BBC WW2 Peoples War Archives

Thanks for that VP. Got it to work!
Would be a whole lot easier though if the BBC hadn't removed the search facility in the first place!

I am so MAD I have just fired an e-mail off to the BBC.

Lesley

 

I have had no end of problems trying to get the BBC to respond on that site. To me it feels they have created a potentially wonderful archive by why they closed it for submissions/did not allow people to contact those who submitted articles and said they were happy for people to do so totally bamboozles me.

 

Adam
site:www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar
You are spot on with your fix (which, of course, applies to any website) and I remember you helpfully quoting the link the last time I had a spat with the BBC on the same subject.

My beef is simply why did they remove something that worked well ?

Ron (still foaming at the mouth !!!!)

 

My sentiments too Ron.

For those members that are really fed up that the search facility has been removed, I suggest that they send an e-mail like I did.
If you go to the People's War site, click Contact Us and scroll down to comments about BBC History, you can leave a message.
Don't know if it will work, but if a lot complain then maybe they will put it back up!!

Still really annoyed like you Ron

Lesley

 

Another work-around is to use the UK Web Archive provided by the British Library:

UK Web Archive

 

Peter

Thanks for that.

I have to admit that's a pretty good substitute as long as you remember to use inverted commas to pin the search down

Still doesn't make me feel any warmer to the BBC !

Ron

 

Just tested it out with: dunkirk "horse and cart". It almost instantly found a story I mentioned in the thread on the reliability of veterans' memories:

BBC - WW2 People's War - Back from Dunkirk

I said he had been shot in the stomach, got that wrong; it was a couple of bullets in the chest.

 

Peter

When he arrived home, on the back of a horse and cart, his mother placed him on a kitchen table, filled him full of his father's whisky, and cut the two bullets out of his chest with a kitchen knife!

They don't make mothers like her anymore

Ron

 

Curse it, I completely forgot about the 12 inch bayonet wound!

 

Just posted this on the BBC site:

Where is the search box ?
Disgusted from Cockfosters
Ron

This is the stock automatic reply:

Thank you for visiting the BBC History site and for taking the time to contact us. We value all feedback about the History website, and all messages are read and regularly reviewed.
We apologise for sending this automatic reply in the first instance, but we cannot reply personally to all the emails we receive. We do, however, respond when we can to queries that have not been addressed below or on the Contact Us or FAQ pages.


If your feedback concerns the factual accuracy of content on the site, a technical problem or a broken link, these issues will of course be noted and investigated. We may need to refer questions to the author of the article or trace the source of the information so it may be a while before any changes are implemented. Suggestions for new features will be taken into consideration at the site's next editorial review.

 

I got the same automated reply

Lesley

 

Came across this today.

if anyone spots update could you please post them here ?

Many thanks !

Ron



Labelling BBC Online's archived websites
Thursday 6 November 2014, 13:48
Neil McIntosh Managing Editor

• 
  

As I write, a team from BBC Future Media is in the middle of a project to move millions of pages of BBC Online archive content to a new home. The operation will allow us to switch off an obsolete layer of technology, and secure access to the archive for years to come.
The BBC treats its online archive with care. We are committed to maintaining users’ access to a vast amount of BBC content stretching back over years of BBC Online’s output, from text articles to message boards, audio and video and more.
However, maintaining access to that archive is different to maintaining the content itself, which means that much of the archive is, in effect, frozen in time: we do not update the content any more.
In those cases, we’ve put a clear label on the page warning this is the case, and users should be aware that the information provided on these pages may be out of date, or otherwise inaccurate due to the passage of time.

 

Thanks Ron,

It would rather help if I could properly understand what Mr McIntosh has written!

Do you think it means they have already 'moved' the "People's War" collection? Those pages already have been labelled when they were 'last updated'.

 

Joe

The man says "the team is in the middle of a project" and the message is dated 6/11/14 so your guess is as good as mine !

You and I have both had bitter and disappointing dealings with the BBC on their failure to keep promises and so, once again, we must wait to see the final results.

Best regards

Ron

 

Note, it's not really the same thing, but you can load up google.com (or use a google search bar in your browser) and type in the following:

site:www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/

followed by what you want to search for. (For instance, "site:www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/ infantry". Google will then search the pages for you.