This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century

This Sceptred Isle was created as a series of short 12-14 minute radio programmes by the BBC for transmission daily on Radio 4 from 1995 about the history of the lands and peoples of the British Isles. .

The series was very successful and the BBC extended the programme to cover The 20th Century.



This Sceptred Isle, The The 20th Century continues the story, taking us through decades of whirlwind change and technological advancement in the diverse and colourful country that now stands on the brink of the millennium.


This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 01 of 90 - 1901 - A New King A New Century
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 02 of 90 - 1902 - South Africa, Balfour And Education
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 03 of 90 - 1903 - Naval Build-Up, Free Trade And Empire
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 04 of 90 - 1904 - Ships, Cars, Conurbations And Churchill Crosses The Floor
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 05 of 90 - 1905 - Rebellion In Russia And Balfour Resigns
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 06 of 90 - 1906 - Cornflakes, Traffic And The Moroccan Question
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 07 of 90 - 1907 - Women's Rights, Religious Discrimination And Military Reform
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 08 of 90 - 1908 - Asquith Pensions And The Balkans
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 09 of 90 - 1909 - The Royal Navy And Trouble Brewing In The House Of Lords
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 10 of 90 - 1910 - King George V
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 11 of 90 - 1911 - Constitutional Confrontation And The Agadir Crisis
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 12 of 90 - 1912 - The Titanic, Home Rule And The Marconi Affair
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 13 of 90 - 1913 - Ireland, Emily Davison And The Tango
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 14 of 90 - 1914 - The UVF And The Outbreak Of War
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 15 of 90 - 1915-18 - The Great War
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 16 of 90 - 1919 - The Origins Of The Second World War
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 17 of 90 - 1920 - Russia And Ireland
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 18 of 90 - 1922-23 - Lloyd George Out, Baldwin In
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 19 of 90 - 1924 - The First Labour PM And The Zinoviev Letter
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 20 of 90 - 1925-26 - Churchill's First Budget And The General Strike
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 21 of 90 - 1927-28 - Enter Hitler, And The Rise Of Motoring
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 22 of 90 - 1929 - Red Buses And The Wall Street Crash
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 23 of 90 - 1930 - European Union And India
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 24 of 90 - 1931 - National Government And Naval Mutiny
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 25 of 90 - 1932 - The King And The Dominions
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 26 of 90 - 1933 - The Chancellor Of Germany
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 27 of 90 - 1934 - The Night Of The Long Knives, And The Long March
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 28 of 90 - 1935 - Macdonald Resigns And Hitler Rearms
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 29 of 90 - 1936 - Edward VIII And Unemployment
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 30 of 90 - 1937 - A Coronation As War Looms
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 31 of 90 - 1938 - Anschluss And The Munich Agreement
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 32 of 90 - 1939 - The Approach Of War
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 33 of 90 - 1940 - Dunkirk, The Battle Of Britain, And The Evacuation
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 34 of 90 - 1941 - Morale, Propaganda, And The USA
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 35 of 90 - 1942 - The Atlantic Charter, India And Women
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 36 of 90 - 1943 - The Turning Of The Tide And The Beveridge Report
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 37 of 90 - 1944 - D-Day, Education, And The Birth Of The UN
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 38 of 90 - 1945 - The End Of The War And A Labour Landslide
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 39 of 90 - 1946 - Shortages, The National Health Bill And The UN Meet
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 40 of 90 - 1947 - A Harsh Winter And Independence For India
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 41 of 90 - 1948 - BR, The NHS And The Berlin Airlift
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 42 of 90 - 1949 - The Republic Of Ireland, The Farthing And NATO
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 43 of 90 - 1950 - War In Korea And The European Debate
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 44 of 90 - 1951 - The Return Of Churchill
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 45 of 90 - 1952 - The Death Of George
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 46 of 90 - 1953 - The New Elizabeth Age
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 47 of 90 - 1954 - The Four-Minute Mile, The H-Bomb And Eden's Frustration
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 48 of 90 - 1955 - The Warsaw Pact And The Departure Of Churchill
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 49 of 90 - 1956 - The Suez Crisis
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 50 of 90 - 1957 - Harold Macmillan Becomes PM And A Dog Goes Into Space
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 51 of 90 - 1958 - CND, Cyprus And The End Of National Service
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 52 of 90 - 1959 - Cuba
, Cyprus, And The Russians Reach The Moon
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 53 of 90 - 1960 - The Wind Of Change
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 54 of 90 - 1961 - The Bay Of Pigs And The Building Of The Berlin Wall
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 55 of 90 - 1962 - TW3, The Death Of Marilyn Monroe And The Cuban Missile Crisis
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 56 of 90 - 1963 - Beeching, Profumo And Martin Luther King's Dream
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 57 of 90 - 1964 - Ian Smith, Harold Wilson And Vietnam
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 58 of 90 - 1965 - The Death Of Churchill, Rolling Thunder And UDI
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 59 of 90 - 1966 - Another Labour Victory
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 60 of 90 - 1967 - The Six-Day War And Devaluation
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 61 of 90 - 1968 - Revolution In Paris And Spring In Prague
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 62 of 90 - 1969 - The Troubles, Biafra, And In Place Of Strife
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 63 of 90 - 1970 - Edward Heath Becomes PM
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 64 of 90 - 1971 - Decimalisation And Ulster In Flames
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 65 of 90 - 1972 - Britain Joins Europe, Bloody Sunday, And Black September
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 66 of 90 - 1973 - Rivers Of Blood, Europe, And The Yom Kippur War
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 67 of 90 - 1974 - Who Governs Britain
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 68 of 90 - 1975 - The Birth Of Thatcherism And A Referendum On Europe
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 69 of 90 - 1976 - Wilson Resigns
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 70 of 90 - 1977 - Jubilee And Charter
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 71 of 90 - 1978 - Camp David Devolution And A Polish Pope
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 72 of 90 - 1979 - Prime Minister Thatcher And The IRA
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 73 of 90 - 1980 - Afghanistan And Michael Foot
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 74 of 90 - 1981 - The SDP And IRA Hunger Strikes
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 75 of 90 - 1982 - The Falklands War
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 76 of 90 - 1983 - The Falklands Factor Election, And Star Wars
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 77 of 90 - 1984 - The Miners' Strike And The Brighton Bomb
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 78 of 90 - 1985 - Gorbachev And The Anglo-Irish Agreement
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 79 of 90 - 1986 - Chernobyl And The Westland Affair
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 80 of 90 - 1987 - The Great Debate, Black Monday, And The Great Storm
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 81 of 90 - 1988 - Another Thatcher Victory And Cabinet Divisions
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 82 of 90 - 1989 - The Fall Of The Berlin Wall, And Tiananmen Square
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 83 of 90 - 1990 - The Poll Tax, The ERM, And Exit Margaret Thatcher
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 84 of 90 - 1991 - John Major And War With Iraq
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 85 of 90 - 1992 - Oldies, Speculators, And Labour Falls Again
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 86 of 90 - 1993-94 - The Death Of John Smith Maastricht And The Balkans
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 87 of 90 - 1995-96 - Major Resigns And Labour Reforms
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 88 of 90 - 1997 - The Death Of Diana And The Election Of New Labour
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 89 of 90 - 1998-99 - Devolution, Kosovo, And The Lords
This Sceptred Isle - The 20th Century - 90 of 90 - 2000 - 2000 Years Of Kinship