1
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,000
This is Coast,
or "Bienvenue sur Coast".

2
00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,000
Two languages linked by a mighty
stretch of water - the Channel.

3
00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,000
Funnelling between England
and France, the narrow and

4
00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:32,000
surprisingly shallow channel plays a
starring role in our island's story.

5
00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:37,000
One sea separating two nations.

6
00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000
I'll be occupying
what was once enemy territory -

7
00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,000
the shores of France.

8
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:54,000
From the white cliffs of Normandy
to the white cliffs of Dover,

9
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:59,000
the rest of the team
are flying the flag in England.

10
00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,000
Mark reveals how the distance
between the British

11
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000
and the French
brought us closer together.

12
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:11,000
I'm in Dover to discover how
measuring across the Channel

13
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:16,000
led to the creation of Britain's
most famous map, the Ordnance Survey.

14
00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,000
Miranda's mission is to shadow
the force that polices

15
00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,000
the Channel's fisherman.

16
00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,000
The HMS Mersey cruises up
and down the Channel

17
00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:31,000
ready to stop and search
any fishing vessel she fancies.

18
00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:36,000
And Neil uncovers a forgotten ship
of lost souls.

19
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:41,000
When she sank to the sea bed
that cold February night,

20
00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,000
she took 647 men with her -

21
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000
still one of the worst losses
the English Channel has ever seen.

22
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000
This is the Channel Coast.

23
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000
It narrows to just 21 miles wide,

24
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,000
yet the English Channel
is the world's busiest seaway.

25
00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:37,000
Some 400 ships surge past Dover
every day.

26
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,000
The Channel has carried both friend
and foe,

27
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,000
it's brought opportunity
and disaster

28
00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,000
and it's been our defensive barrier.

29
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,000
And along its opposing shores,
millions make their home.

30
00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:04,000
I'm on French sands
to explore our shared story.

31
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:12,000
My journey begins in Normandy,
at Mont Saint-Michel.

32
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,000
Its distinctive outline
dominates the land and seascape.

33
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:31,000
Pilgrims set foot on this holy isle
over a thousand years ago,

34
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,000
searching for the sacred.

35
00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:39,000
Legend has it that a warrior
archangel who battled Lucifer

36
00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,000
appeared here. That archangel,
Saint-Michel, gave his name to

37
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,000
this glorious mount,
but St Michael, as we know him,

38
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000
didn't limit his divine presence to
this side of the Channel.

39
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000
Here in Normandy,
Mont Saint-Michel stands alone.

40
00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,000
But cross the water to Cornwall,

41
00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,000
and a feeling of deja vu
washes over you.

42
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,000
This is St Michael's Mount.

43
00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,000
The Archangel Michael
apparently appeared here, too.

44
00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:21,000
Connections across the Channel, two
shores divided by a remarkable sea.

45
00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:28,000
I discovered on my last visit to
France that only 600,000 years ago,

46
00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,000
I could have walked to England
over chalk downs.

47
00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:42,000
The downs formed a land bridge,
holding back a vast melt-water lake.

48
00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000
When it gave way, the Channel
burst into existence...

49
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,000
..in a catastrophic mega-flood.

50
00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,000
And the power of this sea can still
be experienced today in its tides.

51
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:06,000
Very soon now, where I'm standing
is going to be deep under water.

52
00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,000
I can see the leading edge
of the tide coming in now,

53
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,000
and that wave is going to push
across the lowest points

54
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,000
on these mud and sand flats,

55
00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:17,000
and then the tide behind is just
going to completely swamp them.

56
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,000
I'd better move.

57
00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,000
Many lives have been
claimed out here,

58
00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:26,000
victims tragically unaware
of the tide's deceptive danger.

59
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,000
I'm having to run
to keep ahead of it.

60
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,000
Only ten minutes ago,
I was way out there on land

61
00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:42,000
surrounded by tidal streams and
wading sea birds. Now it's just sea.

62
00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,000
This tidal surge
at Mont Saint-Michel

63
00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,000
also impacts our Channel coast.

64
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,000
How do two countries
share the power of the sea?

65
00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:04,000
It's easy to think of the tide
as something local, a rise

66
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:09,000
and fall of water at a specific
place at a specific time.

67
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:14,000
In reality the tide
is one immense body of water,

68
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:21,000
a pulsating bulge, and as it
moves from west to east, its power

69
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,000
and its influence is felt in turn
along the entire Channel.

70
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,000
Right now we're close to high tide
here at Mont Saint-Michel,

71
00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,000
but this moving hump of high
water was felt near the mouth

72
00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:35,000
of the Channel
here at Polperro in Cornwall

73
00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,000
and at Perros-Guirec in Brittany
about 20 minutes ago.

74
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,000
One body of water swirling along
two different shores.

75
00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000
The beaches of Brittany's
pink granite coast share high tide

76
00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:55,000
with the harbours
in rocky Cornish coves.

77
00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,000
Ten minutes later, the tidal wave
reaches Plymouth,

78
00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,000
where the rising waters
provide passage

79
00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,000
from Western Europe's
largest operational naval base.

80
00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,000
Next, the high water
will hit the Channel Islands

81
00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,000
where it turns low-lying land
into sea.

82
00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:22,000
Jersey's Seymour Tower is cut off
completely as the tide peaks.

