My Grandparents’ War

Series / 2 Seasons

Follow international stars as they journey into the past to learn about their grandparents’ wartime experiences, and discover the extraordinary impact of global conflict on their families.

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Emeli Sandé's Grandfather Lived Through Zambian Apartheid

3m 15s

Singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé meets Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, a Zambian expert on race relations, to find out more about her grandfather Saka’s life during the 1950s. He worked in the Rowan Antelope mine in the heart of the Copperbelt, producing the important metal for the British war effort. Dr. Sishuwa explains the workers lived under an apartheid regime, with deeply segregated living conditions.

Emeli Sandé’s Parents Share Her Grandparents’ War Stories

2m 41s

Singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé visits with her parents, who share her grandparents’ war stories. Emeli’s maternal grandfather, Bob, spent four years fighting in the Egyptian desert, and when WWII ended was sent to Kenya as the British fought to maintain colonial rule. At the same time, her paternal grandfather, Saka, was caught up in the independence movement that was sweeping across Africa.

Emeli Sandé Preview

32s

Singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé explores her grandparents’ remarkable stories, which span World War II, the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya, and the fight for independence in Zambia. She faces a mix of emotions: “Both sets of my grandparents were involved in violent struggles in Africa,” she says. “One, tasked with upholding the British Empire. The other: trying to overthrow it.”

Actor Toby Jones Is Following In His Grandmother’s Footsteps

3m 5s

Actor Toby Jones meets Professor Anselm Heinrich in Béthune, France — at the very theater where his grandmother, Dorki, performed in 1940. She was part of ENSA, the Entertainment National Service Association, which staged shows to raise the spirits of hundreds of thousands of British troops during the height of World War II.

Toby Jones Learns About WWII’s Impact on His Family

2m 33s

Actor Toby Jones sits down with his mother, Jennifer, and two aunts, Juliet and Caroline, to learn what they know about the wartime experiences of his grandparents, Reggie and Dorki. They married in 1940 at age 21, and Reggie was almost immediately sent to the Far East to fight the Japanese. When he returned home, he was not the same patient man he was before — which they now recognize as PTSD.

Toby Jones Preview

32s

Actor Toby Jones uncovers the remarkable World War II stories of his maternal grandparents, Reggie and Dorki, whose love endured despite the trauma and hardships they faced. He learns about his grandmother’s dramatic escape from the Nazis in Northern France, and solves the family mystery of how his grandfather was shot while fighting the Japanese.

Keira Knightley Preview

32s

Actress Keira Knightley ("Pride and Prejudice," "Atonement") has starred in several films set during World War II, yet admits she never knew much about her grandparents’ actual wartime experiences. Now, through conversations with family members and historians, she learns of the triumphs and tragedies her grandparents faced during some of the biggest conflicts of the century.

How Keira Knightley’s Great-Uncle Survived as a POW

3m 13s

Actress Keira Knightley meets her cousin, Brian, to read excerpts from his father Andrew’s memoir about his World War II service. Andrew was the younger brother of Keira’s grandmother, Jan, and was serving in the Royal Air Force when his plane was shot down over Germany in 1943. First reported missing in action, Andrew was held as a prisoner of war for two years.

What Keira Knightley’s Grandmother Did to Prepare for D-Day

3m 20s

Actress Keira Knightley speaks with military historian Sarah-Louise Miller to learn about her grandmother’s involvement in World War II. She learns her grandmother, Janet Williams, was instrumental in organizing the secret movement of troops to support the Allied war effort — including moving tremendous numbers from Scotland to the South Coast in preparation for the D-Day landings.

Season 2 Official Preview

1m 35s

In its second season, MY GRANDPARENTS' WAR takes another journey into the past to understand the extraordinary impact of global conflict on the families of four international stars. Across four episodes, Kit Harington, Keira Knightley, Toby Jones and Emeli Sandé each explore their family’s unique stories, retracing their grandparents’ footsteps during the events that changed their lives forever.

Kit Harington Preview

32s

Actor Kit Harington, who has played soldiers, spies, and – in "Game of Thrones" – warriors, discovers that his grandparents played comparable roles in their real lives during WWII. Speaking with family members and historians, he gains a new appreciation of the courage and sacrifice all four grandparents shared as they fought for their country and for a cause.

Was Kit Harington’s Grandfather the Inspiration for Bond?

2m 56s

Actor Kit Harington speaks with historian Phil Tomaselli about his grandfather’s service during World War II. He learns that his grandfather, John Harington, was recruited by the Naval Intelligence Division in 1941, and stationed in Jamaica at the same time as Ian Fleming — who would go on to write the series of James Bond novels, drawing inspiration from his time in British intelligence.

The Spy Who Was Kit Harington’s Grandfather

2m 44s

Professor Richard Aldrich tells actor Kit Harington about his grandfather’s time in the British Intelligence Service during World War II. John Harington was stationed in Jamaica as an agent of MI5 and MI6 to keep an eye on Edward, Duke of Windsor — Nazi sympathizer and former King of England, who abdicated his throne and served as governor of the Bahamas during the war.

Carey Mulligan Learns About Her Grandfather's 21st Birthday

2m 58s

After finding an invitation for her grandfather’s 21st birthday celebration, Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan learns more about her grandfather’s time at the British Centre in Australia, and receives a letter from the adoptive family that threw him the birthday party before he departed for Japan.

Kristin Scott Thomas Learns About the Russian Arctic Convoys

2m 19s

Actress Kristin Scott Thomas learns about the horrors of the Russian Arctic convoys that her grandfather endured during World War II and reads a harrowing diary entry from a sailor who traveled on the same convoys as he did.

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