BAFTA nomination for Michael Jayston, Monte Carlo Festival Grand Prize. Siegfried Sassoon earned the nickname "Mad Jack" for his near-suicidal exploits against the German lines in WW1. He was decorated for bravery. The play is about his powerful protest against the appalling and unnecessary sacrifice of men's lives in the First World War.
Starring Michael Jayston, Michael Pennington, David Wood, Clive Swift, Charles Lewsen, Anna Barry, John Boxer, Jonathan Cecil, Donald Sumpter. Directed by Jack Gold. Screenplay by Tom Clarke
Starring Michael Jayston, Michael Pennington, David Wood, Clive Swift, Charles Lewsen, Anna Barry, John Boxer, Jonathan Cecil, Donald Sumpter. Directed by Jack Gold. Screenplay by Tom Clarke
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Short filmTranscript
00:01:00London's so chock-jam-dam full that the government had to tell the auteurs that they really must
00:01:18make room, somehow, for the men on leave.
00:01:21It really is most unfortunate the way pratiques of all the dances go and keep trickling out,
00:01:28right on top of the wild exhortations of the PM not to spend a penny, except on war loans.
00:01:35To those who ask for a declaration of war aims, let there be but one answer, the crushing
00:01:44of Prussian militarism.
00:01:46To talk of negotiated peace is to betray those who have sacrificed their lives in the cause
00:01:51for which we struggle.
00:01:53You will hear no talk of peace or negotiation among the heroes of Flanders Field.
00:02:00Today, before dawn, our troops were going over the top in a frontal assault on the enemy
00:02:19alliance.
00:02:20As the sky slowly paled to an eerie yellow, the guns opened up with a roar that shattered
00:02:25the morning like a rain of thunderbolts.
00:02:27The Hun was copying it.
00:02:29A ripple ran down the lines as the men tensed themselves for the dawn adventure.
00:02:34A young officer passed out mills bombs.
00:02:36Grand weapon, the mills, he said.
00:02:38Then a shouted word of command and our brave lads leapt forward.
00:02:43Later, our returning troops told me the effect of our bombardment had been terrific.
00:02:49Undead lay everywhere.
00:02:51One of our lads said he'd never seen so many dead before.
00:02:57He'd never seen so many dead before.
00:03:06He'd never seen so many dead before.
00:03:09The lilting words danced up and down his brain while corpses danced and capered in the rain.
00:03:14No, no, he couldn't count them any more.
00:03:18The dead have done with pain.
00:03:20They've choked.
00:03:21They can't come back to life again.
00:03:24When Dick was killed last week, he looked like that, flapping along the firestep like
00:03:29a fish after the blazing crump had knocked him flat.
00:03:33How many dead?
00:03:35As many as ever you wish.
00:03:37Don't count them.
00:03:38They're too many.
00:03:40Who'll buy my nice, fresh corpses?
00:03:42Two a penny.
00:03:43Captain Tomlinson!
00:03:44Letter for you.
00:03:45Here you go, bro.
00:03:46Mr. Tomlinson.
00:03:47The statement was made to his commanding officer by 2nd Lieutenant S.L. Sassoon.
00:04:16I am making this statement as an act of willful defiance of military authority, because I
00:04:34believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end
00:04:43it.
00:04:44I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers.
00:04:50I believe that the war upon which I entered as a war of defense and liberation has now
00:04:57become a war of aggression and conquest.
00:05:03I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors
00:05:09and insincerities for which the fighting men are being sacrificed.
00:05:16On behalf of those who are suffering now, I make this protest against the deception
00:05:26which is being practiced on them.
00:05:29Odd thing, a funny thing to want to do.
00:05:39Serving soldier, officer with a reputation, kill Germans, card of thanks from the corps
00:05:47commander, engraved and gilt-edged, M.C., great men, important men, horseback riders,
00:05:56gold-braided, scarlet tabs and hat bands, soberly frock-coated, top-hatted, brave and
00:06:06responsible, a lifetime of responsibility and decision.
00:06:13Would they stop the war, even if all that were read out in the Houses of Parliament?
00:06:24One never knows quite how dotty one is.
00:06:26It's war which is insane, the spirit and purpose which kept it clean and fine at first dwindles
00:06:32and gets fainter, leaving it utterly ghastly.
00:06:36It's strange that the people sitting here represent almost the only articulate opposition
00:06:40to the war.
00:06:42The only ones I know, anyway.
00:06:44It's terrible to know that vast numbers of the fighting men simply loathe it and are
00:06:48kept there by the brutal fury of Lloyd George and politicians like him.
00:06:52The spring offensive was pure devilry.
00:06:56Another poor little harvest of village youths has been called up and gone off to barracks.
00:07:01They do loathe it, poor creatures.
00:07:03One must beware of oversimplification, Artelene.
00:07:06It isn't the idea of being killed.
00:07:08It's that I don't know any longer what I'm being killed for.
00:07:13One gets sent out again and again like a cabbage going to Covent Garden market.
00:07:19And the cabbages are better off because they don't claim to have unconquerable souls and
00:07:23they aren't told they're making the supreme sacrifice for unborn vegetables.
00:07:29That's why I have to do something, if I can.
00:07:33You can.
00:07:34You can publicly repudiate your uniform and the medal you're wearing, refuse to fight,
00:07:39face a court-martial and be sent to prison.
00:07:41I think that would be a magnificent thing for him to do.
00:07:45If I do as Russell suggests, though, I'll be joining the ones I don't know.
00:07:49The inarticulate ones who get sent to prison.
00:07:51No, Bertie.
00:07:52We're civilians.
00:07:53They don't shoot us for refusing to fight.
00:07:56A soldier is expected to be a patriot.
00:07:59Patriotism in wartime means suppression of the truth.
00:08:02The state punishes with impartial rigor both those who kill their compatriots and those
00:08:06who refuse to kill foreigners.
00:08:09On the whole, the latter crime is considered the graver.
00:08:12Russell's a brave man.
00:08:14He's too old for military service in any case, but he's been to prison for his beliefs.
00:08:19Siegfried's refusal to continue with the carnage will be the more effective.
00:08:23Otterlin and Strachey and Russell are pacifists, and they discuss principles.
00:08:28The ordinary chap who refuses to fight is a conchie, and he gets locked up.
00:08:33Look here, you can't tell a chap to go and do a thing like that.
00:08:36That's all very well, but he'd go to a military prison, and that's a very different thing
00:08:41from the sort of place that Bertie was locked up in.
00:08:44Massingham's certainly no extremist.
