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World War I Remembered: Passchendaele - Winner's Acceptance Speech, Live Event, Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards in 2018

13 May 2018

Winner's acceptance speech on behalf of the production team for World War I Remembered: Passchendaele in the Live Event category

KIRSTY YOUNG: First of all, thank you so much to the Academy.  We are very surprised to win this.  We were in very, very good company.  It took a lot of people.  We were in Belgium for a whole weekend.

It was hundreds of dedicated staff.  And I know everybody says it's all about the team, but actually when it comes to a large live event, it's all about the team.

But more than the wonderful team, I want to dedicate this award to a man called Harry Patch.  Harry Patch didn't talk about his experiences at Passchendaele until he was 82.  It took him that long to feel that he could talk about it.  He died at the age of 111.  He was the oldest man to survive the First World War, and what he spoke about is a lesson to us all about war.  He was a remarkable man.

So, to him and the hundreds of thousands of men who went and fought on the third Battle of Ypres, who saw things we can't even imagine.  We won't ever forget because we have your words and we have your tales and they mean a huge amount. So, this is for Harry and all of those men.  Thank you very much.