A Family at War

Lore & Background

The series centers on the Ashton family: Edwin, a printing company employee who married Jean, sister of company owner Sefton Briggs; and their five children—Philip, David, Robert, Margaret, and Freda. Philip is a leftist who fought in the Spanish Civil War; David joins the RAF after failing to find other work, marries Sheila, but impregnates Peggy; Robert wants to join the Navy; Margaret marries John Porter but has a troubled relationship with her mother-in-law Celia. These personal dramas unfold against the political conflict leading to the Second World War.

Reader's Guide

A Family at War is significant as a detailed portrayal of lower middle-class life in Liverpool during the pre-war and wartime years, produced by Granada Television for ITV. Its 52 episodes, mostly in colour, were directed by 13 different directors under original producer Richard Doubleday. The series is noted for its opening titles: a beach scene with a child's sand castle flying a Union Flag, slowly overtaken by the tide, symbolizing Britain's isolation in 1940–1941. The theme music draws from Vaughan Williams's Sixth Symphony. The series has been released on DVD in the UK by Acorn Media UK, though several episodes are edited from original running times; a Netherlands release in 2015 by Just Entertainment restores some cut scenes. In New Zealand, the series is rated PG for violence, sex scenes, and sexual references.

Did You Know?

• The first 24 episodes were in black and white; episodes 25–32 were also in black and white because of the ITV Colour Strike, and episodes 33–52 were in colour.
• The theme music is the opening of the First Movement (Allegro) of Vaughan Williams's Sixth Symphony, not the end.
• The opening titles show a child's sandcastle with a Union Jack flag being washed away by the tide.
• The series had 13 directors during its run.

Production & Creative Vision

A Family at War was conceived by screenwriter John Finch and produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, premiering on 14 April 1970 and running through 16 February 1972. Richard Doubleday served as the original producer, and the series saw no fewer than thirteen different directors helm its fifty-two episodes over its three-year run. The production was notably affected by the ITV Colour Strike, which forced episodes twenty-five through thirty-two to be recorded in black and white, making them the only non-colour entries in an otherwise full-colour series. Musically, the programme drew on Ralph Vaughan Williams's Sixth Symphony, specifically the closing section of the first Allegro movement, to underscore its dramatic weight. The opening titles are particularly evocative: a lone child's sandcastle on a beach, a Union Flag fluttering above it, slowly being swallowed by the encroaching tide. This image was deliberately crafted to evoke Britain's isolation and vulnerability during 1940 and 1941, setting the emotional tone for a family narrative set against the full force of the Second World War.

Narrative & Characters

The series centres on the Ashton household in Liverpool, a lower middle-class family navigating the turbulent years from 1938 through the Second World War. Edwin Ashton, the son of a coal miner, has clawed his way into the middle class through steady work at a printing firm and by marrying Jean, the sister of the company's owner, Sefton Briggs. That marriage, however, creates a persistent tension: Briggs, a hard-nosed businessman, bypasses the experienced Edwin in favour of his own son Tony when filling a managerial vacancy. The family's five children each chart distinct paths shaped by the era. Philip, the eldest son, is a committed leftist who volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War. David, unable to secure civilian employment, enlists in the RAF; married to Sheila, he nonetheless impregnates a woman named Peggy. Younger Robert dreams of joining the Navy. The eldest daughter Margaret marries John Porter, but her relationship with her mother-in-law Celia remains fraught. All of these personal dramas unfold against the gathering storm of political conflict that will engulf the nation in war.

Cast & Ensemble

The ensemble cast of A Family at War brought a wealth of talent to the screen. Colin Douglas anchored the series as Edwin Ashton, while Shelagh Fraser portrayed his wife Jean. The five children were played by Keith Drinkel as the idealistic Philip, Colin Campbell as David, David Dixon as Robert, Lesley Nunnerley as Margaret Porter, and Barbara Flynn as Freda. The extended family and community were populated by a roster of well-known British actors: John McKelvey as the imperious Sefton Briggs, T.R. Bowen as his son Tony, Coral Atkins as Sheila, and Ian Thompson as John Porter. Margery Mason and Patrick Troughton brought depth to the Porter household as Celia and Harry respectively. John Nettles, who would later achieve wider fame, appeared as Ian Mackenzie, while Mark Jones played Michael Armstrong and Brett Usher took the role of Ken Beaumont. Diana Davies appeared as Doris Jackson, and Bryan Marshall as Stashek. With thirteen directors rotating through the production, the series benefited from a variety of cinematic approaches while maintaining a cohesive ensemble feel across its fifty-two episodes.

Legacy & Home Media

Decades after its original broadcast, A Family at War found a new life on home video. All fifty-two episodes are available on DVD in the United Kingdom through Acorn Media UK, though the release is not without compromise: several episodes were trimmed from their original running times. One notable example is episode three, in which Margery Mason and Patrick Troughton receive on-screen credits despite not appearing in the final cut. A more complete restoration came in 2015 when Just Entertainment released the series in the Netherlands, restoring brief scenes that had been excised from the Acorn set, including the very footage referenced in that episode-three discrepancy. The series has also found an audience in New Zealand, where it carries a PG classification citing violence, sex scenes, and sexual references. These varied international releases have ensured that Finch's portrait of a Liverpool family enduring the Second World War continues to reach new generations of viewers well beyond its original ITV audience.

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