83
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,000
In just under two hours' time,
the high waters will envelope

84
00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,000
the Isle of Wight.

85
00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000
Here the tidal waters circle back
on themselves,

86
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,000
creating four tides a day,
double the normal number,

87
00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,000
which lends a helping hand
to deep-hulled cargo ships

88
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,000
entering the port at Southampton.

89
00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,000
When the high tide passes Hastings
in five hours' time, it will be the

90
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:52,000
fishermen's friend, allowing them
to float their boats off the beach.

91
00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,000
Finally, the tide passes
the famous ferry ports of Dover

92
00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,000
and Calais at the far eastern end
of the Channel.

93
00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:10,000
As the sea retreats,
the land breathes out.

94
00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,000
Sands expand,

95
00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,000
until two countries across
the Channel can almost hold hands.

96
00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:25,000
No wonder ideas have winged
over the water for centuries.

97
00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:33,000
Norman conquerors taught us
to construct stone castles.

98
00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,000
But the French have made

99
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,000
an even more permanent mark
on our landscape.

100
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:46,000
Our maps of Britain owe much to
cross-Channel co-operation at Dover.

101
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:55,000
Mark's going back over two centuries
to the birth of our Ordnance Survey.

102
00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,000
Don't tell anybody
but the great British institution

103
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:03,000
the Ordnance Survey only
came into existence thanks to

104
00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:10,000
the scientific endeavours of our
once-sworn enemy, the French.

105
00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:17,000
Today, our isles are accurately
mapped in minute detail.

106
00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:21,000
By comparison,
this 18th-century view of Dover

107
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,000
is little more than a sketch.

108
00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:33,000
But back then, remarkable map-makers
were busy across the Channel.

109
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:41,000
During the 1750s, work began
on a remarkable project -

110
00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:46,000
to map and survey
every corner of France.

111
00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000
It took nearly 40 years,
and this is how they completed it -

112
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,000
by drawing triangles
all over France.

113
00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,000
How did this massive grid
of triangles

114
00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,000
create more accurate maps than ours?

115
00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,000
Using the triangle created
by Dover's lighthouses,

116
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,000
let's think like
an 18th-century Frenchman.

117
00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:22,000
If they knew the distance
between lighthouse B and C,

118
00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,000
by simply measuring two angles,
map-makers could work out

119
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,000
the distance to lighthouse A.

120
00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,000
# Tra-la-la-la, triangle

121
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,000
# My life's in such a tangle... #

122
00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,000
Triangles give you angles,

123
00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:48,000
and with angles you can
map locations accurately.

124
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:55,000
Having triangulated their way to
the Channel coast, the French

125
00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:00,000
surveyors wanted to extend their
mapping over the sea into Britain.

126
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,000
Impossible!

127
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:09,000
Until 1783,
and a brief period of peace.

128
00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,000
It was just enough time
for scientists on both sides

129
00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:22,000
of the Channel to join forces
and to conduct a novel experiment.

130
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,000
Measuring across the Channel,

131
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:32,000
they wanted to know exactly where
Britain was in relation to France.

132
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,000
This great cross-Channel
collaboration would use

133
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:42,000
the French method of triangulation
on a hitherto unseen scale.

134
00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,000
But which country's
surveying equipment

135
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,000
would be trusted to measure
the angles?

136
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,000
Mapping historian
Daniel Schelstraete

137
00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,000
has made the crossing to Dover.

138
00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:02,000
Hi, Daniel!

139
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:03,000
Hi, Mark, are you all right?

140
00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,000
A bit of a climb, I'm afraid.

141
00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:10,000
The French favoured their
tried-and-tested instrument,

142
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,000
the repeating circle.

143
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,000
Daniel, this is it!

144
00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:21,000
Yes, this instrument is a new
instrument, so the interest is,

145
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:28,000
it's possible to measure
horizontal angle for triangulation.

146
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,000
So where do you actually
measure the angle?

147
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,000
Oh, just here, with Vemier.

148
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,000
I can see,
I can see the angle measurements.

149
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,000
The repeating circle is
positioned between two fixed points.

150
00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000
You set one telescope
to look at one landmark

151
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:49,000
and a second telescope
to look at the other.

152
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:54,000
A scale on the instrument
reads out the angle between them,

153
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000
but you don't just do it once.

154
00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:04,000
Upper, lower, together, etc,
ten times, 20 times, 100 times,

155
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,000
and only at the end
you have the good angle.

156
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,000
So that is why it's called
the repeating circle?

157
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,000
Yes.

158
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,000
French map-makers were well-equipped
and ready to go.

159
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:23,000
But how about us,
on the British side of the Channel?

160
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,000
I'm with historian Rachel Hewitt.

161
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,000
Britain did not have an accurate
national map at this time.

162
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,000
France had begun their map
based on a national triangulation

163
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,000
100 years before the British,
and had a much more sophisticated

164
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:41,000
sense of the use of maps
in military defence.

165
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,000
Britain's military
couldn't afford to be outdone.

166
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,000
We needed a survey instrument
of our own.

167
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:58,000
King George III provided ?2,000
from the Royal coffers,

168
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:03,000
and the British spent three years
to perfect...this!

169
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,000
The "Great Theodolite" was ready

170
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:15,000
just weeks before the cross-Channel
mapping experiment in 1787.

