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There was a German bomber flying right towards us – a Dornier, one of their biggest. It was so low we could see the pilot flying it and the gunner in the nose of the bomber pointing his machine gun at us...

Schoolboy in Kent, during the Battle of Britain
My legs pressed harder around my father's waist; my arms nearly choked him. The humming of Japanese aircraft was loud enough for everyone to hear now, and panic spread like ink on a blotter.
Child saying goodbye to her parents, Singapore 1942
In the early 2000s, the BBC set up one of its biggest oral history archives, recording the lives and experiences of the ordinary people who lived through World War Two. It amounted to 47,000 testimonies and over 400 diaries and letters, all of which have remained hidden in the archives for twenty years – until now.
In The People's War, John Willis unearths untold stories of everyday bravery, moments of terror, and tales of life-affirming community, that guide us through the years of the Second World War. From soldiers in North Africa and prisoners of war in East Asia, to evacuees in the British countryside and women in the factories, The People's War is a truly ambitious and comprehensive journey through a devastating and pivotal period of our history, as you've never read before.
Follow the remarkable stories of ordinary individuals who lived, fought, grieved, loved, and survived through World War Two.

© John Willis 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025