2. Wartime Propaganda

The BBC is a British institution unlike any other, and its story during the Second World War is also the story of Britain's people.

Edward Stourton is a sharp-eyed and affectionate companion on the BBC's wartime journey, investigating archives, diaries, letters and memoirs to examine what the BBC was and what it stood for.

In this episode, Ed investigates wartime propaganda, coded messages sent across Europe, and relaying less than truthful information to the enemy.

These were the years when Auntie (the BBC's enduring nickname) earned a reputation for bossiness. It was also a period of remarkable voices - Churchill's fighting speeches de Gaulle's broadcasts from exile, George Orwell, Ed Murrow, Richard Dimbleby and Vera Lynn.

During these extraordinary times, eyewitness testimonies gave a voice to everyone, securing the BBC's reputation as a reliable purveyor of the truth.

Auntie's War is more than a portrait of an institution at a critical time, it is also a portrayal of the British in wartime and an insight into why we have our broadcast culture today.

Read by Edward Stourton.

Abridged by Anna Magnusson.

Producer: Pippa Vaughan

A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2018.