History GCSE: Teenage Tommies

BBC Teach > Secondary Resources > GCSE History

A series of short films describing the impact of war on underage soldiers in World War One.

From the BBC series Teenage Tommies; a moving five-story tribute to Britain's heroic boy soldiers of World War 1.

This series will be relevant for teaching History. This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC KS4/GCSE in England and Wales, CCEA GCSE in Northern Ireland and SQA National 4/5 in Scotland.

Aby Bevistein
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Aby Bevistein

Aby Bevistein, an émigré from Eastern Europe, joined the Middlesex Regiment in September 1914 aged only 16.

Cyril Jose
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Cyril Jose

Cyril Jose joined the Devonshire Regiment, even though he was only 15 years old.

Ernest Steele
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Ernest Steele

Ernest Steele volunteered to fight for his country in late 1914, even though he wasn't yet nineteen.

Horace Iles
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Horace Iles

Horace Iles was travelling on a Leeds tram when a stranger presented him with a white feather, even though he was only fourteen years old.

St John Battersby
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St John Battersby

St John Battersby, the 14-year-old son of a vicar from Blakeley in north Manchester, signed up to join the army against his father's wishes.