
Base
In the underground bunker beneath Whitehall, Churchill follows the collapse of France on the map and clashes with Halifax over talks with Hitler.
City
Churchill faces the Commons to explain what happened in France and what Britain will do next.
They Shall Not Grow Old
Here in the story
Home
Veterans remember lying about their age to join up and the excitement of the first weeks of training.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Here in the story
City
Writer Juliet Ashton, promoting her book in a city still in ruins, receives a letter from a Guernsey farmer.
Mr. Jones
Here in the story
City
Fresh from interviewing Hitler, Jones warns Lloyd George's circle about Germany and wonders how Stalin can afford his factories.
City
Back home, Jones tries to tell the truth against denials from Moscow and from the most famous correspondent in the West.
Munich – The Edge of War
Here in the story
City
Now one of Chamberlain's private secretaries, Legat is asked by British intelligence to meet his old friend in Munich.
Operation Mincemeat
Here in the story
Base
In a cramped naval intelligence office, Montagu and Cholmondeley find a body and build 'Major Martin' down to his love letters and theatre tickets.
Events at London
Air
Battle of Britain
The Luftwaffe tried to destroy the Royal Air Force as a prelude to invading Britain. Guided by the Chain Home radar network, RAF fighters inflicted losses Germany could not sustain, and the invasion was postponed indefinitely.
Read more on Wikipedia(opens in a new tab)Air
The Blitz
Germany switched to bombing British cities, above all London, which was bombed on 56 of 57 consecutive days and nights. More than 40,000 civilians were killed, but industry kept working and public morale held.
Read more on Wikipedia(opens in a new tab)Technology
First V-2 rocket attacks
Germany fired the V-2, the world's first long-range ballistic missile, at Paris and London. Thousands of civilians died in the attacks, and thousands of forced laborers died building the rockets; after the war the technology led to the space race.
Read more on Wikipedia(opens in a new tab)