171
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,000
It was the first survey instrument
with a measuring scale

172
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:27,000
cut by machine,
making it incredibly accurate.

173
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:33,000
The French repeating circle relied
on hand-etched measuring scales.

174
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:40,000
To cancel out human error, repeated
measurements had to be made.

175
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:44,000
Which country's technology would
triumph in the challenge

176
00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:47,000
to map across the Channel?

177
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,000
The English surveying team
went to Dover Castle

178
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,000
and to Fairlight Head near Hastings.

179
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,000
Right, and where did the French go?

180
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:03,000
In France it was four stations -
Mont Lambert, Cap Blanc Nez,

181
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,000
Calais and Dunkirk.

182
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,000
So they already knew the distance
between these stations on land,

183
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,000
so they then had to look across
the Channel?

184
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:16,000
And by measuring the angles
between these points

185
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,000
they could then work out
the distances.

186
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,000
And the battle
between the Great Theodolite

187
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,000
and the repeating circle?

188
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,000
Well, both instruments came up with
almost identical measurements.

189
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,000
With the precise distance
across the Channel mapped,

190
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:39,000
the new British theodolite had
proved its worth to our military.

191
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:46,000
It gave them the impetus to create
the Ordnance Survey in 1791.

192
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:55,000
The Ordnance Survey began to map
the south coast in great detail.

193
00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:01,000
Ten years later, Napoleon was
on the verge of invading Britain.

194
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:07,000
New, accurate maps
helped to plan our defence.

195
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,000
So there's actually
a bit of an irony here

196
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:17,000
that this Anglo-French collaboration
actually enabled the British

197
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:22,000
to create cartography to defend
ourselves against a French invasion.

198
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,000
The Ordnance Survey,
when it's founded in 1791,

199
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,000
is built on the back of this
cross-Channel triangulation.

200
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,000
That was a military map to defend
Britain against the French.

201
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000
HE LAUGHS

202
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:42,000
Theodolites went on to map
Britain's Empire.

203
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,000
Taking on India and the Himalayas.

204
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000
Even Mount Everest was surveyed.

205
00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:57,000
This experiment in cross-Channel
mathematics from here in Dover

206
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,000
helped launch the greatest mapping
project that Britain had ever seen.

207
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:08,000
The Ordnance Survey put us
on the global map.

208
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,000
Partners or potential invaders?

209
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,000
Over centuries, the English

210
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,000
and French have looked to their
Channel horizon with mixed emotions.

211
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,000
We're looking along the edge
for the connections that unite

212
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,000
sea-washed neighbours.

213
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,000
This is the story of two coasts.

214
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:52,000
Two coasts that sometimes look
surprisingly similar.

215
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,000
I'm at Mont Saint-Michel
in Normandy,

216
00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:01,000
the spitting image
of St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.

217
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:06,000
These cousins across the Channel
have lived parallel lives.

218
00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:12,000
In 1548, Henry VIII put an end to
the monks on St Michael's Mount.

219
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,000
Monks remained at Mont Saint-Michel
more than two centuries longer,

220
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,000
until revolution rocked France.

221
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,000
Today, life on the islands
is very different.

222
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,000
St Michael's Mount
is a haven of calm.

223
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:35,000
Mont Saint-Michel hosts over
a million visitors each year.

224
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,000
Yet the Mont also has a secret life.

225
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,000
Amelie Saint James is
one of a permanent population

226
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,000
of just 20
living on this holy isle.

227
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,000
So Amelie, how would you
characterise Mont Saint-Michel,

228
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000
how would you describe it,
what is it like?

229
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,000
Depends on the time of the year.

230
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,000
If it's summer it's very crowded,

231
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,000
you are hoping
winter comes quite quickly,

232
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,000
and when it's winter,
it's totally empty

233
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000
and you're quite wishing
the tourist will arrive again.

234
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000
It's a real tourist throng today.

235
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,000
So Amelie has agreed to take me

236
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,000
to one of Mont Saint-Michel's
quieter corners.

237
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,000
Her home.

238
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,000
There are 162 steps
to get to my threshold,

239
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,000
so that's quite a job.
Then you're rewarded by beauty.

240
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,000
I mean, when I wake up in the morning
I have the bay around me.

241
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:37,000
I have a 14th-century house,
I have an Abbey on top. I mean,

242
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,000
this is not given to everybody,
so it's definitely worth it.

243
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,000
The main street can be like
the metro in Tokyo.

244
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:48,000
Sometimes people just open the door
and they see my panties,

245
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,000
and they ask, "Well, is it private?"

246
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000
"No, no, of course not."

247
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:01,000
Privacy is hard to come by
on Mont Saint-Michel.

248
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:10,000
Those pursuing a sacred life on-high
compete with crowds below.

249
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,000
After Benedictine monks
returned here in 1969,

250
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,000
Father Andre Fournier
followed them.

251
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,000
What were the contrasts
between life at the top in the abbey

252
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,000
and life down below
where humanity mills around?

253
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,000
Modern-day pilgrims who make
the climb are rewarded with

254
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:17,000
a timeless haven,
sitting betwixt sea and sky.

255
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,000
This is an ancient scene utterly
removed from the commercial hubbub

256
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:39,000
further down the Mount,
a place of calm

257
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:46,000
and contemplation,
suspended above the human ant hill.

