This isn't Aldershot, is it?
I can't tell you how happy that makes me.
Captain Page came to say goodbye.
What am I going to do without you?
I think you should put some effort into being Mrs Laithwaite.
I'm just not one of the boys, Al.
I'm so glad I'm married to you.
What a funny thing to say.
Such close relationships we make in army life,
but we pack up and we move on.
Abdul Kadir Hakim -- he'll do anything to get rid of the British.
Come back, sir!
I want a search party out, now!
Tony...
Yusra.
Aye, you just told me.
You're going to go and make yourself a cup of tea. You just...
No, not for me, Dad, thanks.
I'm 2,000 miles away, Dad, remember?
Listen, I just called to say that, erm...
It's...
It's Alex, Dad.
It's your son.
Well, I just called to say that I'm, eh...
Yep. Yeah, I remember the old songs. Of course I do.
♪ There was a soldier
♪ A Scottish soldier who wandered far away
♪ And soldiered far away
♪ There was none bolder
♪ With good broad shoulder, he...
♪ He fought in many a fray
♪ And fought and won. ♪
Dad? Dad?
How is he?
He's fine, aye.
Nobody ever died of a lost memory.
Are you ready for this, Dimarco?
Born for it.
You, Sarge?
Aye. Let's go.
Let's get this done.
This one's for Nick Page.
Where are you going?
Work.
Where's Mummy?
She's in hospital having the baby.
Yusra will look after you.
Is the baby going to live here?
Yes. You, me, Mummy and the baby.
We can play soldiers when I get back.
Promise?
On parade 1800 hours, Corporal Markham.
Mmm.
Back to sleep.
Oh, no. What time is it?
Early.
A good wife would have been... would have been up
and cooked her husband breakfast.
You've got seven minutes.
What time will you be home?
I'm not sure. It's best if you don't know too much.
But you'll be home for tea?
Hmm? Mmm, mm-hmm.
What shall I make?
Ah, you decide.
It's not plugged in.
Oh, it won't take too long.
I have to go. Mmm.
Sorry.
Corporal Stoneham, he says it is time to go.
Look after him.
Of course.
Terribly sorry.
Aden, where East meets West --
vital as an oil refinery,
as well as a Gulf trade route.
The beach here at Aden is lovely.
The sand is warm, and the sharks
are not always hungry.
The occasional outbreaks of violence are caused by
what are officially called dissident tribesmen.
As long as there's trouble, there must be troops.
The Queen has full confidence in Aden's future,
describing it as the perfect example of Colonial rule.
The raid party will be landing as I speak, including Baxter and Dimarco.
Their objective -- to capture one man.
The target's code name is Starfish.
He's brutal, he's clever...
His real name is Abdul Kadir Hakim,
and we believe he's responsible for the murder of Captain Page.
Now, we've received intelligence that Starfish will be at a remote
farmhouse here, which the raid party will storm at 1300 hours.
Our job is to rendezvous upcountry with the raid party
on the other side of the mountain, where they'll be handing
Starfish over to us for escort back here.
We'll be in two Land Rovers travelling in convoy.
Captain Martin will command the second Land Rover.
Now, we'll have to use the Dhala Road, I'm afraid.
We've no choice about the route.
Just seven miles of it.
We will maintain complete radio silence from the moment we leave
this base, and it stays that way until we return with the prisoner.
This operation cannot be compromised.
If one Land Rover gets into bother, the orders are clear --
the other continues to the rendezvous at all costs, sir.
(If we make it that far.)
What's that, Stoneham?
Nothing, sir. Sorry, sir.
Good.
Oh, one more thing, erm...
There's a reporter coming with us,
so tomorrow the world will know what a damn good job
the Royal Military Police is doing.
- Sir. - Sir.
Prepare the vehicles. Await my orders to leave.
Dismissed.
Sir?
Orchover?
Is it a girl or boy?
Erm...
No news yet. We don't know.
I'm afraid I don't think there's time for that.
Cleanliness is next to godliness. I make the rules here.
[Left, right, left, right, left, right, left!]
♪ Love letters straight from... ♪
[Help! Help!]
[Help!]
Help! HELP!
Help!
I like your nightie.
Oh, er, it's...
Frilly.
Yes.
Is he good at fucking?
Your handsome husband.
Oh...
Why aren't the raid party bringing in Starfish themselves?
They're on foot.
Why?
It was going to be 1 Para,
but the terrain makes a parachute drop impossible,
and the chopper's too noisy,
so it's a speed-march in from the coast.
Royal Marine Commandos?
Oh. They do exist, then.
It's a great honour for any member of this regiment to serve
with the SAS.