00:08:46His paper, The Nation, isn't exactly revolutionary, but he's managed to keep it going.
00:08:51I mustn't be unfair to these people.
00:08:54It isn't their fault they aren't soldiers, nor that I feel out of place with them because
00:08:58they aren't soldiers.
00:09:00Hell, I'm damn well going to have a shot at it.
00:09:04The point is that a gesture of that sort is worse than useless if he doesn't go through
00:09:08with it.
00:09:09And the punishment he'll get if he does is just too much to ask a man to undergo.
00:09:14A young man who has already suffered more than two years of continuous trench warfare.
00:09:19If he's willing to face punishment, he should be encouraged to follow the dictates of his
00:09:24conscience.
00:09:25You can't protect people from their convictions, Massingham.
00:09:28If you do, you simply produce liberals.
00:09:30You can't blame Massingham for telling us to be careful.
00:09:33He's convinced that Lloyd George is going to close him down if a single further edition
00:09:38of The Nation appears with a word of criticism in it.
00:09:41I printed what you told the objectors' tribunal anyway.
00:09:44Oh, what was that?
00:09:45I'm sure I must have missed it.
00:09:47They asked the usual question.
00:09:49What would Lytton do if a German tried to rape his sister?
00:09:52What did you say, Lytton?
00:09:53I said that I would try and interpose my own body.
00:10:00Now say that The Nation doesn't print the truth, Bertie.
00:10:04You can't print the truth in your paper, Massingham.
00:10:06If you did, it would be suppressed.
00:10:08Your paper is not suppressed.
00:10:10It does not tell the truth.
00:10:12The Nation is banned from circulation to the troops.
00:10:15Then it must be smuggled to them.
00:10:17It is, actually.
00:10:18The sons of Europe are being crucified on the barbed wire because the misguided masses
00:10:24are shouting for it.
00:10:26What piffling rot!
00:10:27Whose rag is this, anyway?
00:10:29It's mine, thanks.
00:10:30It would be.
00:10:31I knew you were an ass, Geoffrey, but I didn't know you were a pessimist.
00:10:35I'm not.
00:10:36Doesn't mean I can't read an intelligent paper.
00:10:38Call that intelligent?
00:10:40You call this intelligent?
00:10:43I am a soldier, convinced that I'm acting on behalf of soldiers.
00:10:55I'm not afraid of being killed.
00:10:58I made up my mind a long time ago to die because, in the circumstances, there didn't seem anything
00:11:03else to do.
00:11:09It's the dead who are my friends.
00:11:19A soldier acting on behalf of dead soldiers.
00:11:27When I'm asleep, dreaming and lulled and warmed, they come.
00:11:32The homeless ones, the noiseless dead.
00:11:37When the dim charging breakers of the storm bellow and drone the rumble overhead, out
00:11:43of the gloom they gather about my bed.
00:11:45They whisper to my heart, their thoughts are mine.
00:11:50Why are you here with all your watches ended?
00:11:53From yeep to freeze, we sought you in the line.
00:11:57In bitter safety, I awake, unfriended.
00:12:01And while the dawn begins with slashing rain, I think of the battalion in the mud.
00:12:08When are you going out to them again?
00:12:11Are they not still your brothers through our blood?
00:12:16B company is eight under strength, five sick and three absent.
00:12:20C company is 15 under strength, with nine men in detention, three sick and three absent.
00:12:25All right, Sant.
00:12:26We'll deal with it later.
00:12:27Morning, Sant.
00:12:28Morning.
00:12:29Morning.
00:13:01At a field general court-martial held at No. 2 Base Area, the following 14769 Private
00:13:07Edmunds E, Royal Engineers, 24589 Private Castle GH, 2nd Battalion, Essex Regiment,
00:13:139702 Private Holt B, 8th Battalion, Welsh Regiment, were sentenced to be shot for cowardice
00:13:20in the face of the enemy.
00:13:24The sentence of the court was duly carried out.
00:13:27The terms are soon.
00:13:28The adjutant will see you now, sir.
00:13:30My dear good fellow, I'm so glad to see you.
00:13:33It was wise of you to come, most wise.
00:13:35But sit down, you must sit down.
00:13:37My dear good fellow, stand easy for God's sake.
00:13:41Are you fully recovered?
00:13:44The colonel, you understand, is away.
00:13:47However, he and I have fully discussed your case, fully.
00:13:50And I can assure you that he's deeply concerned about you and fully prepared to overlook the
00:13:54paper you sent him.
00:13:56He's asked me to urge you most strongly to dismiss the whole matter from your mind.
00:14:07Oh, my dear good chap, I'm so sorry.
00:14:09A cigar?
00:14:10No, thank you, sir.
00:14:11Are you sure?
00:14:13No, sir.
00:14:14Thank you, sir.
00:14:15It's most kind.
00:14:17Look here, old chap, isn't it possible for you to reconsider your ultimatum?
00:14:26I'm afraid not, sir.
00:14:30Well, I dare say that I shan't understand.
00:14:35I mean, I haven't had to go through what you chaps have had to go through.
00:14:38I don't want to ask all sorts of damnable questions, but could you tell me what's behind it all?
00:14:43I mean, you're not a pacifist or a concierge, are you?
00:14:47No, sir.
00:14:48Well, God knows, the war's turning into a pretty dull sort of show, stalemate and all that.
00:14:53But what do you hope to achieve?
00:14:56If you could at least explain your ideas, not for myself, I understand, but if it were necessary.
00:15:01And I sincerely hope that it won't be.
00:15:04So that one might pass it on, as it were, to others.
00:15:08I'll do my best, sir.
00:15:11Well, sir, when the war started, it seemed pretty clear what it was about.
00:15:16Well, it seemed to be.
00:15:18Difficult to explain to the dead, and impossible to explain to the living.
00:15:23And I was expecting that he'd be at the least abusive.
00:15:27If only I could have taken that cigar.
00:15:30Peace, it would have meant.
00:15:32Though not the peace I'm shouting about.
00:15:34A small, private peace.
00:15:37We could have puffed away and cursed the idiots in Whitehall.
00:15:40And he could have reported to the colonel.
00:15:43The point is that, however kind and sympathetic he is,
00:15:48he's still my enemy.
00:15:50And the more dangerous for being kind.
00:15:53Surely it was the duty of our politicians to look for some other way of settling our differences.
00:15:57Besides condemning thousands upon thousands of men to die.
00:16:01Surely the Hun had to be punished, though.
00:16:04Well, the Hun punishes us, sir.
00:16:07The war as it's being fought, sir, can achieve nothing.
00:16:10Except the slaughter of young men.
