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Reel History of Britain Episodes

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  1. Beside the Seaside

    20/20 Melvyn Bragg looks back to the 1950s and the heyday of the British seaside holiday.

  2. Dawn of a New Era

    19/20 A look back to the 1900s and the invention of the film camera.

  3. The End of the Line

    18/20 A look back to when the Beeching Axe led to the closure of over 2,000 railway stations.

  4. Streets in the Sky

    17/20 A look back to the 1960s, when high-rise housing promised a better way of living.

  5. Long to Reign Over Us

    16/20 Melvyn Bragg looks back to the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

  6. Britain's Secondary Modern Schools

    15/20 The 1960s was a time when the eleven-plus exam could map out a child's future.

  7. Britain's Green and Pleasant Land

    14/20 A look back at the 1930s and how unmechanised rural life in Britain used to be.

  8. A Right Royal Knees Up

    13/20 In 1977, a right royal knees-up was taking place in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

  9. Steel Ships and Iron Men

    12/20 A look back to the 1930s when Britain's shipyards were fighting to survive.

  10. The Birth of the NHS

    11/20 Aneira Thomas shares her remarkable claim to fame, as the first baby born on the NHS.

  11. Sun, Sea and Sangria

    10/20 Charting the advent of the Mediterranean package holiday.

  12. The Glory Days of Fishing

    9/20 A look back to the 1920s and the heyday of British fishing.

  13. Britain On the Move

    8/20 Looking back to the eve of popular car ownership in the 60s.

  14. Britain's National Disgrace

    7/20 A look back to the 1930s, when millions of Britons lived in the squalor of urban slums.

  15. Britain's Home Guard

    6/20 Melvyn visits the site of the first Home Guard training school in Osterley.

  16. The Roaring Twenties

    5/20 At Cliveden House in Berkshire, Melvyn looks back to the Roaring Twenties.

  17. Britain's Black Diamonds

    4/20 In south Wales, Melvyn Bragg looks back to the 1930s and salutes Britain's coal miners.

  18. Soldier, Soldier

    3/20 In Preston, Melvyn Bragg looks back to the First World War.

  19. Britain's First Teenagers

    2/20 Melvyn Bragg looks back at when Britain broke free of the burdens of World War II.

  20. Britain's Wartime Evacuees

    1/20 In Torquay, Melvyn Bragg looks back to the 1940s and wartime evacuation.