Listen free for 30 days
-
Eyewitness: 1950-1999
- Voices from the BBC Archives
- Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith
- Length: 24 hrs
- Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Entertainment & Performing Arts
People who bought this also bought...
-
Eyewitness 1900-1949
- Voices from the BBC Archive
- By: Joanna Bourke
- Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith
- Length: 22 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eyewitness accounts from the BBC Archive are at the heart of this unique history of the first half of the 20th century, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith. The events of 1900-1949 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the death of Queen Victoria and accession of Edward VII through the First World War, to the sinking of the Titanic, the General Strike and the Great Depression, to the Second World War and its aftermath.
-
-
Excellent History Lessons
- By Simon Hodding on 02-06-18
-
Letter from America: The Essential Letters 1936-2004
- With additional narration by BBC American correspondent Matt Frei
- By: Alistair Cooke, Matt Frei
- Narrated by: Alistair Cooke
- Length: 25 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All six volumes of The Essential Letters from America, brought together for the first time in this definitive chronological collection of Alistair Cooke's finest broadcasts. Alistair Cooke was the doyen of foreign correspondents and a radio legend, entertaining millions of listeners for over 50 years in his weekly Letter from America. It was the longest-running show in radio history, and every show was a virtuoso performance.
-
-
Consummate story-teller
- By Kirstine on 08-01-19
-
Today
- A History of Our World Through 60 Years of Conversations & Controversies
- By: Nick Robinson, BBC Radio 4, Martha Kearney, and others
- Narrated by: Edward Stourton, Martha Kearney, NIck Robinson, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an era of fake news and new fault lines in global politics, millions of listeners turn to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme each morning to help them make sense of the world around them. The first ever book from the iconic programme marks 60 years of programming with 60 world-changing stories. Covering everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Anti-Apartheid Movement to the emergence of Brit Art and space exploration, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Today explores events as they happened and reveals how they changed the world around us.
-
-
Totally Absorbing
- By John Carrington on 10-09-19
-
This Sceptred Isle: Collection 3: The 20th Century
- The Classic BBC Radio History
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle: The 20th Century. Christopher Lee’s vivid, compelling history tells the story of Britain from the death of Queen Victoria to the dawning of a new millennium. This collection includes the original volumes 1-5.
-
-
excellent. history storytelling at it best
- By Amazon Customer on 23-09-20
-
Inspector Resnick
- Five BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: John Harvey
- Narrated by: Philip Jackson, Keith Barron, full cast, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz-loving Policeman Charlie Resnick is one of the most popular characters in contemporary crime fiction. This thrilling collection brings together three dramatisations and two original radio stories starring the Nottingham-based detective, all scripted by his creator, award-winning author John Harvey.
-
-
omg the music!!!! awful
- By etienne on 14-12-20
-
The Evelyn Waugh BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited and Other Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Evelyn Waugh, Jeremy Front
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Miles, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evelyn Waugh is one of the pre-eminent English novelists of the 20th century. This collection comprises six of his finest works, dramatised by award-winning writer Jeremy Front, including Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited, Scoop and Sword of Honour (The Waugh Trilogy).
-
-
a comprehensive collection from bbc archive
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
Eyewitness 1900-1949
- Voices from the BBC Archive
- By: Joanna Bourke
- Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith
- Length: 22 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eyewitness accounts from the BBC Archive are at the heart of this unique history of the first half of the 20th century, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith. The events of 1900-1949 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the death of Queen Victoria and accession of Edward VII through the First World War, to the sinking of the Titanic, the General Strike and the Great Depression, to the Second World War and its aftermath.
-
-
Excellent History Lessons
- By Simon Hodding on 02-06-18
-
Letter from America: The Essential Letters 1936-2004
- With additional narration by BBC American correspondent Matt Frei
- By: Alistair Cooke, Matt Frei
- Narrated by: Alistair Cooke
- Length: 25 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All six volumes of The Essential Letters from America, brought together for the first time in this definitive chronological collection of Alistair Cooke's finest broadcasts. Alistair Cooke was the doyen of foreign correspondents and a radio legend, entertaining millions of listeners for over 50 years in his weekly Letter from America. It was the longest-running show in radio history, and every show was a virtuoso performance.
-
-
Consummate story-teller
- By Kirstine on 08-01-19
-
Today
- A History of Our World Through 60 Years of Conversations & Controversies
- By: Nick Robinson, BBC Radio 4, Martha Kearney, and others
- Narrated by: Edward Stourton, Martha Kearney, NIck Robinson, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an era of fake news and new fault lines in global politics, millions of listeners turn to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme each morning to help them make sense of the world around them. The first ever book from the iconic programme marks 60 years of programming with 60 world-changing stories. Covering everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Anti-Apartheid Movement to the emergence of Brit Art and space exploration, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Today explores events as they happened and reveals how they changed the world around us.