00:16:12Of young Frenchmen, of young Germans, of young English.
00:16:15Austrians, Australians, Indians. There's no end to it.
00:16:18It's insane.
00:16:19Well, I agree with all you say about the politicians.
00:16:22But the fact remains that the German can't be trusted.
00:16:26And it's no good bargaining with a fellow if he can't be relied upon to keep his word.
00:16:30I mean, I know it's fashionable nowadays to pooh-pooh the rape of Belgium and all that kind of atrocity.
00:16:36But when one's dealing with a criminal, an army entailed against all comers,
00:16:40that the Hun has a streak of Bill Sykes in him,
00:16:43then one looks at his record.
00:16:45If I were fierce and bald and short of breath,
00:16:48I'd live with Scarlet Majors at the base,
00:16:50and speed glum heroes up the line to death.
00:16:53You'd see me with my puffy, petulant face,
00:16:56guzzling and gulping in the best hotel,
00:16:58reading the role of honour.
00:17:00Poor young chap, I'd say.
00:17:02I used to know his father well.
00:17:04Years we've lost heavily in this last scrap.
00:17:08And when the war is done and youth stone dead,
00:17:11I'd toddle safely home and die.
00:17:14In bed.
00:17:15No, no, the Hun stands condemned before the whole civilised world.
00:17:19The scourge of Europe.
00:17:24Well, that's beside the point.
00:17:27I have you to consider.
00:17:29You're very much a part of the regiment, you know.
00:17:34I've no doubt at all about the sincerity of what you say,
00:17:38but frankly, I simply don't know what to do with the rest.
00:17:46I suppose, sir, you'd better have me put under arrest straight away.
00:17:49Oh, good God, I'd rather die than do such a thing.
00:17:52Look, you don't want to be kicking your heels about here, do you?
00:17:57We've got your room in the hotel.
00:17:59Now, why don't you trundle back there and wait
00:18:02until the colonel arrives
00:18:04and then we'll see what's to be done about all this, eh?
00:18:08Sir!
00:18:12Sir!
00:18:15Sir!
00:18:17It looks as if I'm not going to be court-martialed,
00:18:21except that I've got to be court-martialed.
00:18:25I've got to be.
00:18:28I've got to be.
00:18:30I've got to be.
00:18:32I've got to be.
00:18:35Except that I've got to be court-martialed.
00:18:38The sentence of the court will be duly carried out.
00:18:41But I'm not yet even under arrest.
00:18:44They don't want to, of course,
00:18:46but if my statement's read out in the House of Commons,
00:18:49they'll have to arrest me.
00:18:51I wish there was something I could do to hurry things up.
00:18:55There's nothing to do but wait.
00:18:58Stick to my statement and wait until it's read out in Parliament.
00:19:05KNOCK ON DOOR
00:19:35KNOCK ON DOOR
00:20:05KNOCK ON DOOR
00:20:35THUNDER RUMBLING
00:21:05THUNDER RUMBLING
00:21:17It's changed a little.
00:21:21At least the flag's still there.
00:21:36WHISTLING
00:21:55THUNDER RUMBLING
00:21:58THUNDER RUMBLING
00:22:21Tits! Tits!
00:22:23Here's a bell.
00:22:25It's not.
00:22:27I tell you, I know the words.
00:22:29All right, let's hear what my Jack says.
00:22:31Look, they're saying it's tits.
00:22:33They're saying what?
00:22:34David's record, old chap.
00:22:36Clear as a bell, your tits, your eyes, your cheeks, your hair.
00:22:39I've been in a class beyond compare. Disgusting, honestly.
00:22:41Absolutely filthy.
00:22:43A bit much when an infant like young Ormond brings muck like that back from Leeds.
00:22:46Look, put it on again. You listen to it. It's lips. Lips!
00:22:52THUNDER RUMBLING
00:22:57SINGING
00:23:08It's a bit scratchy, but it does sound like...
00:23:10There you are. What did I say? Clear as a bell.
00:23:12I should smash up the whole pod, I guess.
00:23:15Look, is it bloody likely that a company like HMV would send out a record with tits on it?
00:23:21LAUGHTER
00:23:28I thought no end of that record.
00:23:30It was terribly romantic, though.
00:23:32Then?
00:23:34Last year, you mean?
00:23:36The war's already old.
00:23:38It's got its own history.
00:23:41This isn't just a house destroyed.
00:23:44It's a destroyed house destroyed.
00:23:47It isn't even a house, David.
00:23:49It's a map reference.
00:23:51It's a mention in dispatches.
00:23:54It's a mention in dispatches.
00:23:57They've taken away the meaning of everything.
00:23:59Even of war.
00:24:01The great adventure.
00:24:03Our glorious hero.
00:24:05The British fighting man. Our gallant lads.
00:24:09Mansfield had to shoot one of our gallant lads in the last show
00:24:13to get the rest of them out of the trench.
00:24:19God, I'm tired.
00:24:25I'm tired.
00:24:29Hell, what does it matter who shoots who?
00:24:31What does it matter?
00:24:38Does it matter?
00:24:40Losing your legs?
00:24:42For people will always be kind.
00:24:44And you need not show that you mind
00:24:46when the others come in after hunting to gobble their muffins and eggs.
00:24:50Does it matter? Losing your sight?
00:24:52There's such splendid work for the blind.
00:24:55And people will always be kind
00:24:57as you sit on the terrace remembering
00:24:59and turning your face to the light.
00:25:02Do they matter, those dreams from the pit?
00:25:05You can drink and forget and be glad.
00:25:08And people won't say that you're mad.
00:25:11For they'll know you fought for your country.
00:25:14And no one will worry a bit.
00:25:23I want to go back and do something.
00:25:26What kind of thing?
00:25:28Work.
00:25:30Work at something.
00:25:32What do you want to do?
00:25:35I want to be...
00:25:37a bank manager.
00:25:43I want to wear spats...
00:25:46and a bowler...
00:25:49and a bowler...
00:25:51and carry my umbrella and my newspaper
00:25:54to the station every morning
00:25:56and my evening paper home at night.
00:26:00I shall spend all day behind my desk
00:26:02and I shall never make any mistakes.
00:26:04My shirt will always be clean.
00:26:07I shall play golf at weekends.
00:26:09I shall have a wife
00:26:11and three children
00:26:13and roast meat on Sundays.
00:26:16There'll never be any surprises...
00:26:20except at Christmas.
00:26:29And tomorrow...
00:26:31I've got to have my bloody typhoid injection.
00:26:45Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha
00:27:15I didn't know there was anyone here, sir.
