Richard Holmes visits the Hastings battlefield, venue of a major turning point in British history. He handles the weapons of the time and becomes a Norman knight to find out just how close William the Conqueror came to defeat.
Henry Tudor's dynasty toppled that of King Richard III, and Professor Holmes meets members of the Wars of the Roses federation who gather to re-enact the battle. He also talks to present-day supporters of Richard who are convinced he was not the soulless villain portrayed by Shakespeare.
In 1645, King Charles I lost his struggle against Parliament during the decisive clash of the English Civil War. At the site, members of the Sealed Knot Civil War Reconstruction Society demonstrate the lethal power of the musket and the pike.
Professor Richard Holmes walks the French beaches and breakwaters from which thousands of British troops escaped capture in May 1940. German tanks had overwhelmed British and French troops and were poised to seize the British Expeditionary Force.
One night and one image encapsulate the London Blitz, December 29th 1940, the night of the second great fire of London when St Paul's rose in its glory above the smoke and flames. Richard Holmes traces the night's events, from the sector control room where the incoming raiders were plotted through to the efforts of the firemen to save St Paul's.