Captain Page was halfway between leaving us and joining them
when he was killed.
They've asked for us to do this with them.
It's a tribute?
Yes. That's exactly what it is.
Weapons party, weapons in the hangar, now!
What?
Ed, have a word. Make sure he's ready for this.
Sir.
Lance Corporal Armstrong, let's have a look at that ankle of yours.
The Dhala Road, sir...
Yeah, sometimes it's better to just get on and do something
and not talk about it.
Sir. Sorry, sir.
Everything I know about soldiering, I've learned from Orchover.
No harm in asking your corporal for advice.
OK, men, two minutes to zero hour.
- Does this hurt? - Yeah.
- Here? - Yes.
- This? - Ow!
Well, you're not fit for this.
You're going to have to stay here and hold the fort with me.
Er, it's not anywhere in battle-dress regulations,
but there's a convention that one roll up from the elbow is right.
It's not. It isn't enough.
I go a whole roll higher -- that takes you clear of the muscle,
then the arm has maximum freedom of movement.
People laugh at me,
but it can mean a quarter of a second quicker reloading.
I've seen fatal delay.
I know what a quarter of a second can mean.
Load up!
It's the reporter.
It's the Seven Dwarves.
Which Jeep am I in?
Yusra, I came to thank you.
I'm alone. You must go.
It's dangerous for me.
Look, if you don't want me to talk to you again,
just tell me now and I won't.
No-one can know I helped you escape. Promise me.
How did you know it was a scorpion?
Well, it's always a scorpion,
unless it's a snake.
Oh, I had a snake my first week here.
Where was it?
Oh, you have to check every time.
Where?
Bottom of the bed.
There's a little blood.
You have to push! This baby has to be born now!
That's it.
There, there. There we are. The baby's out.
[It's OK.]
Fetch the doctor.
Where's my baby?
Is it all right?
Oh...
This is Mary Markham's.
You should be naked in bed with your brand-new husband.
There'll be a time for nighties.
Where are they going today?
Upcountry, which is a euphemism.
Well, it's best we don't know too much.
Is that what he said?
In case the NLF kidnap us, and tie us to a tree,
and take away our virtue, and force us to tell them battle plans
we've been discussing with our husbands?
Hmm...
Do you love him?
Of course.
In every breath and between every breath?
Yes.
You must love Ed very much.
Why do you say that?
I don't know,
just the way you talk about love.
Quickly, we're coming through!
Ah!
Call him Peter.
- Doctor? - Yes?
The baby -- Peter.
My husband, Major Markham,
I don't want him worrying.
- Please don't tell him. - Mmm...
It's only seven miles, Stoneham.
It'll be over before you know it.
You sit up front.
Thank you.
Foot down. Straight ahead.
Don't look at anything other than the road, OK?
Let's go!
Contact front!
First time?
We're behind time. Mile and a half.
We'll run in. Move!
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
- Are you all right? - Yes, sir.
So pick it up. Come on. Come on.
- Nine hours, we calculate... - Sir?
.. that you were out there.
Yes, sir.
Erm... Did anyone help you in any way?
No. Nobody.
You stayed away from people?
That's right.
Good.
Sir, I can't feel my foot...
Oh, no, that's good. You keep it in there.
~
They're here.
My dresses!
No more frilly nighties for you.
♪ Close the door Light the light
♪ We're staying home tonight
♪ Far away... ♪
We should go to the club.
The club?
The BP Club. Let's go.
Oh, but the men'll be back soon and...
You can swim and lie in the sun and come back glowing for your Joe.
♪ In a world of our own
♪ We'll build a world of our own that no-one else can share
♪ All our sorrows we'll leave far behind... ♪
Ally?
Alison?
♪ And I know you will find... ♪
♪ There'll be peace of mind
♪ When we live in a world of our own
♪ Oh, my love Oh, my love
♪ I've cried for you so much
♪ Lonely nights without sleeping
♪ While I longed for your touch
♪ Now your lips can erase the heartache I've known
♪ Come with me to a world of our own
♪ We'll build a world of our own that no-one else can share
♪ All our sorrows we'll leave far behind us there
♪ And I know you will find... ♪
Did you know Nick Page well?
Yes.
It was hard for Joe, anyway, following in his footsteps,
and now he's dead it's even harder...
Really? Oh! Oh, my.
♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh... ♪
Bring the squad to a halt!
What's that?
It's my father, sir.
Nothing that can identify a soldier comes with us, ever.
We don't exist.
Show me your feet.
- I'm fine, sir... - Boots off, soldier.
It's just blisters, sir.
Jesus Christ.
I didn't want to let anyone down, sir.
You didn't want to let your regiment down.
I'll be fine, sir.
