It ran from 14 April, 1970 to 16 February, 1972 and starring Colin Douglas, Shelagh Fraser, Colin Campbell, Keith Drinkel, Barbara Flynn, Coral Atkins, David Dixon, John Nettles, Patrick Troughton, Margery Mason, Brett Usher.

Their narratives provide a unique and firsthand account of the situation in the immediate post-war period. It’s unusual in many ways, identifying the German point of view … you’d have to wait for The Book Thief to find similar. It was one of those series that kept you close to the screen and always in place as each hour episode was shown. It goes on in Series 4 past VE Day … but my dad always said, as far as he was concerned, the war ended in 1946, not 1945. Alexander Baron was the novelist who wrote From The City From The Plough (1948) and The Lowlife (1963).

Despite furious battles with authorities, and while pursuing her hectic career in Family At War, Atkins went on to revolutionise the fostering system. Really enjoyed it then and still find it most enjoyable to watch now even though sometimes the picture quality isn't so brilliant at times.

She is the author of David Lean (2014) and Female Stars of British Cinema (2017) and a co-investigator on the AHRC-funded project ‘Transformation and Tradition in 1960s British Cinema’. Mostly though, it was the presence of the war which made itself felt throughout, despite rarely being depicted directly. The series is about the Ashton family who live through the Second World War and struggle with the harsh realities that go on around it.This was to do with the direction that the series went for involving the family and character dramas, especially in the period setting of the Second World War. We cut to March (signalled too lightly, I thought … my wife missed the reference and was puzzled) and Margaret’s been to see the doctor. Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.

I too have found very little mention of this excellent drama series whenever classic British Television is discussed. The furniture was rudimentary, the props were laughable but by Thursday of that week the director and the cast were ready to show the lighting director, technical supervisor and senior cameraman what they would have to shoot on the following Tuesday. Clearly made on a shoestring budget using corner-cutting methods, the program still packs amazing punch.

of British television history: ‘What if A Family at War had continued and become a long-running series like Coronation Street? Edwin Ashton, the son of a mineworker, has moved up to the middle class by working for a printing company and by marrying Jean, the sister of company owner Sefton Briggs. To put it in perspective, in spite of being the main role, Edwin appears in only 44 out of the 52 episodes. Similarly One of Ours (Episode 10) in September 1940 follows a bombing raid on Germany, focussing almost entirely on David, ignoring the rest of the family.