[Afamilyatwar-list] John Finch and a final family photo

[Karen Berridge]

Hi Richard,

I used to occasionally correspond with John Finch and he did make a few comments about the treatment he received from Granada.  I always assumed this was the reason AFAW was never repeated on TV after the original run, (apart from the current run on Talking Pictures).
Does he explain what happened in the book he wrote about the Granada years I wonder?

Karen Berridge

Sent from Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
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From: Afamilyatwar-list <afamilyatwar-list-bounces at baylor.edu> on behalf of Veit, Richard via Afamilyatwar-list <afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2025 10:47:10 PM
To: Afamilyatwar-list <Afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
Cc: Veit, Richard <Richard_Veit at baylor.edu>
Subject: Re: [Afamilyatwar-list] John Finch and a final family photo

Many thanks again, Gert, for all of your remembrances of "A Family at War." I too corresponded with John Finch for many years. Needless to say, John was a fountain of information about the series, but he continued to express his bitterness over how badly he and the series were treated by Granada in the years after the original broadcasts were aired.

Richard Veit
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From: Afamilyatwar-list <afamilyatwar-list-bounces at baylor.edu> on behalf of Gert Bak Pedersen via Afamilyatwar-list <afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2025 3:21 AM
To: Afamilyatwar-list <Afamilyatwar-list at baylor.edu>
Cc: Gert Bak Pedersen <gertbak58 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Afamilyatwar-list] John Finch and a final family photo

And so this is the last email with signed phots etc.

Before I was in contact with any of the actors from AFAW I corresponded with author John Finch (starting in 2002). The aim was to get some information about two things:
I am a historian and since University in the 1970s one of my main interests has been life on the homefront in England 1939 to 1945. So in connection with writing about the subject I was interested in knowing what litterature John Finch might had used while researching for AFAW. That's why there are some references to history books in his emails/letters.
The other thing I asked him about was related to his AFAW writing proces, if the actors had any influence on the development of the character, the Vaughan Williams theme etc. I hope you will find some interesting information in his answers attached below.
As he writes he surprisingly had a copy of a Danish edition of one of the books ghosted from the scripts (and which he really did not like). He signed the book and sent it to me together with some photocopies of newspaper articles about AFAW from 1970-72.

I have also included one last photo signed by six of the actors. It's an Ashton family photo and that is why it actually crossed the North Sea from Denmark to England six times (and back again, of course). I must admit that the more signatures that were added to the photo the more difficult it was for me to send it again. I was afraid it would disappear somewhere on its 'journey' but luckily it arrived 'safe and sound' all six times😊.

I am not interested in actors' autographs in general and I have never asked any actor for a signature - except for those starring in "A Family At War". The series had a huge impact on me when I watched it in the early seventies. It made me interested in life in England during WW2 - not military history but everyday life. And years later I brought this fascination into my professional life. So this is why I found it funny to try and get in touch with the Ashtons about twenty years ago. It might seem silly but it was a cosy little activity.

All the best,

Gert
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