Coal House at War (Reality, English)
Genres: History
Status: Ended
Premiered: 2008-10-13
Ended: 2008-11-01
Network: BBC One
Country: GB
Airs on: Monday
Air time: 21:00
Runtime: 30 minutes
This fascinating living history series transports three families back to 1944 and the Second World War. Having given up their comfortable lives, they are faced with the many hardships that war presented. The families experience all aspects of life as it was in 1944. The men work long, punishing days down the coalmine, followed by tending the Stack Square shared allotment as people were encouraged to ‘Dig for Victory' to overcome food shortages. They also have to endure the arduous Home Guard training, each getting a taste of army life and discipline. The women have to juggle their relentless household chores with compulsory work at the munitions factory, undertaking a variety of different tasks for the war effort. The children, meanwhile, have their own worries with daily doses of cod liver oil and the ever present threat that their pet rabbits may be served up for dinner.