258
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:14,000
Further along Normandy's shore,
granite gives way to sand.

259
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:21,000
And spiritual life makes way
for beach life.

260
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:28,000
England's Channel coast
is a playground, too.

261
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,000
But 70 years ago,
fun was in short supply.

262
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:43,000
In a time of war,
beaches became battlefields.

263
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,000
As they can't forget at Arromanches.

264
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,000
Mysterious black shadows that mark

265
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,000
the Channel's darkest moment, D-Day.

266
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Memorials to sacrifice.

267
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,000
Artists Jamie Wardley

268
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:15,000
and Andy Moss are sculpting a
tribute in the sand to the fallen.

269
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:22,000
We have hundreds of people
making 9,000 stencils of people

270
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,000
that lost their lives in this area
during the D-Day landings.

271
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:29,000
A visual impression of
how many people actually died.

272
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,000
There's a lady who made a stencil
that represents her father,

273
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,000
she drew out the stencil
and then she wrote

274
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:40,000
her father's name on the stencil,
and then it really was very moving.

275
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:50,000
After the landings began on
June 6, 1944, D-Day's wounded

276
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:55,000
and dying were treated
on both sides of the Channel.

277
00:23:55,000 --> 00:24:00,000
The memory of those who fell is
etched in the mind of Andre Heintz,

278
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:05,000
a resistance fighter who became
a stretcher bearer on D-Day.

279
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:13,000
I was part of the French Resistance.
I had been told never to tell anyone

280
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,000
that I was part of it,
even my parents.

281
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:23,000
Across the Channel in Portsmouth,
Mary Verrier was a junior nurse,

282
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,000
just 19 years old, treating
casualties shipped to Britain.

283
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:32,000
I was only a young girl then,
just an ordinary girl.

284
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,000
Divided by the Channel,
united in their struggle,

285
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:41,000
this is their story of the fallen.

286
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:51,000
Mary watched the soldiers leave the
relative safety of British shores.

287
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,000
Well, we knew something was up,
because we were

288
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:58,000
confined to the hospital a week
before, no leave, and I'm sure

289
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,000
quite a few of them knew
that they would not be coming back.

290
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:11,000
On D-Day, I joined the Red Cross.

291
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:16,000
I had to bring British
parachutists to the hospital.

292
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,000
It was full of people
that had been wounded

293
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,000
and couldn't be operated yet.

294
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,000
There was hundreds of men
pouring in, walking wounded,

295
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,000
stretcher wounded.

296
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:38,000
You must control your emotions,
you must not be shown to be weak,

297
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,000
you must be shown to be positive
and caring.

298
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,000
Very difficult to do
when your heart is breaking.

299
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,000
You must realise
how dreadful it was.

300
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:57,000
One of my friends called me
by my name, he was in bed.

301
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:05,000
Well, it was not easy
because I could not recognise him.

302
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,000
I had to ask him his name.

303
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,000
One of the German boys,
about 19, he was terribly burnt.

304
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,000
We shouldn't have had him,

305
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,000
really, he should have gone to the
padre cos he was going to die,

306
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,000
and I put my hand on his knee

307
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,000
so that he knew that
somebody was there,

308
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:31,000
and then I suddenly realised
that he was going to slip away,

309
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:35,000
so I stood up and put my arm
under the pillow

310
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,000
and put his poor burnt
head and face on my shoulder,

311
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:46,000
and I think he tried to say,
"Kiss me, auf wiedersehen."

312
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:51,000
I kissed him just on the forehead
there, all the rest was burnt,

313
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,000
and he died and that was my Achilles
heel. Of all I'd been through,

314
00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:02,000
that brought me right down
to my knees.

315
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,000
I did all I could for my children,

316
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:19,000
so that they won't keep
the hatred I had,

317
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:25,000
and I must say
that I probably succeeded too well,

318
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:30,000
because my oldest son
married a German girl.

319
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:59,000
Finally the guns fell silent.

320
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,000
From the ruins of war came a peace
which has persisted along this sea.

321
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:09,000
And at times of peace,
the Channel can get to work.

322
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:15,000
Cargo on the move,
holiday-makers in a hurry.

323
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,000
And the sea's hunters
stalking their prey.

324
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:27,000
On both sides of the Channel,
fishing boats put to sea.

325
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:36,000
But when two fleets are pursuing
the same prize, tensions can arise.

326
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,000
To explore why fishermen stopped
being friends,

327
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,000
I've arrived at Erquy.

328
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,000
The Breton fishing town of Erquy has
grown into one of Europe's

329
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:58,000
most important ports for a delicacy
prized on both sides of the Channel.

330
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:04,000
Right now, this is
a picture of tranquillity,

331
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,000
but the tide is coming in,
and when the water's deep enough,

332
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,000
a fleet of ships is going to
sail into port.

333
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,000
This is the first catch
of the season.

334
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,000
They've been waiting five months
for this.

335
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,000
At Erquy, scallops
are catch of the day,

336
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,000
a favourite for discerning palates
in France and the UK.

337
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:48,000
Restaurants in Paris and London
shell out big money for scallops.

338
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:52,000
It was the pursuit of this
much-loved mollusc

339
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:55,000
that put peace in peril.

340
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,000
Just look at these headlines.

341
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,000
"British fisherman
call on Royal Navy."

342
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,000
"Fisherman await the next salvo."