00:27:46Good night, sir.
00:27:48Good night.
00:27:50Oh, excuse me.
00:27:52Excuse me, but...
00:27:54what is your name?
00:27:56Me name, sir?
00:27:58Yes.
00:27:59Your name. What is it?
00:28:01I'm Betty, sir.
00:28:03Betty's me name.
00:28:05Oh.
00:28:07Thank you.
00:28:10Good night, then.
00:28:12Betty.
00:28:2021, 22, 23.
00:28:22Odd number for a letter.
00:28:24What's this?
00:28:26Even number for a letter.
00:28:28Odd number for no letter.
00:28:3024, 25, 26.
00:28:33Odd number for no letter.
00:28:3524, 25, 26.
00:28:55From Geoffrey?
00:28:57Otterlin?
00:28:59From the MP, Lee Smith.
00:29:02From Lee Smith, saying he's read out my statement in Parliament
00:29:06and peace has been declared.
00:29:10Nothing for you, sir.
00:29:19There's nothing for you, sir.
00:29:32There's nothing for you, sir.
00:29:54This statement was made to his commanding officer
00:29:56by 2nd Lt. S.L. Sassoon, Military Cross,
00:30:00in the name of Mr. Otterlin.
00:30:02Obey.
00:30:30Geoffrey, when I drowse tonight, skirting lawns of sleep to chase,
00:30:35shifting dreams in mazy light,
00:30:38somewhere then I'll see your face,
00:30:41turning back to bid me follow.
00:31:00O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
00:31:30O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
00:32:00O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
00:32:30O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
00:33:00O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
00:33:30So cold.
00:34:01Come on, lieutenants.
00:34:04There's a gentleman to see you, sir.
00:34:05A gentleman?
00:34:08Good to see you, sir.
00:34:10Hello, Sassoon.
00:34:11Shall we go in the smoking room?
00:34:13Yes.
00:34:20What are you drinking, sir?
00:34:22Sherry, I think.
00:34:24Two sherries, please.
00:34:28Everything all right here? Quite comfortable?
00:34:30Oh, yes, it's a...
00:34:32It's a ripping place.
00:34:36Oh, we had a rather jolly guest night the other night.
00:34:39Oh, Campion came over from the Mancushers.
00:34:41You remember him as CSM, I expect.
00:34:43He's been convalescent at the Isle of Wight.
00:34:45Oh, Geoffrey Cromlech is there.
00:34:47I wonder if they were at the same place.
00:34:50But, Sassoon, I must tell you what happened in the mess on Sir David's night.
00:34:54I called him a fad-ridden crank once.
00:34:56Aye?
00:34:57Geoffrey Cromlech.
00:34:59Always full of mad theories.
00:35:01No music's any good but northern folk ballads.
00:35:04He once said Paradise Lost was a moribund academic concoction.
00:35:08I was terribly shocked.
00:35:10He's got a name for throwing his tongue, I believe.
00:35:12Still, I hear he isn't windy in the trenches.
00:35:15Oh, do you remember that barometer that used to hang in the ante room?
00:35:18There was some cheeky wart of a newly commissioned subaltern.
00:35:20What happened to Wilmot?
00:35:22Wilmot?
00:35:23He used to play the piano.
00:35:25Wilmot.
00:35:27Tickle the ivories, he used to say.
00:35:29Tickle the ivories.
00:35:33I am known round town as a fearful blot
00:35:35But I come straight down with a dear old plot
00:35:37And I know who's good and I know what's what
00:35:40And between the two I'm a trifle hot
00:35:42For I send the tone as you may suppose
00:35:45And I stand alone when it comes to clothes
00:35:48And as for gals, just ask my pals
00:35:52What everybody knows
00:35:57I'm Gilbert the Filbert, the nut with a K
00:36:01The pride of Invergilly, the blasé roué
00:36:05Oh, heed it, the ladies who leave their wooden huts
00:36:09For Gilbert the Filbert, the Colonel of the Nuts
00:36:15You may think of me as a waster, what
00:36:18But you ought to see how I bag and swat
00:36:21For I'm up by two and by five I'm out
00:36:24Which I couldn't do if I slacked about
00:36:27And then I count my ties and I change my kit
00:36:31And that makes me awfully fit
00:36:34Once I begin, I work like sin
00:36:37I'm full of go and grit
00:36:41Everybody knows
00:36:43I'm Gilbert the Filbert, the nut with a K
00:36:47The pride of Invergilly, the blasé roué
00:36:51Oh, heed it, the ladies who leave their wooden huts
00:36:55For Gilbert the Filbert, the Colonel of the Nuts
00:37:00Now, I'll tell you what we're really fighting for
00:37:04The Mesopotamian oil wells
00:37:06I'm jolly well not
00:37:07You certainly are
00:37:09We all are
00:37:10You can't tell me hundreds of chaps are getting killed
00:37:13Just because of some beastly oil well
00:37:15Everyone knows we're fighting for, well, freedom
00:37:19My dear chap, as a soldier you should be prepared
00:37:23To fight for whatever you're told is necessary
00:37:26I do, I'm perfectly willing to die for an oil well
00:37:30I'd just like to be told, that's all
00:37:33The war didn't start because of the oil wells, did it?
00:37:35Of course it didn't, Jeff, he's talking piffle, as usual
00:37:39We all thought the war was inevitable
00:37:41And justifiable when it started
00:37:43Which is why we're so easily exploited now
00:37:46I'm not being exploited, I'll jolly well tell you that
00:37:49Yes you are, yes you are, we all are
00:37:53Because we're willing to die for oil wells, for anything
00:37:57Because the one thing that's remained a virtue is courage
00:38:00Not getting cold feet
00:38:02And it's exploiting our courage which is keeping the war going
00:38:06Sometimes I think, Siegfried
00:38:09That you're exploiting the war to keep your courage going
00:38:13What do you mean by that?
00:38:21God, Jeffrey, you're a knowing beast sometimes
00:38:24I wouldn't take that, Siegfried
00:38:26He's not called Mad Jack for nothing
00:38:28He did jolly well on that raid and he damn well deserved it
00:38:31Of course he deserved it
00:38:33He treated the raid as if it was his own private property
00:38:36Used to have nightmares that the CO would take it away from him
00:38:39King Jack promised it to me
00:38:41You had to get your military cross, didn't you?
00:38:44For that piece of ribbon on your tunic you think you're safe
00:38:47What do you mean safe?
