To Serve Them All My Days (TV series)

David Powlett-Jones, a coal miner's son from South Wales, has risen from the ranks and been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the First World War. In 1918, after being injured and shell-shocked, he is hired to teach modern history at Bamfylde School, a fictional public school in North Devon, in the southwest of England, where he wins the respect and acclaim of colleagues and pupils. He serves under headmaster Algy Herries, forms a friendship with Ian Howarth and marries Beth. He engages in a long bitter rivalry with the jingoistic science master Carter but the two of them later become friends. Powlett-Jones is eventually appointed headmaster. ==Production==

The series was filmed over 11 months in 1980, with Devon and Dorset locations ==Cast==

• John Duttine as David Powlett-Jones • Frank Middlemass as Algy Herries • Alan MacNaughtan as Howarth • Patricia Lawrence as Ellie Herries • Neil Stacy as Carter • Susan Jameson as Christine Forster • Charles Kay as Alcock • Kim Braden as Julia • John Welsh as Cordwainer • Cyril Luckham as Sir Rufus Creighton • Simon Gipps-Kent as Chad Boyer • Belinda Lang as Beth • Nicholas Lyndhurst as Dobson • David King as Barnaby • Phillip Joseph as Emrys Powlett-Jones • Michael Turner as Brigadier Cooper • Norman Bird as Alderman Blunt ==Reception==

Writing for The New York Times, John J. O'Connor described the production as "a richly textured tapestry crammed with the social details that were the speciality of Mr. Delderfield", with "a steady flow of insightful and touching moments". The adaptation was nominated in the Best Drama Series category at the 1981 British Academy Television Awards and in the Outstanding Limited Series category at the 1983 Primetime Emmy Awards. ==DVD release==

All episodes of To Serve Them All My Days have been made available on DVD in the UK, Australia and the US. ==References==