343
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:07,000
"French attack our boats with
rocks in battle over shellfish."

344
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,000
"Scallop Wars."

345
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:15,000
In 2012, British scallop trawlers
were surrounded by French boats.

346
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,000
Insults were traded.

347
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,000
THEY SHOUT IN FRENCH

348
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,000
What provoked the Frenchmen's anger?

349
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,000
Time for me to hit the front line.

350
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,000
I've never seen as many scallops
in one place at the same time.

351
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:52,000
The Entente Cordiale was strained
by a high-takes standoff,

352
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,000
and maybe it's not surprising.

353
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,000
Scallops are big business,
the appetite for them

354
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,000
seems endless,
but the Channel's stocks aren't.

355
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,000
With so much demand

356
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:08,000
and a limited supply, the scales
seemed weighted against the scallop.

357
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,000
Here on the French side of the
Channel, they decided to redress

358
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,000
the balance. They put a limit
on the length of the fishing season.

359
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,000
For the French fishermen,

360
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000
scallop fishing was banned from
mid-May to October.

361
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000
Not so for the British,

362
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:30,000
who used wider EU rules to continue
fishing legally all year round.

363
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:35,000
But when the Brits dropped their
nets close to the French coast,

364
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000
the locals cried foul play.

365
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000
The Scallop Wars rumbled on
for a year before the two sides

366
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:47,000
finally brokered a deal.

367
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,000
In exchange for agreed fishing days,

368
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:55,000
the British put restrictions on
when and where they catch scallops.

369
00:31:55,000 --> 00:32:00,000
A deal sufficiently complex to keep
everyone, and no-one, content.

370
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,000
At close of play on day one
of the season,

371
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,000
is there optimism
that peace will prevail?

372
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,000
Do you feel a bond with
your fellow English fishermen

373
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,000
on the other side of the Channel?

374
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,000
A glimmer of hope, then,
that two nations who share a sea

375
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:45,000
can happily share its bounty.

376
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,000
It's not only the French and
the British who fish the Channel.

377
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:04,000
They're joined by hundreds
of vessels from other EU nations.

378
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:09,000
The rules to protect the Channel's
fish stocks come from Brussels.

379
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:14,000
But the job of ensuring
nothing fishy goes on

380
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000
falls to France and to Britain.

381
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:26,000
On our side, it's a challenge
that's brought Miranda to Shoreham.

382
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:31,000
Today I'm signing on
for a tour of duty with

383
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,000
the Marine Management Organisation,
the MMO.

384
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:36,000
Working together
with the Royal Navy,

385
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,000
they're the referees of our seas.

386
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:39,000
Morning, chaps.

387
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,000
Fishing quotas in the Channel
are set by the EU.

388
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:54,000
In British waters it's the MMO,
or Marine Management Organisation,

389
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,000
who enforce them.

390
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:58,000
But it's no easy task.

391
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:04,000
Back-up is required in the shape
of the Royal Navy and HMS Mersey.

392
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:11,000
Like a police patrol car,
the HMS Mersey cruises up and down

393
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:16,000
the Channel ready to stop and search
any fishing vessel she fancies.

394
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,000
When you get a lift with
the Royal Navy,

395
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,000
you aren't winched aboard,
the whole boat is!

396
00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,000
Ho-ho-ho...that feels pretty weird,
we're going up.

397
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,000
HMS Mersey is a nerve centre.

398
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:41,000
They must monitor every large
fishing vessel in the Channel.

399
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,000
Sights are set on a nearby
British trawler.

400
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,000
So it's our intention to send
a routine inspection team to you,

401
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:54,000
they'll be with you
in the next 30 minutes.

402
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:56,000
MUFFLED INSTRUCTIONS

403
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,000
Right, last one on.

404
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,000
MMO inspectors have a short time

405
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:16,000
to ensure fishing methods
match complex EU rules.

406
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,000
Does what the skipper
says he's caught tally with

407
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:20,000
what's in the hold?

408
00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:25,000
While his colleagues chase
the paperwork,

409
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:30,000
the MMO's Paul Johnson casts
an expert eye on the latest haul.

410
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,000
From an inspection point of view
you can see this net is operating

411
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:37,000
in a reasonable manner, you know,
there isn't a lot of juvenile fish,

412
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:41,000
there's no indications in this
catch to me that there's been

413
00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,000
any sort of adjustments to the net
to decrease the mesh sizes.

414
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,000
So, as the net's been dragged
through the water,

415
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,000
the juvenile fish are actually
able to escape? Exactly.

416
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:55,000
So you've got a bit of cod here,

417
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,000
so he's got about 40kg which is
about a box, so I'm happy with that.

418
00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:02,000
Inspections must be swift
and accurate -

419
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,000
livelihoods are in the balance.

420
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,000
For rule breaches,
crews can be ordered to port.

421
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,000
Fines may run into millions.

422
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,000
Everything appears in order,

423
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:15,000
but there are plenty more trawlers
in the Channel.

424
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,000
HMS Mersey is one of three vessels

425
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:27,000
patrolling 80,000 square miles
of British waters.

426
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:33,000
Isolated at sea,
the crew spend their days

427
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,000
looking after fish stocks.

428
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:39,000
How are they looked after
on their floating home?

429
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,000
It's quite cosy.