00:38:49It doesn't keep bullets out, you know
00:38:51I mean safe from criticism
00:38:53As good as any of us
00:38:55Of course he's as good as any of us
00:38:57Of course he is, but he can't quite believe it
00:39:00He's like me
00:39:01I suffer from a German grandfather
00:39:05Siegfried's grandfather wasn't German, was he?
00:39:08Shut up
00:39:10It's true in a way
00:39:12Out hunting I was a dreadful thruster
00:39:15I just had to win all the point to points to show I was the equal of the other children
00:39:19Oh, the bloody hunting, I knew that would come up
00:39:22We all know why you hunt
00:39:23Because he's a jolly good sport, that's why
00:39:26Well, go on then, why does he hunt?
00:39:29By devoting himself to the pastimes of the Gentile gentry
00:39:33Siegfried diverts attention from the secret of his tainted blood
00:39:37I didn't say that
00:39:39I didn't say anything like that
00:39:41Aligning himself with the aristocracy he declares a pogrom on the wretched fox
00:39:45What on earth are you talking about?
00:39:47Siegfried's grandfather
00:39:53What's wrong with fox hunting anyway?
00:39:56Fox hunting is the sport of halfwits and snobs
00:40:01Oh, God, now he's off
00:40:03A lot of people who hunt are jolly good sorts
00:40:06Some of them are great men in their way
00:40:08Great men?
00:40:10Halfwits and snobs, the lot of them
00:40:13If I'd been able to gas about joruchs and say I'd hunted with the Bedfordshire hounds all my life
00:40:19The colonel and the adjutant might have behaved quite decently to me
00:40:23You know what you are?
00:40:25A fad-ridden crank
00:40:28A fad-ridden crank
00:40:30That's what you are
00:40:42Ye heathens and ye lowlands
00:40:47Oh, where hay you been?
00:40:51We have slain the Earl of Moor
00:40:54Shut up!
00:41:09I didn't know him very well
00:41:11Hmm?
00:41:12Wilmot
00:41:14I didn't know him very well
00:41:16He used to play the piano
00:41:18Tickle the ivories, he used to say
00:41:21Tickle the ivories
00:41:24He had a stammer
00:41:26He stammered
00:41:30The, um
00:41:32The C.O. still being away
00:41:35He'll come to see you as soon as he gets back
00:41:39I've taken the step of consulting G.O.C. Mersey Defence on your case
00:41:45I emphasize, of course, that there's no question of you having offended against military law
00:41:50I'm most grateful, of course, sir
00:41:52But I still stand by my statement
00:41:54And the G.O.C. therefore agreed with me that the correct course
00:41:58Before taking any further action
00:42:00Was for you to be examined by a medical board
00:42:04And that has been arranged
00:42:10You know, this is normal routine, old chap
00:42:13Every officer after discharge from hospital and convalescence
00:42:16Is sent before a board
00:42:18And I give you my word that there'll be no question
00:42:21Of going back for another tour of the trenches
00:42:24Though, of course, I know that you're as ready as anyone, hmm?
00:42:29Uh, tomorrow
00:42:312 p.m.
00:42:32Number 7 Base Hospital, crew
00:42:34Uh, you'll find a rail warrant attached
00:42:38Well, thanks for the show
00:42:43What did you say?
00:42:45I'm trying to eat
00:42:47I'm trying to eat
00:42:54Have another cake
00:42:58It's your badge
00:43:00It's my badge
00:43:12Ahem
00:43:17An unsuitable place for martyrdom
00:43:20There's little about a provincial hotel which savours a calvary
00:43:422 p.m.
00:44:08I must be losing my ability to laugh at myself
00:44:11No one has yet been crucified for refusing to attend a medical board
00:44:18I might as well get used to doing without you for a start
00:44:42Say I get 5 years
00:44:45I'll be 35, 36 when I come out
00:44:49Everyone will have forgotten me
00:44:52Natural
00:44:56How does one stick 5 years of it?
00:45:03God almighty
00:45:07I might as well enjoy what pleasures I can
00:45:12After all, this should be a kind of holiday
00:45:16A holiday from making decisions
00:45:18All decisions having been made
00:45:21Dammit, the whole bloody world's on holiday, isn't it?
00:45:42Bad dogs of war are on the track
00:45:45Barking at the Union Jack
00:45:49Oh, what a surprise
00:45:51We shall give the Kaiser
00:45:53Those mad dogs will soon be wiser
00:45:56They'll hear the song of the Royal Battalion
00:45:59And God save the King
00:46:03They'll soon know we hear no foe
00:46:06When they hear our voices ring
00:46:09Well, oh, I'm going to say no flag
00:46:12I've got those two dogs on me
00:46:16One flag and one desire
00:46:20One king and one empire
00:46:23England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
00:46:26And comrades for the sea
00:46:30Unite to fight in a cause that's right
00:46:34To conquer Germany
00:46:40Holiday
00:46:43Holiday?
00:46:44Well, they're enjoying themselves
00:46:46Soldiers, too
00:46:48They brought the war with them into this music hall
00:46:51They think they got away from it
00:46:53They haven't
00:46:55They've brought it home
00:46:57Brought the war home to the people
00:47:00That's what they're enjoying
00:47:02The war
00:47:03They like the excitement
00:47:05The stir it makes in their lives
00:47:07The war's part of the fun
00:47:09Part of the evening's entertainment
00:47:11Oh, I'm going to say no flag
00:47:14I've got those two dogs on me
00:47:18One flag and one desire
00:47:21One king and one empire
00:47:25England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
00:47:28Hello, boys
00:47:29Fighting for the war
00:47:31Unite to fight in a cause that's right
00:47:36The house is crammed
00:47:38Tear beyond tear they grin
00:47:40And cackle at the show
00:47:41While prancing ranks of harlots
00:47:43Shrill the chorus
00:47:44Drunk with din
00:47:45We're sure the dear old Kaiser
00:47:47Loves our tanks
00:47:49I'd like to see a tank come down the stalls
00:47:51Lurching to ragtime tunes
00:47:53Or Home Sweet Home
00:47:55And there'll be no more jokes in music halls
00:47:58To mock the riddled corpses
00:47:59Round about home
00:48:02Unite to fight in a cause that's right
00:48:07To mock the riddled corpses
00:48:10Round about home
00:48:13Yeah!
00:48:29I shall not see the battalion again
00:48:38I shall go on
00:48:44I shall go on
00:49:03The 15th of July
00:49:05With a glistering spear and shield
00:49:08A famous fight in Flanders was thwarted in the field
00:49:12The most conspicuous officers were English captains three
00:49:15But the bravest man in battle was brave Lord Willoughby
00:49:19Stand to it, old pikeman, and look you round about
00:49:22And shoot you right, you bowmen, and we will keep them out
00:49:25You musket and caliver men, do you prove true to me?
