A Family at War
| A Family at War | |
|---|---|
 Opening title | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | John Finch |
| Developed by | Granada Television |
| Starring | Colin Douglas Barbara Flynn Leslie Nunnerley Coral Atkins |
| Theme music composer | Ralph Vaughan Williams |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 14 April 1970 – 16 February 1972 |
A Family At War is a British
Fifty-two episodes were produced, all but eight of them in colour. Episodes numbers 25 to 32 were recorded in black and white because of the ITV
Plot summary
The families Ashton, Briggs, and Porter live in Liverpool in 1938 and later. Edwin Ashton, the son of a mineworker, has moved up to the middle class by working for a printing company and by marrying Jean, the sister of company owner Sefton Briggs. The latter is a hard businessman who appoints his son Tony as the new manager of the workplace, rather than the experienced Edwin.
Edwin and Jean have five children: Philip, David, Robert, Margaret, and Freda. Philip is a leftist who fought as a volunteer in the Spanish Civil War. David joins the RAF because he cannot find another job. He is married to Sheila, but he impregnates Peggy. Robert, the youngest son, wants to join the Navy. Margaret, the eldest Ashton daughter, marries John Porter, but she has a troubled relationship with her mother-in-law Celia. All these events take place against the backdrop of the political conflict leading to the Second World War, which will have a major impact on their lives.
Cast
- Colin Douglas as Edwin Ashton
- Shelagh Fraser as Jean Ashton
- Colin Campbell as David Ashton
- Barbara Flynn as Freda Ashton
- Keith Drinkel as Philip Ashton
- David Dixon as Robert Ashton
- Lesley Nunnerley as Margaret Porter
- Coral Atkins as Sheila Ashton
- John McKelvey as Sefton Briggs
- T.R. Bowen as Tony Briggs
- Ian Thompson as John Porter
- Diana Davies as Doris Jackson
- John Nettles as Ian Mackenzie
- Mark Jones as Michael Armstrong
- Margery Mason as Celia Porter
- Patrick Troughton as Harry Porter
- Brett Usher as Ken Beaumont
- Mark Edwards
DVD release
All episodes of A Family at War are available on DVD in the UK, distributed by
The series was released in the Netherlands in 2015 by Just Entertainment. Several brief scenes cut from the Acorn set do appear in the Netherlands set, such as the scene referenced above.
The series is rated PG in New Zealand for violence, sex scenes and sexual references.
External links
- A Family at War at IMDb
- A Family at War at the BFI's Screenonline