430
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:50,000
But you've got to think they're
here for maybe four weeks at a time.

431
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,000
Look at this! It's a gym!

432
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:55,000
Of course you need exercise
when you're on a ship,

433
00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,000
this is where they work out.

434
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,000
And the Navy can't sail
on an empty stomach.

435
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,000
It's Mexican tonight.

436
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:07,000
But there's very little rest
for the team.

437
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,000
Straight after tea,
it's back to sea.

438
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:13,000
Inspections run around the clock.

439
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,000
Now our target's
a huge Dutch trawler,

440
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,000
which is more like
a floating fish factory.

441
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:20,000
MUSIC: "Gimme Shelter"
by the Rolling Stones.

442
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,000
They can look to the documents,
and after that they are ready.

443
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,000
Yeah, brilliant.

444
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,000
Boarding team safely embarked,
proceeding.

445
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:36,000
This boat's hold is packed.
In just two days at sea

446
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:41,000
they've caught and sorted
nearly five tonnes of fish.

447
00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,000
Lots of different species.
Cod is required to be stowed

448
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,000
separately, we're in what
we call the cod recovery zone.

449
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:53,000
And if we found cod hidden in there,
that would be a problem.

450
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:57,000
Even in the middle of the night,
Paul has to keep alert.

451
00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,000
What you'll see is that nearly all
these species are non-quota,

452
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:04,000
apart from the mackerel and the cod.

453
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,000
Right, so they can catch as many
as they like? As many as they like.

454
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,000
Are you worried about it?

455
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:10,000
It's my job to worry about it.

456
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,000
There are caps on the number of days
people can fish,

457
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,000
those sort of things,
that does keep a lid on things.

458
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:21,000
Whether it's a big enough lid, that's
for scientists to answer and not me.

459
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:26,000
The team are heading back for some
rest, but the Channel never sleeps.

460
00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:30,000
All year round
the hunt for fish goes on,

461
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,000
and the sea's police must patrol.

462
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:48,000
British naval power has always been
crucial in the Channel,

463
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:54,000
where our nearest neighbours haven't
always been our closest friends.

464
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:59,000
But our Navy alone wasn't sufficient
guarantee against invasion.

465
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:05,000
Along the south coast,
there's a line of fortifications.

466
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:09,000
Stony reminders of centuries
of suspicion,

467
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:12,000
when England eyed France nervously.

468
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,000
But fear cut both ways -

469
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:20,000
the French too looked anxiously
across the Channel.

470
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,000
By the close of the 17th century,

471
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:25,000
they needed their own
chain of forts.

472
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:30,000
I'm in France on a Channel journey
that's brought me

473
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:34,000
to a town that turned fortification
into an art form.

474
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:35,000
Saint-Malo.

475
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,000
Medieval ramparts
encircle Saint-Malo,

476
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:50,000
a salt-stained shield
recalling the threat of invasion.

477
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:54,000
But with the growth of English
sea power, walls weren't enough.

478
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:58,000
To make Saint-Malo impregnable,
the French king enlisted

479
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:03,000
the formidable
Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban.

480
00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:09,000
Vauban is revered as one
of the greatest military engineers

481
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:16,000
of all time, and in Saint-Malo he
used nature to spectacular effect.

482
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,000
Here in the bay, a network
of tiny islands, reefs,

483
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:24,000
rocky outcrops
offered perfect foundations

484
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:28,000
for an extraordinary network
of coastal forts.

485
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:32,000
Forming a jaw-shaped arch offshore,

486
00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,000
Vauban's forts
were cleverly designed

487
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:39,000
so they combined to
foil enemy ships.

488
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:47,000
To discover the secrets
of their success,

489
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:53,000
I'm heading out with one of their
custodians, Monsieur Marcel.

490
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,000
For English sailors,
these strongholds

491
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,000
must have seemed unassailable.

492
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,000
How many guns in this fort here?

493
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:09,000
20, and 160 men.

494
00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:12,000
Vauban was a fabulous engineer

495
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:16,000
and when it was finished it was
impossible to catch Saint-Malo.

496
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:22,000
Sited by the channels into
Saint-Malo, Vauban's forts caught

497
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:28,000
enemy ships in a hail of deadly
crossfire, keeping the port secure.

498
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:35,000
Now it's my chance to venture
where our sailors never succeeded.

499
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,000
Time for an English invasion.

500
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,000
Monsieur Marcel
has agreed to show me round

501
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:46,000
one of Vauban's masterpieces,
Fort Le Petit B.

502
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,000
Do you have help to
re-build the port?