00:49:28I'll be the bravest man in fight, says brave Lord Willoughby
00:49:32And then the bloody enemy they fiercely did assail
00:49:35And fought it out most furiously, not doubting to prevail
00:49:38The wounded men on both sides fell
00:49:41The most piteous for to see
00:49:43But nothing could the courage quell of brave Lord Willoughby
00:49:57There's a gentleman to see you, sir, in the smoking room
00:50:01See, Lieutenant Sassoon, I'm sorry not to have written before
00:50:04But I've been waiting until I have some positive news for you
00:50:07It now appears that I have a good chance of speaking in next week's debate
00:50:10When I hope to raise the matter of your statement
00:50:14I do hope you're keeping in good health and spirits
00:50:16And that the military authorities are not treating you too harshly
00:50:19Yours sincerely, Ernest Lee Smith
00:50:25A gentleman to see you, sir, Colonel Jones Williams
00:50:32Gosh, the CO?
00:50:34In the smoking room, sir
00:50:36Really?
00:50:38This is a very serious matter, very serious indeed
00:50:42I refer to you cutting that medical board
00:50:44That board, I may tell you, was specially arranged for you by higher quarters
00:50:48I'm sorry, sir, but I felt...
00:50:49You realize that an R.A.M.C. colonel came all the way from London for it?
00:50:53I don't want to cause you any trouble, sir
00:50:55But I felt it wouldn't be consistent with the steps I've already taken
00:50:57If I were to attend that board
00:50:59Good God, sir!
00:51:02Sassoon, you must realize that you might be wrong
00:51:05If you set your opinion against the practically unanimous feeling of the entire British Empire
00:51:13I've done all I can for you
00:51:15I've told Mersey defences you missed that board through a misunderstanding
00:51:19But I'm afraid the affair will soon go beyond my control
00:51:22Court-martialed, you understand? Court-martialed in disgrace
00:51:28Try to reconsider your refusal before tomorrow
00:51:31And let me know immediately if you do
00:51:35Thank you
00:51:50Who is the prince?
00:51:51I beg your pardon?
00:51:52The prince, have you noticed him?
00:51:53I can't say I have
00:51:54Hogarth, Parliament's Progress
00:51:56Odd choice for a respectable hotel passageway
00:51:58Yes
00:51:59The poor girl dies of syphilis in a madhouse
00:52:01The 18th century saw these things simply
00:52:03Tolstoy treats the subject with more sophistication
00:52:05Yes, I'm sure, I'm afraid...
00:52:06Tolstoy is, of course, an embryonic humanist
00:52:08His harlot receives the offer of marriage from the man who seduced her
00:52:11Before she became a harlot, that is
00:52:13He holds himself responsible, which he was
00:52:15Things in Russia being what they were at that time
00:52:17But she turns him down, his offer
00:52:19Prefers her fate
00:52:20Siberia, the seducer comes off best
00:52:23Reforms and takes up spiritual work
00:52:25The two women, both victims
00:52:27Hogarth left his to fate
00:52:28Tolstoy's is dealt with by men
00:52:30Very soon
00:52:31I mean, Tolstoy's whore didn't die of syphilis
00:52:35She was sent to Siberia by order of the authorities
00:52:37The difference between 18th century determinism
00:52:40And 19th century humanism
00:52:42Will you go away?
00:53:02Hello there, so soon, isn't it?
00:53:04Met you up here in 16
00:53:05Come and join in
00:53:06Your battalion got fearfully cut up at Quincy
00:53:08Did you hear?
00:53:09Yes
00:53:10Got it in the throat, didn't you?
00:53:11Yes
00:53:12Your voice sounds all right, though
00:53:13Yes, it is all right
00:53:15Durley got it in the throat
00:53:16Do you know Durley?
00:53:17He was with your battalion
00:53:18He hated it
00:53:19He hated it
00:53:20He hated it
00:53:21He hated it
00:53:22He hated it
00:53:23He hated it
00:53:24He hated it
00:53:25He hated it
00:53:26He hated it
00:53:27He hated it
00:53:28He hated it
00:53:29He hated it
00:53:30He hated it
00:53:31He hated it
00:53:32He hated it
00:53:33He hated it
00:53:34He hated it
00:53:35He hated it
00:53:36He hated it
00:53:37He hated it
00:53:38He hated it
00:53:39He hated it
00:53:40He hated it
00:53:41He hated it
00:53:42He hated it
00:53:43He hated it
00:53:44He hated it
00:53:45He hated it
00:53:46He hated it
00:53:47He hated it
00:53:48He hated it
00:53:49He hated it
00:53:50He hated it
00:53:51He hated it
00:53:52He hated it
00:53:53He hated it
00:53:54He hated it
00:53:55He hated it
00:53:56He hated it
00:53:57He hated it
00:53:58He hated it
00:53:59He hated it
00:54:00He hated it
00:54:01He hated it
00:54:02He hated it
00:54:03He hated it
00:54:04He hated it
00:54:05He hated it
00:54:06He hated it
00:54:07He hated it
00:54:08He hated it
00:54:09He hated it
00:54:10He hated it
00:54:11He hated it
00:54:12He hated it
00:54:13He hated it
00:54:14He hated it
00:54:15He hated it
00:54:16He hated it
00:54:17He hated it
00:54:18He hated it
00:54:19He hated it
00:54:20He hated it
00:54:21He hated it
00:54:22He hated it
00:54:23He hated it
00:54:24He hated it
00:54:25He hated it
00:54:26He hated it
00:54:27He hated it
00:54:28He hated it
00:54:29He hated it
00:54:30He hated it
00:54:31He hated it
00:54:32He hated it
00:54:33He hated it
00:54:34He hated it
00:54:35He hated it
00:54:36He hated it
00:54:37He hated it
00:54:38He hated it
00:54:39He hated it
00:54:40He hated it
00:54:41He hated it
00:54:42He hated it
00:54:43He hated it
00:54:44He hated it
00:54:45He hated it
00:54:46He hated it
00:54:47He hated it
00:54:48He hated it
00:54:49He hated it
00:54:50He hated it
00:54:51He hated it
00:54:52He hated it
00:54:53He hated it
00:54:54He hated it
00:54:55He hated it
00:54:56He hated it
00:54:57He hated it
00:54:58He hated it
00:54:59He hated it
00:55:00He hated it
