4-8 August 1914 (Season 1 start)
Summary
Set in August 1914, this episode vividly portrays Folkestone grappling with the onset of World War I, affecting everything from daily life and local economy to personal relationships. We see a German resident's struggle with identity, a couple's desperate engagement, public panic over food, and a councillor's efforts to maintain morale amidst fears of soldier misconduct. Later, a seemingly innocent dog-walking task leads to an accidental shooting, and a postman's sudden death deeply affects the community, intertwining with a vicar's private life and the misadventures of children at a Sunday school picnic.Episode description
An epic drama series set in Great War Britain exactly a hundred years before it was first broadcast. In the first weekly omnibus edition of Season 1, Folkestone comes to terms with being at the hub of Britain's war effort.
Written by Katie Hims Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews Music: Matthew Strachan Sound: Martha Littlehailes Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Home Front is a ground-breaking Radio Four radio drama - its biggest ever - set in Britain during 1914-18, playing a central role in the BBC's comprehensive offering to mark the centenaries of World War One.
An enthralling fiction, set against a backdrop of fact. Each episode is set a hundred years to the day before broadcast, and follows one character's day. Together they create a mosaic of experience from a wide cross-section of British society, and a playful treasure hunt, with historical truths hidden in each story.
Season One is set in Folkestone, a fashionable Edwardian seaside resort that quickly became one of the hubs of the military machine, and close enough to France to hear the fighting. Future seasons will be set in Newcastle and Devon, telling the major stories of wartime Britain.