-
-
Totally Absorbing
- By John Carrington on 10-09-19
-
This Sceptred Isle: Collection 3: The 20th Century
- The Classic BBC Radio History
- By: Christopher Lee
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Robert Powell
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle: The 20th Century. Christopher Lee’s vivid, compelling history tells the story of Britain from the death of Queen Victoria to the dawning of a new millennium. This collection includes the original volumes 1-5.
-
-
excellent. history storytelling at it best
- By Amazon Customer on 23-09-20
-
Inspector Resnick
- Five BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: John Harvey
- Narrated by: Philip Jackson, Keith Barron, full cast, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz-loving Policeman Charlie Resnick is one of the most popular characters in contemporary crime fiction. This thrilling collection brings together three dramatisations and two original radio stories starring the Nottingham-based detective, all scripted by his creator, award-winning author John Harvey.
-
-
omg the music!!!! awful
- By etienne on 14-12-20
-
The Evelyn Waugh BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited and Other Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Evelyn Waugh, Jeremy Front
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Miles, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evelyn Waugh is one of the pre-eminent English novelists of the 20th century. This collection comprises six of his finest works, dramatised by award-winning writer Jeremy Front, including Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited, Scoop and Sword of Honour (The Waugh Trilogy).
-
-
a comprehensive collection from bbc archive
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
First World War: The Complete Collection
- Voices from the BBC Archive
- By: Sarah Kilgarriff
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this selection of historic recordings from the BBC Archives, British, French and American servicemen recall their harrowing experiences of the conflict. German officers also tell their stories, their misery palpable in defeat. Inevitably the horrors of the Western Front dominate and the battles of the Somme and Passchendaele evoke bitter memories.
-
-
excellent audio
- By Amazon Customer on 06-10-18
-
P Division
- The Complete BBC Radio Crime Series
- By: Peter Turnbull
- Narrated by: Andrew Conlan, Ann Louise Ross, Crawford Logan, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Glasgow’s finest are on the case in these thrilling radio adaptations, based on the books by Peter Turnbull. In the four-part serial Condition Purple, a murdered prostitute is found in the heart of Glasgow's prosperous business quarter. Could a tattoo on her body hold the key to finding her killer? In Two Way Cut, another four-parter, a headless body without a speck of blood on it has the cops puzzled - and who was the strange figure that PC Hamilton saw running along by the canal?
-
-
enjoyable
- By elaine on 18-07-20
-
The H G Wells BBC Radio Collection
- Dramatisations and Readings Including the Time Machine, The War of the Worlds & Other Science Fiction Classics
- By: H.G. Wells
- Narrated by: Amy Hoggart, Bernard Cribbins, Bill Nighy, and others
- Length: 29 hrs and 12 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
H. G. Wells wrote dozens of novels and short stories and is often called the 'father of science fiction'. Here we collect together the works of H. G. Wells as broadcast on BBC Radio. With full-cast dramatisations of novels including The Time Machine, The Island of Dr Moreau, The War of the Worlds, Ann Veronica, The First Men in the Moon and The Wonderful Visit; plus readings of The Invisible Man, Love and Mr Lewisham and several short stories including The Inexperienced Ghost and In the Abyss.
-
-
AMAZING EXTENSIVE COLLECTION
- By Amazon Customer on 06-10-20
-
The Somerset Maugham BBC Radio Collection
- Eight Full-Cast Dramatisations and Readings
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Janet Maw, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the BBC’s dramatisations and readings of W. Somerset Maugham’s fiction, with star casts including Alex Jennings, Dirk Bogarde, and Janet Maw.
-
-
fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
Anglo-Saxon Portraits
- Thirty Ground-Breaking Men and Women of the Early English Nation
- By: various
- Narrated by: Barbara Yorke, David Almond, full cast, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The half millennium between the creation of the English nation in around 550 and the Norman Conquest in 1066 was a formative one. This groundbreaking series rediscovers the Anglo-Saxons through vivid portraits of 30 incredible men and women, as told by their contemporary admirers.
-
-
A great walk through anglo saxon England
- By Scott R on 28-11-20
-
Shakespeare: The Histories: Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Henry VI Part I, Henry VI Part II, Henry VI Part III, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II, Richard III
- Argo Classics
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, and others
- Length: 27 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Politics, power and the tragedy of war are played out in these sweeping histories that continue to surprise and entertain. Performed by an incredible array of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Marlowe alumni including Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Prunella Scales, William Squire and Timothy West can be heard in these recordings.
-
America: Empire of Liberty
- The Complete BBC Radio 4 Series
- By: David Reynolds
- Narrated by: David Reynolds
- Length: 20 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
David Reynolds' major BBC Radio 4 series explores the origins of the contemporary United States from its beginnings to the present day. This epic narrative tells America's story through the voices of those who lived it - presidents and farmers, mothers and children, settlers and soldiers, slaves and Indians. The series celebrates the country's achievements but also examines its paradoxes by investigating three abiding themes of American life: empire, liberty and faith.