00:55:01He hated it
00:55:02He hated it
00:55:03He hated it
00:55:04He hated it
00:55:05He hated it
00:55:06He hated it
00:55:07He hated it
00:55:08He hated it
00:55:09He hated it
00:55:10He hated it
00:55:11He hated it
00:55:12He hated it
00:55:13He hated it
00:55:14He hated it
00:55:15He hated it
00:55:16He hated it
00:55:17He hated it
00:55:18He hated it
00:55:19He hated it
00:55:20He hated it
00:55:21He hated it
00:55:22He hated it
00:55:23He hated it
00:55:24He hated it
00:55:25He hated it
00:55:26He hated it
00:55:27He hated it
00:55:28He hated it
00:55:29He hated it
00:55:30He hated it
00:55:31He hated it
00:55:32He hated it
00:55:33He hated it
00:55:34He hated it
00:55:35He hated it
00:55:36He hated it
00:55:37He hated it
00:55:38He hated it
00:55:39He hated it
00:55:40He hated it
00:55:41He hated it
00:55:42He hated it
00:55:43He hated it
00:55:44He hated it
00:55:45He hated it
00:55:46He hated it
00:55:47He hated it
00:55:48He hated it
00:55:49He hated it
00:55:50He hated it
00:55:51He hated it
00:55:52He hated it
00:55:53He hated it
00:55:54He hated it
00:55:55He hated it
00:55:56He hated it
00:55:57He hated it
00:55:58He hated it
00:55:59He hated it
00:56:00He hated it
00:56:01He hated it
00:56:02He hated it
00:56:03He hated it
00:56:04He hated it
00:56:05He hated it
00:56:06He hated it
00:56:07He hated it
00:56:08He hated it
00:56:09He hated it
00:56:10He hated it
00:56:11He hated it
00:56:12He hated it
00:56:13He hated it
00:56:14He hated it
00:56:15He hated it
00:56:16He hated it
00:56:17He hated it
00:56:18He hated it
00:56:19He hated it
00:56:20He hated it
00:56:21He hated it
00:56:22He hated it
00:56:23He hated it
00:56:24He hated it
00:56:25He hated it
00:56:26He hated it
00:56:27He hated it
00:56:28He hated it
00:56:29He hated it
00:56:30He hated it
00:56:31He hated it
00:56:32He hated it
00:56:33He hated it
00:56:34He hated it
00:56:35He hated it
00:56:36He hated it
00:56:37He hated it
00:56:38He hated it
00:56:39He hated it
00:56:40He hated it
00:56:41He hated it
00:56:42He hated it
00:56:43He hated it
00:56:44He hated it
00:56:45He hated it
00:56:46He hated it
00:56:47He hated it
00:56:48He hated it
00:56:49He hated it
00:56:50He hated it
00:56:51He hated it
00:56:52He hated it
00:56:53He hated it
00:56:54He hated it
00:56:55He hated it
00:56:56He hated it
00:56:57He hated it
00:56:58He hated it
00:56:59He hated it
00:57:00He hated it
00:57:01He hated it
00:57:02He hated it
00:57:03He hated it
00:57:04He hated it
00:57:05He hated it
00:57:06He hated it
00:57:07He hated it
00:57:08He hated it
00:57:09He hated it
00:57:10He hated it
00:57:11He hated it
00:57:12He hated it
00:57:13He hated it
00:57:14He hated it
00:57:15He hated it
00:57:16He hated it
00:57:17He hated it
00:57:18He hated it
00:57:19He hated it
00:57:20He hated it
00:57:21He hated it
00:57:22He hated it
00:57:23He hated it
00:57:24He hated it
00:57:25He hated it
00:57:26He hated it
00:57:27He hated it
00:57:28He hated it
00:57:29He hated it
00:57:30He hated it
00:57:31He hated it
00:57:32He hated it
00:57:33He hated it
00:57:34He hated it
00:57:35He hated it
00:57:36He hated it
00:57:37He hated it
00:57:38He hated it
00:57:39He hated it
00:57:40He hated it
00:57:41He hated it
00:57:42He hated it
00:57:43He hated it
00:57:44He hated it
00:57:45He hated it
00:57:46He hated it
00:57:47He hated it
00:57:48He hated it
00:57:49He hated it
00:57:50He hated it
00:57:51You're looking a bit of a fright
00:57:53Oh, I went out for a walk past Formby-by-the-Sea
00:57:57I chucked my MC ribbon away
00:58:00Look here, Siegfried
00:58:01I've come up here to tell you you've got to drop all this anti-war business
00:58:06I can't drop it, you ass
00:58:09Don't you realise I'm a man with a message?
00:58:11I've got all sorts of people behind me
00:58:13Osselin and Bertrand Russell and...
00:58:14I had a letter from Lee Smith the other day saying...
00:58:18I thought you'd come to see me through the court-martial as a sort of prisoner's friend
00:58:21It might be different if you could achieve something
00:58:24But you can't
00:58:25You're in rotten shape and you'll just end up knocking yourself out
00:58:29And if you're banking on that backbench MP of yours
00:58:32I might as well tell you now that I've had a word with one or two people
00:58:35And you'll find he doesn't do you as much good as you think
00:58:38What people?
00:58:39That doesn't matter
00:58:40The point is they'll court-martial you for refusing to attend the medical board
00:58:44Your statement won't come into it
00:58:46It doesn't matter what they say they're court-martialing me for
00:58:49Massingham and Russell and Lee Smith will see that the real truth comes out
00:58:52They'll be taken care of
00:58:53Don't you worry
00:58:54You have Lloyd George's word for it, I suppose
00:58:56Good Lord, I've been doing my damnedest to try to keep you out of prison
00:58:59I should think you'd be grateful
00:59:00You've got a damn cheek, Geoffrey
00:59:02I might have known you'd interfere
00:59:05Never mind, go ahead
00:59:06And if you're exercising your usual tact
00:59:08You'll get me ten years hard labour for certain
00:59:11And with any luck they'll end up shooting me as some sort of deserter
00:59:16Why? I'll tell you why
00:59:18Because we're both soldiers
00:59:20And I'm doing it for soldiers, not abstract principles
00:59:23And I'll tell you what your precious soldiers will say about it
00:59:26They'll say you refused the board because you didn't want to go on another tour of trenches
00:59:30They'll say you've got cold feet
00:59:33I can just hear that ass Barton holding forth about it now
00:59:36Do you think I care about that?
00:59:38If I back out now, I'll be betraying my...
