Miniseries
4 episodes · 1975
A series of four feature-length episodes following the lives of a working-class family from the turmoils of the First World War in 1916 to the General Strike in 1926.
- 1
1916: Joining Up
Ben Matthews enlists in the army and ends up serving in Ireland, where there is resistance to British rule. His sister's husband Philip Hargreaves is sentenced to death as a conscientious objector but is given a last-minute reprieve.
- 2
1921
During the coal lock-out in 1921, Ben's army unit is redeployed from Ireland to police the dispute in County Durham. Ben deserts the army and is sheltered by a miner named Joel. He begins a relationship with his eldest daughter. When donations of food from Liverpool is intercepted by the police and the army, the miners revolt and take some soldiers hostage. Joel and his comrades then make demands on the pit owner, Mr. Pitchard.
- 3
1924
Ben is released from prison and joins the Communist Party. Philip Hargreaves is elected as a Labour MP.
- 4
1926: General Strike
The miners are betrayed by union leaders during the General Strike.