-
-
Fantastic overview of American History
- By Alice Parker on 11-01-21
-
Tommies
- The Complete BBC Radio Collection
- By: Michael Chaplin, Nick Warburton, Avin Shah, and others
- Narrated by: Lee Ross, Pippa Nixon, Indira Varma
- Length: 30 hrs and 36 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army as they experience life - and death - on the front line. Meanwhile, Dr Celestine de Tullio battles to save soldiers suffering from gas gangrene and trench fever - and experiences the fighting firsthand when she enlists in the Serbian Army and commands a dangerous offensive. They are all cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
-
-
Great, but there is a chapter missing
- By Roger Townsend on 15-11-18
-
DSI Julie Enfield Investigates
- The Complete BBC Radio Crime Series
- By: Nick Fisher
- Narrated by: Full Cast, Geoffrey Matthews, Imelda Staunton, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Terminus finds her investigating the 'Lucky Charm' murders, as she searches for an elusive serial killer who haunts the railway station. In The Smithfield Murders, a grisly killing at London's famous meat market sparks another troubling investigation, while in The Net and the Canal, Enfield and her team look into a series of mysterious murders along Regent's Park Canal. Leaves of the Dead presents her with a trio of inexplicable deaths in the British Library - could they be ritual murders?
-
-
Once you've heard one....
- By timeout on 31-08-20
-
Rent: The Complete Series 1-4
- A BBC Radio Comedy Drama
- By: Lucy Flannery
- Narrated by: Barbara Flynn, Full Cast, Patrick Barlow
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Maria and Richard Reynolds are happily married, but broke. With debts piling up and their house falling down, there’s only one thing for it: they have to start taking in lodgers. Their new housemates are two equally cash-strapped students - Ruby, who’s conscientious and dedicated, and Paul, who finds academic pursuits more of a challenge.
-
-
Complete Joy
- By Colin McIntosh on 31-10-20
-
BBC Radio Shakespeare: A Collection of Six Tragedies
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrated by: Bill Wallis, Corin Redgrave, full cast, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of BBC Radio 3's iconic Shakespeare productions: six tragedies with all star casts including Michael Sheen, Juliet Stevenson, Kenneth Cranham, Corin Redgrave, Ken Stott, Geraldine James, Bill Wallis, Siân Phillips and Sophie Dahl.
-
-
Unwieldy and difficult to use
- By Sean Watson on 05-10-20
-
Daunt & Dervish
- The Complete BBC Radio Crime Series
- By: Guy Meredith
- Narrated by: Anna Massey, Bill Paterson, Frances Barber, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
London,1953. Josephine Daunt and Susan Dervish both worked for the Ministry of Defence during the Second World War, doing top-secret, highly dangerous espionage work. But in peacetime, they find themselves without a job and feeling useless. Determined to put their talents to good use, they decide to set up a detective agency, with the help of former private eye Bill Mackie. From their Covent Garden office, they handle a steady flow of business.
-
-
Wonderful BBC Drama
- By Anonymous User on 28-07-20
Summary
Eyewitness accounts from the BBC Archive are at the heart of this unique history of the latter half of the 20th century, narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith.
The events of 1950-1999 are described by the people who saw them happen, from the Festival of Britain in 1951 through to the dawn of a new millennium at the end of 1999. In between are the eras of the Angry Young Men, the Teddy Boys and the Punk Rockers; the arrival of rock and roll and the permissive society; the advent of industrial strife in England and sectarian unrest in Northern Ireland; the rise to power of Margaret Thatcher; the miners' strike, three-day week and Winter of Discontent; the Queen's Silver Jubilee; the IRA's campaign of bombing and the eventual Good Friday agreement; and the marriage of Prince Charles, the death of Princess Diana, the Poll Tax riots and the British participation in wars in the Middle East and Bosnia.
Events both joyful and sorrowful are illustrated with fascinating and rarely heard archive recordings, with a linking narration by the historian Joanne Bourke. Thought-provoking and moving, these are the voices of the past speaking to the present day.
More from the same
What listeners say about Eyewitness: 1950-1999
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr Gary Magee
- 26-07-19
A perfect way to remember history.
I cannot help it but I have listened to this three times. Fantastic and terrible memories presented in a recognisable and factual way. Many a long car journey has been made enjoyable by this great collection.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Russty62
- 15-04-18
Never ending
I am just about to listen for a third time. It is more fascinating than any other audible book I’ve ever listened to. Learn something new every time I listen. X
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- brian
- 10-04-17
An excellent retrospective
A brilliant sequel to it's 1900-1949 series. All excellent. Not from the UK, but I find history from the BBC very interesting.