The Village

Present day. Bert Middleton is the second oldest man in Britain, and a film is being made about his life and his village. He takes us back to the summer of 1914 when he was twelve years old.

January 1915. The Middleton farm has fallen on very hard times, and John is drinking heavily as his desperation grows. Bert assumes responsibility for his mother and the survival of his family.

March 1916. Conscription is introduced for the first time in Britain. Call up papers are delivered throughout the village and soldiers arrive at the Middleton farm to requisition Bert's beloved horse.

1st July 1916. The date of the Rondo: an annual wheel barrow race on the cricket field, and unbeknownst to the villagers, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

Joe's brief leave from the Front has come to an end. He has tried hard to conceal his shell-shock from the family, but Grace knows that something is badly wrong.

1920. The war is over, and the village tries to come to terms with its loss. The date of the unveiling of the War Memorial draws close and as the inhabitants debate how best to honour their dead.