503
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:55,000
Mm, sometimes, but it's very
difficult to find good workers.
0:42:11,840 --> 25:53:24,331
This is a beautiful door,
is this your door? You made this?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Yes, it's a new door,
I make it myself, yes.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Fantastic.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's like being in a ship.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Exactly like a ship.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's got a pointed prow
pointing out to sea.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Yes. Only this place, 19 guns.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
So this is the last line
of defence before the land?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The last before the walls
of Saint-Malo.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
And so if an English ship was
the other side of these walls,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
would it have been possible
to sail past and escape the guns?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's impossible to pass.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
In 1693, an English ship was
wrecked by the guns of the Petit B.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It was sunk by the guns
from this fort? Yes, yes.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Oh, those poor English soldiers,
you must feel very sad for them?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Yes...but, er, perhaps
they swim to Saint-Malo.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
HE LAUGHS
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The defenders' deadly cannon power
relied on manpower.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Surrounded by sea water,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
lack of fresh water could be
the fort's undoing.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Vauban dug deep for a solution.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Ah, so this is a well?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Yes, is a well.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Wow.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'Rainwater was caught,
then filtered twice through sand
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'before being drawn.'
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
So this is good water
for the soldiers to drink?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Very good water, no problem.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's crystal clear! Very clear.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Wow!
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'Vauban clearly put his men's needs
at the heart of his designs.'
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
That IS good water.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
HE LAUGHS
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Standing strong, Vauban's stone
guardians defied the Royal Navy
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
and kept Saint-Malo safe.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
As Britain looked beyond the Channel
to farther-flung territories,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
wars with France faded into history.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
When a new threat arose at the start
of the 20th century,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the two countries
joined in a united purpose.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
In 1914, the British Empire
and France
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
stood shoulder-to-shoulder
across the sea.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
For the first time,
the world was at war.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
And the Channel once more
became a battleground.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Now Neil's heading into the fray.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
There's a mystery surrounding
soldiers from a British dominion
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
who a century ago
sailed here to serve a motherland
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
they'd never known.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
We've crossed our narrow sea
once more,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
arriving off the Isle of Wight.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
In the early hours
of 21 February, 1917,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the Channel
witnessed a tragedy unfold.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
A troop ship was sinking
off the Isle of Wight.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Within 25 minutes, the ship
and soldiers were beneath the waves.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
When she sank to the sea bed
that cold February night,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
she took 647 men with her -
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
still one of the worst losses
the English Channel has ever seen.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Hidden from view, the troop ship
and her story were forgotten.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'Then, in 1974, a local diver
was investigating a wreck.'
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
And then he found this.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Now, it's not the most glamorous
or exciting bit of sunken treasure,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
you might think, however this saucer
is stamped B
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
That's British  African Steam
Navigation Company.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
That meant that this saucer
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
had to have come from one ship
and one ship only - the SS Mendi.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Over 600 lives lost in the Channel,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
yet the Mendi is a name most people
in Britain have never heard of.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But 6,000 miles away, there's
a country that can't forget her.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Over there on that boat
is a film crew from Cape Town.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
This South African expedition
is diving the wreck of the Mendi,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
trying to piece together
the events of her fatal sinking.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But why does a wreck in the Channel
concern a crew from Cape Town?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The men aboard the Mendi
were black South Africans.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
In President Mandela's South Africa,
the Mendi's mysterious loss
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
became wove into
the new nation's consciousness.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
How did Britain's great war
touch the heart of South Africa?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
When World War I broke out,
it wasn't just Britain
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
that went to war, but her Empire.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
One fifth of the world's population
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
swore allegiance to
the British king.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The Empire was expected
to do its duty.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
For South Africa,
that meant providing
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
nearly 230,000 men
for the war effort.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Over 90,000 of these
were black troops.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
They came from tribal homelands
across South Africa.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Why would they choose to travel
over 6,000 miles to fight in Europe?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Zwai Mgijima is part of the
South African team diving the wreck.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
What sort of lives did those men
have back in Africa?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
To be honest with you, their life
then was...was not good at all.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
People who volunteered to go to war
were the strong men, the young men.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
There was an understanding of
that if these men go to that war,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
in return the British would
help us to defeat the Afrikaners.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Oppressed in their homeland by Dutch
and British settlers, many black
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
South Africans saw world war as an
opportunity to empower themselves.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But the South African Government
insisted none of their black troops
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
should fight on the front line.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Forbidden from bearing arms,
they carried, chopped and cooked.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Was there a dishonour
in being in an army
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
but not expected to take part
in the fight?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Men, they took pride
in fighting in a war,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
it was an honour to them to fight
in the war,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
but not to come and dig trenches
and man the stretchers
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
and even cook for other men.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Definitely it wasn't an honourable
thing to do, but they had to do it.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But the black Africans aboard the
SS Mendi would never get to France.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
How did over 600 men
come to perish in the Channel?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
I need to go back to February, 1917.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
After nearly a month at sea
the Mendi,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
laden with South African troops,
had just arrived in the Channel.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Archaeologist John Gribble
takes up the story.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Her last stop before going to
France was in Plymouth,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
and she stopped there
to pick up an escort.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
HMS Brisk was a destroyer that was
to escort her across the final leg.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The Channel was a fairly dangerous
place at the time.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
German U-Boats had wreaked havoc
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
with British shipping
over the last couple of years.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Really, the men
ought to have been reassured
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
because they had cover from an ally.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Yeah, yeah, absolutely,
you'd imagine so.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But it wasn't a U-Boat that would
seal the SS Mendi's fate.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
As Britain struggled through
one of our coldest winters,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the Mendi and her escort the Brisk
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
were crawling at a snail's pace
