''To Serve Them All My Days'' is a British television drama series, adapted by Andrew Davies from R. F. Delderfield's 1972 novel ''

To Serve Them All My Days : ''For the 1980 television adaptation, see To Serve Them All My Days (TV series).'' ''To Serve Them All My Days'' is a novel by British author R. F. Delderfield. First published in 1972, the book was adapted for television in 1980. It has ...

''. It was first broadcast by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

over 13 episodes in 1980 and 1981. It was broadcast in Australia in 1981 by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and in 1982 by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in the United States as part of their ''

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these ...

'' anthology series.

Plot

David Powlett-Jones, a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

's son from

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, has risen from the ranks and been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1918, after being injured and shell-shocked, he is hired to teach modern history at Bamfylde School, a fictional public school in

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

, in the southwest of England, where he wins the respect and acclaim of colleagues and pupils. He serves under headmaster Algy Herries, forms a friendship with Ian Howarth and marries Beth. He engages in a long bitter rivalry with the jingoistic science master Carter but the two of them later become friends. Powlett-Jones is eventually appointed headmaster.

Production

The series was filmed over 11 months in 1980, with

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

locations including

Milton Abbey School Milton Abbey School is a private school for day and boarding pupils in the village of Milton Abbas, near Blandford Forum in Dorset, in South West England. It has 224 pupils , in five houses: Athelstan, Damer, Hambro, Hodgkinson and Tregonwell. ...

in Dorset.

Cast

John Duttine John Arthur Duttine (born 15 March 1949) is an English actor noted for his roles on stage, films and television. He is well known for his role as Sgt George Miller in '' Heartbeat'' and Bill Masen in the TV series '' The Day of the Triffids''. ...

as David Powlett-Jones *

Frank Middlemass Francis George Middlemass (28 May 1919 – 8 September 2006) was an English actor, who even in his early career played older roles. He is best remembered for his television roles as Rocky Hardcastle in '' As Time Goes By'', Algy Herries in '' To ...

as Algy Herries *

Alan MacNaughtan Alan MacNaughtan (4 March 1920 – 29 August 2002) was a Scottish actor, born in Bearsden, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He was educated at the Glasgow Academy, trained at RADA, and graduated in 1940 with the Bancroft Gold Medal. An experienc ...

as Howarth *

Patricia Lawrence Patricia Lawrence (19 November 1925, Andover, Hampshire, Andover, Hampshire – 7 March 1993, Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London) was a British actress. Personal life In 1947 she married writer and arts administrator Greville Poke (1912–2000) i ...

as Ellie Herries * Neil Stacy as Carter *

Susan Jameson Susan I. M. Jameson (born 13 August 1941) is an English actress. She is best known for three roles: portraying Esther Lane in the BBC crime drama series ''New Tricks'' between 2003 and 2013, voicing Mrs Wibbsey opposite the Fourth Doctor Tom B ...

as Christine Forster *

Charles Kay Alfred Charles Piff (31 August 1930 – 8 January 2025), better known by his stage name Charles Kay, was an English actor. Early life and education Kay was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, the son of Frances (née Petty) and Charles Beckingham ...

as Alcock *

Kim Braden Kim Braden (born 21 November 1948) is a British-born U.S.-based former actress. Biography Braden is a daughter of the actor and broadcaster Bernard Braden and the actress Barbara Kelly, both originally from Canada. Braden came to prominence ...

as Julia * John Welsh as Cordwainer *

Cyril Luckham Cyril Alexander Garland Luckham (25 July 1907 – 8 February 1989) was an English film, television and theatre actor. He was the husband of stage and screen actress Violet Lamb. Career The son of a paymaster captain in the Royal Navy, Cyril Lu ...

as Sir Rufus Creighton *

Simon Gipps-Kent Simon Gipps-Kent (born Simon Trevor Kent; 25 October 1958 – 16 September 1987)Alistair D. McGown & Mark J. Dochert''The Hill and Beyond: Children's Television Drama – An Encyclopedia'' British Film Institute, 2003, p. 97. was an English th ...

as Chad Boyer * Belinda Lang as Beth *

Nicholas Lyndhurst Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor and is best known for his role as Rodney Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'' (1981–2003). He was cast as Professor Alan C ...

as Dobson *David King as Barnaby *Phillip Joseph as Emrys Powlett-Jones *Michael Turner as Brigadier Cooper *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Wi ...

as Alderman Blunt

Reception

Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', John J. O'Connor described the production as "a richly textured tapestry crammed with the social details that were the speciality of Mr. Delderfield", with "a steady flow of insightful and touching moments". He praised the performances of the cast and that of Duttine in particular. ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' magazine called the series a "colorful chronicle of post-World War I England that never crosses over to the gooey side of sentiment." The adaptation was nominated in the Best Drama Series category at the 1981

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

and in the Outstanding Limited Series category at the 1983 Primetime Emmy Awards.

DVD release

All episodes of ''To Serve Them All My Days'' have been made available on DVD in the UK, Australia and the US.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0080298, To Serve Them All My Days BBC television dramas Television shows written by Andrew Davies 1980s British drama television series 1980 British television series debuts 1981 British television series endings Television shows set in Devon Television shows based on British novels British English-language television shows