00:59:41Isn't that worse cowardice than being thought cold-footed by officers
00:59:45Who refuse to think about anything except the gentlemanly traditions of the regiment
00:59:50I happen to think something of those traditions myself
00:59:54Come on, Geoffrey
00:59:56You're beginning to sound more fatuous every minute
00:59:59Reserve officer, temporary captain
01:00:02When this is over, you'll be out of it like a flash
01:00:06Soldiers, I think you said
01:00:09You're doing it for soldiers
01:00:12The regiment doesn't mean just the officers, reserve, temporary or otherwise
01:00:16I know that
01:00:17I seem to remember a conversation
01:00:19In which we agreed that it was our duty to do our best to protect our chaps
01:00:22That the only thing we could do
01:00:24Was to see that they were decently treated and looked after
01:00:27It's not the only thing I can do
01:00:29What, you can try and make a martyr of yourself?
01:00:31Why do you care whether I martyr myself for what I believe in?
01:00:35Why?
01:00:38Because I know what's behind it
01:00:41What do you mean by that?
01:00:43You know damn well what I mean
01:00:45No, I don't
01:00:47What hint? Tell me
01:00:49You're doing it for personal reasons, that's what I mean
01:00:53Of course, my beliefs are personal, sir
01:00:56Beliefs
01:00:58Emotions
01:01:01You're in love, that's what you are
01:01:03You're in love with death and bloody martyrdom and crucifixion
01:01:07That's not true
01:01:08Of course it's true
01:01:10It all came up when young David Orman was killed
01:01:13You went out and did your damnedest to get done in too, didn't you?
01:01:16And now it's the same thing
01:01:21How can it be the same thing?
01:01:23I'm not trying to kill anyone, I'm trying to stop them being killed
01:01:26You can never muck in like the rest of us, can you?
01:01:29You've got to be bloody extraordinary
01:01:32You can't just get on with it and keep your mouth shut
01:01:34You've got to play Jesus bloody Christ all the time
01:01:37The war's wrong, it's got to be stopped
01:01:39You're talking men are being killed
01:01:41You think I wouldn't go through a court-martial to try and stop that?
01:01:45All right
01:01:47You've asked for it
01:01:49I happen to know that they won't court-martial you at all
01:01:54You don't expect me to believe that, do you?
01:01:56It happens to be true
01:01:58You just thought of that, haven't you?
01:02:00One of your brilliant improvisations
01:02:02You really think they don't know what you're up to?
01:02:06If you go on refusing to turn up to their board
01:02:09they'll say you're shell-shocked
01:02:12and lock you away in a loony bin for the rest of the war
01:02:17Why didn't you tell me this before?
01:02:21I didn't want to upset you
01:02:25Here's the secret
01:02:27You can't do anything if you're locked away, can you?
01:02:30They're not asking to withdraw your statement or anything
01:02:33Well, at this stage, at any rate
01:02:35all you've got to do is to agree to their wretched board
01:02:38then nobody can say that you've got cold feet
01:02:40It'll even make your protest more effective
01:02:43If I'm back with a battalion?
01:02:45Yes
01:02:47Will you swear on the Bible that what you've just told me is true?
01:02:52If you want me to
01:02:53I do
01:02:55Don't be dotty, I haven't got a Bible
01:02:57Say the words
01:02:58Say, I swear on the Bible, go on
01:03:00I swear on the Bible that they won't court-martial you
01:03:03Go on
01:03:05And that if you refuse to turn up to another medical board
01:03:08they'll declare you insane
01:03:10It's not what you said before
01:03:12You said they'd shut me up in a loony bin
01:03:14For God's sake, what do they usually do when people are declared insane?
01:03:19If I do agree to go before the board, they won't declare me insane
01:03:22Of course not
01:03:24Or stop Lee Smith reading my statement
01:03:26How can they?
01:03:27He's a private member, isn't he?
01:03:29Is that the truth?
01:03:31Of course it is
01:03:33It's all fixed, I tell you
01:03:36Just agree to the board
01:03:44All right
01:04:00I can tell the orderly room they can fix up a board for you then
01:04:06If you can tell them anything you bloody well like
01:04:17I was just thinking about the board
01:04:21It might be an idea if I went along with you
01:04:26I'm glad to be leaving this hotel
01:04:28I'm relieved that I no longer carry the burden of stopping the war on my shoulders
01:04:34I'll get myself passed for general service
01:04:36And get back with the battalion
01:04:38Because in the circumstances, there doesn't seem anything else to do
01:04:44Then courage, noble Englishman, and never be dismayed
01:04:47If that we be but one to ten, we will not be afraid
01:04:50To fight with foreign enemies and set our country free
01:04:54And thus I end the bloody bout of brave Lord Willoughby
01:05:03I'm not protesting against the conduct of the war
01:05:06But against the political errors and insincerities
01:05:09For which the fighting men are being sacrificed
01:05:12On behalf of those who are suffering now
01:05:15I make this protest against the deception
01:05:18Which is being practised by the British
01:05:21I make this protest against the deception which is being practised on them
01:05:26And that, Mr Speaker, the statement of a serving officer
01:05:29Twice wounded and decorated for gallantry in the field
01:05:33Second Lieutenant S.L. Sassoon, MC
01:05:37Should answer my right honourable friend
01:05:40Who dares suggest that our fighting troops
01:05:43Support this unholy slaughter of their fellow men
01:05:52In reply to the honourable gentleman, I would inform the house
01:05:56That the officer responsible for the statement just read out
01:06:00Was examined by an army medical board
01:06:03And on evidence adduced both by medical experts
01:06:06And by a brother officer in his regiment
01:06:09Was found to be suffering from a nervous breakdown
01:06:12He is at present in Craig Lockhart Hospital
01:06:17For shelter officers
01:06:22Have you forgotten yet?
01:06:24For the world's events have rumbled on since those gag days
01:06:28Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city ways
01:06:31And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts
01:06:34That flow like clouds in the lit heaven of life
01:06:37And you're a man reprieved to go
01:06:40Taking your peaceful share of time with joy to spare
01:06:44But the past is just the same and war's a bloody game
01:06:48Have you forgotten yet?
01:06:50Look down and swear by the slain of the war that you'll never forget
01:06:55Do you remember that hour of din before the attack
01:06:58And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then
01:07:02As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men
01:07:06Do you remember the stretcher cases lurching back
01:07:09With dying eyes and lolling heads
01:07:11Those ashen grey masks of the lads
01:07:14Who once were keen and kind and gay
01:07:18Have you forgotten yet?
01:07:21Look up and swear by the green of the spring
01:07:25That you'll never forget
01:07:48© BF-WATCH TV 2021
01:08:18© BF-WATCH TV 2021
01:08:48© BF-WATCH TV 2021