What happens
Corporal Colin Spence joins a desert patrol led by Sergeant Kelly after a Lady Esther Screen Guild Players broadcast of the 1943 20th Century Fox film Immortal Sergeant, based on John Brophy's story. Spence, a civilian-turned-soldier, is pushed into command as the men, cut off without water or fuel, struggle toward their base. Tensions rise among the patrol while Spence reflects on a past friendship and on his own reasons for enlisting. Starring Francis Tone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Alan Mowbray, Morton Lowry and Charles Irwin. Original air date: November 22, 1943.
A desert patrol in North Africa and London, during the Second World War
Characters: Corporal Colin Spence, Valentine Finch, Sergeant Kelly, Cottrell, Tom Benedict, Cassidy
Listen for: Spence's reflections on his reasons for enlisting, and the desperate debate among the men about surrender
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.