Start your free trial:

I Was There: The Great War Interviews

In the early 1960s, the BBC interviewed 280 eyewitnesses of the First World War for the series, The Great War. Using never-before-seen footage from these interviews, this groundbreaking history documentary illuminates the poignant human experience of the war through the eyes of those who fought, lived through, and survived it.

Watch I Was There: The Great War Interviews and more acclaimed documentaries on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.

More documentaries you might like...

Subscribe to BBC Select for hundreds of hours of thought - provoking, award-winning and critically-acclaimed documentaries from the BBC and beyond.
Learn MoreWaterloo's Warriors

Waterloo's Warriors

The story of the Battle of Waterloo using unpublished accounts from Wellington's troops.

Learn MoreJulius Caesar's Greatest Battle

Julius Caesar's Greatest Battle

Exploring a crucial battle during Julius Caesar's bloody campaign to conquer Gaul.

Learn MoreThe Men and the Machines that Beat Hitler

The Men and the Machines that Beat Hitler

The story of the men from the Fifth Royal Tank Regiment who fought during World War II.

Learn MoreMysteries of the medieval ship

The Mysteries Of The Medieval Ship

A unique medieval ship is discovered in a Welsh river. But what secrets does it hold?

Learn Morethe somme 1916 from both sides of the wire

The Somme 1916: From Both Sides Of The Wire

Historian Peter Barton explores the bloody battle that defined the First World War.

Learn MoreNelson Britain's Great Naval Hero

Nelson: Britain's Great Naval Hero

The scandals, secrets, and strategies of one of Britain’s greatest naval heroes: Nelson.

Learn Morenazis a warning from history

The Nazis: A Warning From History

How was it possible that the cultured nation at the heart of Europe ever allowed Hitler to come to power?

Learn MoreThe Last Day of WW1

The Last Day Of World War One

Michael Palin tells the shocking true story of the last soldiers to die in World War I.

Learn MoreMan in a gas mask carrying the Ukrainian flag

Ukraine: The People's Fight

Two months on the Ukrainian frontline battling alongside volunteer special forces.

Learn MoreMan in a gas mask carrying the Ukrainian flag

Mariupol: The People's Story

The people of Mariupol share powerful, shocking stories of bravery and loss in a war zone.

Learn MoreCollage image of the US flag and the USSR symbol in the shape of a missile

The World's Biggest Bomb

Why did American then Soviet scientists race to explode the biggest bomb of all time?

Learn MoreWar Crimes in Ukraine BBC

War in Ukraine: The Missing Men of Mucha

A powerful account of love in the face of terror

Learn MoreLeaving Afghanistan BBC

Leaving Afghanistan

Exploring attempts to end the war in Afghanistan

Learn MoreStream The Hunt for Bin Laden on BBC Select

The Hunt for Bin Laden

How was Osama Bin Laden able to evade capture despite the intense efforts to find him?

Learn MoreWatch Zelensky: The Making of a President on BBC Select

Zelensky: The Making of a President

The transformation of Ukraine's President Zelensky from comic to respected world leader.

    BBC Select free trial

    BBC Select is available on Amazon Prime Video Channels and the Apple TV app for only $6.99 a month. Start a 30-day free trial and watch a range of acclaimed documentaries from the BBC and beyond. Restrictions apply*.

    World War One Documentaries

    Get the full story of the First World War with a range of history documentaries from the BBC and beyond.

    Learn MoreThe man who shot the great war

    The Man Who Shot The Great War

    The remarkable story of the Belfast soldier who took his camera to war in 1915.

    Learn MoreThe First World War: The Peoples' Story

    The First World War: The Peoples' Story

    The story of World War I told by the ordinary people at the heart of the conflict.

    Learn MoreThe Last Day of WW1

    The Last Day Of World War One

    Michael Palin tells the shocking true story of the last soldiers to die in World War I.

    Learn MoreWatch War's Secret Shame: Shell Shock on BBC Select

    War's Secret Shame: Shell Shock

    Using previously unseen archives the hidden story of WWI soldiers is told.

    Learn MoreWatch 100 Days to Victory on BBC Select

    100 Days to Victory

    How did the Allies turn the tide and win the First World War?

    Learn More

    Winston Churchill's War

    What aspects of Winston Churchill’s character helped him to defeat Hitler and win the war?

    Learn MoreWatch WWI: The Final Hours on BBC Select

    WWI: The Final Hours

    The secret negotiations that ended World War I and changed history

    Learn Moreheroes of the somme

    Heroes of the Somme

    The brave men of WWI who won Britain's most prized military medal, the Victoria Cross.