My Grandparents' War

Carey Mulligan's grandfather Denzil Booth, a teenager from the Welsh Valleys, travelled thousands of miles to fight the Japanese in the final months of the war. Carey discovers his university education meant Denzil was fast-tracked to be a junior officer in the navy. On board Britain's biggest warship, Denzil lost his closest friends, as it was the first ever to be attacked by a Japanese kamikaze. Carey travels to Japan to understand the culture of the kamikaze from the other side. She's shocked by the age of the pilots and the horrors her grandfather faced when he arrived in Tokyo.

Kristin Scott Thomas's grandfather William served as a commanding officer in the Royal Navy throughout World War II. He survived some of the most devastating battles, from Dunkirk to D-day, but never spoke about his experiences. For the first time, Kristin uncovers how he saved thousands at Dunkirk and endured the horrors of the Russian Arctic convoys. Kristin's journey of discovery is packed with revelation and emotion as she meets the families of people her grandfather saved and veterans who served alongside him. Kristin unearths a lost chapter of her family history and reclaims a missing medal.

Both sets of Helena Bonham Carter's grandparents, one in France, one in England, weren't conventional war heroes. They didn't fight in any battles but did save countless lives. Helena explores the story of her maternal grandfather Eduardo Propper de Callejon. A Spanish diplomat, Eduardo defied his government's orders and helped Jewish people escape the Holocaust as the Nazi's invaded France. Helena learns her paternal grandmother Lady Violet Bonham Carter took her own stand against anti-Semitism. A mother of four and a liberal politician, Violet was also ahead of her times, volunteering as an air raid warden and campaigning for women's rights.