Witness: Witness Archive 2015

In October and November 1942, the Allies fought a famous battle against German and Italian troops close to the small Egyptian village of El Alamein. General Bernard Montgomery, the British commander, knew that victory was crucial. But his offensive was in danger of stalling almost as soon as it began. Witness speaks to Len Burritt who was then a 24 year old wireless operator with the British Seventh Armoured Division. (Photo: A German tank is knocked out and British troops rush up with fixed bayonets to capture the German crew at the Battle of El Alamein. Credit: Getty Images)

Using archive recordings we tell the story of Britain's most famous hangman. During the 1940s and 50s, he was responsible for the execution of some of Britain's most notorious murderers and was sent to Germany to hang more than 200 Nazi war criminals after WW2. He said he was always determined to treat prisoners with dignity and respect whatever their crime. He initially appeared to support the abolition of the death penalty. Photo: Albert Pierrepoint at home, 1973 (Credit: Getty Images)

In the 1930s, many parts of Britain were suffering the effects of the Great Depression. But conditions were particularly harsh in the town of Jarrow, in the north-east of England. In 1936, two hundred men marched the 300 miles from Jarrow to London to protest against mass unemployment and to demand that new industries be established in their town. They called it the Jarrow Crusade. Witness delves into the BBC archives to hear the voices of the marchers. (Photo: Marchers on the Jarrow Crusade. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

In 1930, the USSR created a Jewish Autonomous Region in Siberia, as a homeland for Soviet Jews. Dina Newman talks to someone who grew up there. Photo: Birobidzhan, the Jewish capital. Courtesy of Birobidzhan Regional Museum

In October 1929, Wall Street crashed and the greatest depression the world had ever seen began. Harry Leslie Smith tells Witness his story of growing up in extreme poverty in the north of England, and how his sister died of TB in a workhouse infirmary, too poor for proper medical care. Photo: unemployed men queue for work at a dockyard during the Great Depression (Credit:Fox Photos/Getty Images)

World-famous prima ballerina Alicia Alonso talks to Witness about her long and successful career on the stage, and how in 1959 she founded the prestigious Cuban National Ballet. (Photo: Alicia Alonso courtesy of A. Alonso)

In 1945 the English physicist was exposed as a nuclear spy for the Soviet Union. Alan Nunn May had been working on Britain's top-secret nuclear project during WW2. Witness hears from his step-son, Paul Broda. (Photo: Alan Nunn May. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

In October 1945, countries ratified the founding charter of a new organsation, the United Nations, that it was hoped would ensure there was never a world war again. Earlier that year thousands of delegates from around the world had met in San Francisco to hammer out the charter. Witness talks to two people who worked for the UN that year; and to historian Stephen Schlesinger. Photo: a delegate from Saudi Arabia addresses the UN's founding conference in San Francisco (Credit: the UN)

In October 1975, 90% of all women in Iceland took part in a nationwide protest over inequality. Vigdis Finnbogadottir, later Iceland's first female president, talks about that momentous day. (Photo Credit: The Icelandic Women's History Archives)

In October 1995 during Sri Lanka's brutal civil war Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a remote Sinhalese village. Witness hears from a survivor and from journalist, Amal Jayasinghe. Some listeners might find parts of the programme disturbing. (Photo: Villagers flee Kotiyagala in Sri Lanka's southeast. Credit: Sena VIDANAGAM/AFP/Getty Images)

In October 1990, Professor Denys Brunsden of King's College, London, was one of the first Western scientists to confirm the shrinking of the Aral Sea. Dina Newman spoke to Prof Brunsden. (Photo: Abandoned Ship in Aralsk, Kazakhstan. Credit: AFP / Getty Images)

In 1923 the entire cast of a Yiddish play was arrested in New York and charged with staging an immoral performance. Written by the celebrated Polish-Jewish writer Sholem Asch, 'God of Vengeance' is set in a brothel and deals with themes such as prostitution, religion and corruption. David Mazower, the playwright's great-grandson, speaks about the controversy. (Photo: Sholem Asch, left, with Russian playwright Maxim Gorky,1920s. Courtesy of David Mazower)

In 1968, US troops in South Vietnam discovered the victims of a Communist offensive in the old imperial capital, Hue. Much of the city had been overrun by the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong guerillas during the Tet offensive. During the occupation, hundreds, possibly thousands, linked to the South Vietnamese regime were executed. We hear from Phil Gioia, from the 82nd Airborne Division, who discovered one of the first graves. (Photo: A South Vietnamese woman mourns over the body of her husband, found with 47 others in a mass grave near Hue. Credit: AP)

When French-speaking separatists in the Canadian province of Quebec turned violent, Canada's government called the army onto the streets. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau suspended basic civil rights and a stand-off ensued. (Photo: A soldier guarding a street corner in Montreal in October 1970. Credit: Associated Press)

Bengali film director Satyajit Ray has been described as one of the most influential directors in world cinema, with acclaimed US director Martin Scorsese among those crediting him as an inspiration. Early on in his career, Satyajit Ray released the Apu trilogy. The series followed the life of a man Apu from his childhood growing up in rural Bengal to adulthood. The films garnered critical acclaim, winning many awards worldwide. Soumitra Chatterjee, the actor who played the title character in the final film, spoke to Witness about the legendary director. (Photo: Satyajit Ray in 1989 during the ceremony where he was to be made a member of the Legion of Honour: Credit AFP/Getty Images)

In October 1943, at the height of World War Two, most of the Jews in Denmark evaded Nazi plans to send them to death camps. They were warned about a planned round-up by a German diplomat. Hear the story of Bent Melchior who was 14 years old when his family made the journey to safety in neutral Sweden. (Photo: Bent Melchior, aged 15 and living in Sweden)

A Russian refugee, Olga Rossi-Hawkes, speaks to Dina Newman about life in Shanghai after her family fled the Russian revolution in 1917. (Photo: Avenue Edward VII in Shanghai in 1930s. Credit: AP)

On 12 October 1915 a British nurse was executed by German troops during World War One. Her death made her a propaganda icon for Britain and its allies. (Photo: Edith Cavell in 1890. Credit:Getty Images)

in 1965, Britain was shocked by a series of child murders. The children had been killed by a young couple, Ian Brady and his girlfriend Myra Hindley. They buried their victims in remote moorland in the north of England. Photo: Police and volunteers search for bodies on Saddleworth Moor in October 1965. (AP Photo)

On 8 October 2005 a massive earthquake hit Pakistani-administered Kashmir. It left 87,000 people dead and more than four million homeless. Tariq Naqqash is a journalist based in Muzaffarabad, the city worst affected by the quake. (Photo: Collapsed houses in Muzaffarabad. Credit: Associated Press)