it was a momentous week - August 14th to 18th 1940. The Battle of Britain was at its height. The hard-pressed pilots of fighter command daily faced swarms of incoming German bombers. German losses were huge but the RAF lost men and aircraft as well. It was the week that Hitler said his forces would invade and the British people were on the alert for invasion.

These are the stories that provide the backbone for NEWS 40 - The Battle of Britain, that tell the stories of that week as they occurred but in a modern day setting. Behind the news desk is ITN anchorman, Martyn Lewis. On location are top ITN reporters, David Jessel, Andrew Harvey, Richard Lindley and Lynda Bryans.

Other stories of that week are also included; the Duke of Windsor became Governor of the Bahamas; egg prices shot up by 3d a dozen, the quality of anti-aircraft defences was called into question and Croydon became the first-part of the capital to sustain direct bomb damage. All these stories and many more are illustrated by pristine contemporary archive footage taken from a wide range of sources both in the UK and USA.

Included on this programme is CHURCHILL’S ISLAND, an Academy award winning documentary from 1942 that has not been seen for many years. Taken from the original film, this programme shows the British people at their best, in adversity through the Battle of Britain, the U-boat war and the threat of invasion.