in a Channel thick with fog.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
At the same time, a large British
cargo ship, the Darro,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
was steaming toward
the unsuspecting Mendi at speed.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
While more than 800 men slept below,
the second officer kept watch,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
but the fog was too thick
to see any approaching threat.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
By the time he could hear a vessel
heading their way, it was too late.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The Darro ploughed into
the side of the Mendi,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
almost carving her in two.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The words of a survivor
recount the horror the men faced.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"As soon as I left holding the boat
with my hands I went down into
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"the sea, I swallowed some water
and then came up to the surface."
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The Mendi had ample life jackets,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
so how could so many men die
with other boats nearby?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The Darrow obviously knew
she'd been in a collision.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Her captain put her engines
into reverse,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
pulled away, and then just sat.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Nothing came or was heard from
the Darrow for the entire incident.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The captain, a guy by the name
of Captain Stump,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
was found to be at fault,
and in fact, there's a..
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
this is a copy of part
of the Board of Enquiry.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Summary of Report
for the SS Mendi."
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
So, Ackland, so is he
the lawyer investigating,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
asking Stump what he's doing? Yes.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
So, "What steps did you take to
save lives?"
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Stump: I took no immediate steps.
Ackland: why not?"
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Stump: I considered my own ship
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"was in dangerous of sinking."
Was that...?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Not after the first few minutes.
She was actually fine,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
she wasn't in imminent danger.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Did you hear
anybody singing out?"
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Stump: I heard some shouting out.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Ackland: It's now being suggested
that you wanted to leave
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"the men who you knew
were in the water to drown."
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Is there,
I mean, is there malicious intent?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's so hard to know
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
because Stump refused to really
answer those questions.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
There was never a proper answer
given by him at that Board
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
of Trade Enquiry as to why he had
not gone out and saved lives.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Is it conceivable that he had
a problem with the fact that
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the men in the water
were black Africans?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's one of the suggestions
that has been made,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
but I don't think so, I can't see
that as being the real reason.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
There was a suggestion that perhaps
he was under the influence.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Alcohol? Yes, given his previous
actions - he was on the bridge
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
when it took place, and got people
to go forward and check for damage,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
it makes you think he was well in
control, he knew what was going on.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's inexplicable that he did not
do anything at all.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
We'll never know what
was in Captain Stump's mind.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Perhaps it was incompetence,
perhaps he froze in the moment.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But we do know
that his penalty was lenient.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
His licence was suspended
for just 12 months.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Whatever the reasons
for Captain Stump's inaction,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
in South Africa the tragedy
of the Mendi has come to symbolise
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the injustice of racial segregation.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The sinking has become
the stuff of legend.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It's said as the Mendi went down,
the troops confronted their fate
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
like warriors. Removing their boots
on deck, they performed
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
a death dance, accompanied by
the rousing words of their priest.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Be quiet and calm, my countrymen.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"For what is taking place now
is exactly what you came to do.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"You are going to die.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"We die like brothers.
We are the sons of Africa.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"Raise your war cries, brothers,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"for though they made us
leave our weapons at our home,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
"our voices
are left with our bodies."
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The hand of history has dealt the
Channel its share of human drama.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Now there's time
for one last tale.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
A story of pillage and booty
from the seas, for Saint-Malo is
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
a city that made heroes of legalised
pirates, the notorious corsairs.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
This is Saint-Malo's most famous
corsair, Robert Surcouf,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
celebrated for menacing
the English fleet,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
and for killing, single-handedly,
11 enemy soldiers in a duel.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Apparently he spared the 12th so
that he could live to tell the tale.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
That's the story, anyway.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Corsairs were traders
turned buccaneers.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
In times of war, a letter from the
king was all they needed to arm
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
their ships and take whatever they
could, usually from the English.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'Some 200 years ago, Domenique
de Beaucoudrey's ancestor was
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'a Saint-Malo corsair.'
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
How was the cargo divided up?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
There was something like
one-third for the state,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
one-third for the ship owner
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
and the remaining third was shared
between the captain and the crew.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Now, trade was more important,
though, really, than war.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
If trade was more important,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
why was your ancestor carrying guns
on his ship?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
They were only fighting
the bloody English
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
because they were blocking
all the harbour...
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
HE LAUGHS
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
It was all the English's fault,
was it?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Trying to bring back merchandise
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
was the only way
we were fighting them.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The Royal papers
carried by Dominique's forebears
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
sanctioned piracy.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
On our side of the Channel,
it looks like daylight robbery.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
To the French, the corsairs were
simply taking care of business.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Do you think any of your ancestors
took any English goods?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Yes, he did, yeah, of course,
yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Do you think the French would give
those goods back to the English now?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
HE LAUGHS
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
The French never give back anything.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Domenique isn't alone.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Saint-Malo's corsair descendants
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
regularly celebrate their pirate
heritage with a light luncheon.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'I can't resist entering their lair
to pose one last question.'
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Were the corsairs perhaps criminals?
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
No. No.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
A letter of marque from his king to
make war on behalf of the king...
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
If you say a corsair is a criminal,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
you would say a soldier
is a criminal.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Their toast isn't to criminals,
but heroes.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Heroes conjured up with a song from
the era of raids on English ships.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
THEY LAUGH
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
In Saint-Malo, they still celebrate
Channel conflicts
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the British have chosen to forget.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
From opposing shores,
the land reaches out
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
as if to lay claim to the water.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'But ultimately this narrow sea
belongs to no-one and everyone,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
'eternally dividing and uniting.'
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
Over long centuries,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
these waters have witnessed
many remarkable stories.
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
But in the ebb and flow
of changing times,
25:53:24,331 --> 25:53:24,331
the Channel remains awash
with possibility.