My Grandparents’ War

Emeli Sandé's Grandfather Lived Through Zambian Apartheid

Singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé meets Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa, a Zambian expert on race relations, to find out more about her grandfather Saka’s life during the 1950s. He worked in the Rowan Antelope mine in the heart of the Copperbelt, producing the important metal for the British war effort. Dr. Sishuwa explains the workers lived under an apartheid regime, with deeply segregated living conditions.

Emeli Sandé's Grandfather Lived Through Zambian Apartheid

3m 15s

  • Emeli Sandé: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Emeli Sandé

    S2 E4 - 44m 43s

    Singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé explores her grandparents’ remarkable stories, which span World War II, the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya, and the fight for independence in Zambia. She faces a mix of emotions: “Both sets of my grandparents were involved in violent struggles in Africa,” she says. “One, tasked with upholding the British Empire. The other: trying to overthrow it.”

  • Toby Jones: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Toby Jones

    S2 E3 - 44m 15s

    Actor Toby Jones uncovers the remarkable World War II stories of his maternal grandparents, Reggie and Dorki, whose love endured despite the trauma and hardships they faced. He learns about his grandmother’s dramatic escape from the Nazis in Northern France, and solves the family mystery of how his grandfather was shot while fighting the Japanese.

  • Keira Knightley: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Keira Knightley

    S2 E2 - 44m 4s

    Actress Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement) has starred in several films set during World War II, yet admits she never knew much about her grandparents’ actual wartime experiences. Now, through conversations with family members and historians, she learns of the triumphs and tragedies her grandparents faced during some of the biggest conflicts of the century.

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