I can't tell you how many deaths I've seen
caused by pride masquerading as bravery.
We won't make it to the target on time, sir.
We will.
Packs off!
Swap out.
Two hours -- we'll be back for you.
No... Sarge, just get me a beer later, all right?
♪ Face in every flower... ♪
[Johnny, get over here!]
♪ Your eyes in stars above... ♪
Oh, what's that smell?
Fish and chips, gin, Ambre Solaire...
This is my favourite place in the world.
Who's that?
Harvey Tilbrook.
What does he do?
He says he's a BP man.
- He says? - He's not.
How do you know he's not?
Oilmen never take their jackets off.
So what does he really do?
(He's a big fat spy.)
Ah! Lassie or Elvis?
Hello, Harvey. What are you talking about?
With Mrs M still in hospital, you're in charge of Christmas,
and the club needs to know the Christmas afternoon film.
The Third Man.
This is Joe Martin's wife.
Nick Page's replacement,
so actually it's you in charge of Christmas.
Your husband outranks her husband.
Hmm... I hear you work for BP.
My husband swears by BP.
We almost ran out of petrol once in Norfolk
because he wouldn't stop at an Esso garage.
16 miles south of Cromer on the A14.
Can we get a drink while you two talk about roads in East Anglia?
The usual, Clive.
Certainly, ma'am.
Oh, a bitter lemon.
With a twist?
Yes, please.
You stick a double in that and put it on my tab.
I can't seem to stop shivering.
You're cold because that's what happens when you lose blood.
It's not...
It... It's not...
Could I have a word, Doctor?
Oh...
- It's not stopping. - I can see that.
- Well, perhaps Colonel Amery... - No, I can fix this.
How?
Get the anaesthetist. Let's get her under.
- For what? - Hysterectomy.
- But Colonel Amery... - Just get the anaesthetist, Nurse.
Take up defensive positions.
It's a Land Rover...
.. not a Jeep.
I could show you around.
Sure. What?
The Land Rover, it...
The door comes off, so when you're jumping in and out
you don't have to bother about a door to open and close all the time.
Slow down.
Relieve Orchover, Stoneham.
If anything happens out here, you're on your own.
We have responsibility for each other,
but not for you.
Thank you.
It makes a change not to be patronised by a man in uniform,
and it makes my job of reporting on who you kill and how and why,
so much easier.
And now he wants to perform a hysterectomy.
Oh. Who's the doctor?
- Dr Rankin. - Hmm...
It's not lack of experience in junior doctors that kills patients,
it's pride. Who is she?
Her name's Mary Markham.
- Oh, my God! - You know her?
- I was at Sandhurst with Harry Markham. - Oh...
We're in, sir.
- For what? - Hysterectomy.
- Close her up. - Sir?
Get me six feet of rolled bandage, soak it in iodine
and fold it three times.
- Sir... - A big hole in the groin from a piece of shrapnel
and it wouldn't stop bleeding,
so we packed it tight with every bandage we had.
I mean, we really jammed it in.
Sergeant Paul Miller in Malaya, 2nd of June, 1957.
We're going to do the same thing with Mary Markham.
What are you all looking at? Move.
I'm sure it'll be fine, sir.
I don't like us being in one place for too long.
I meant Mrs Markham.
Right. Yes, of course.
Do you want a drink with me some time?
Mmm, mmm...
I think the answer's yes... about Joe.
In bed?
Mm-hmm.
Good.
That's good.
Of course, it means he's had other girls --
dress rehearsals for you.
But you need to be the one.
You need to be surprising,
and unpredictable and profound.
I want you to be happy.
Let's swim.
The bleeding's stopped.
Sergeant Miller in Malaya -- did he live?
The risk of infection is high.
But did he live?
Get her husband here now.
- Understood. - Thank you, Doctor.
It's Mrs Markham, sir. She's... It's touch and go.
They've asked for the Major.
Let's go.
Load up!
I'm sorry about Nick Page.
Can you dive?
No.
I'll teach you.
Come on.
Oh, erm...
All right?
- Yeah. Well, what if there's something in the...? - Arms up.
- Arms up. - Arms up.
- Head down. - Oh, no, hold on, how deep is it?
It's deep enough.
- Oh... - Kick your legs out.
That's all there is to it.
Ah!
Very good.
What are you doing that for?
The sharks don't like it.
- Oh... - Huh?
Should have a shark net, really, but stones seem to work.
Oh, Harvey!
Come on.
There we go.
Very graceful.
Alison? Alison!
Whoo!
Ah...
Hey! Armstrong!
Stop, stop, stop!
Sergeant! Sarge...
- Retreat! Fire! - Fall back!
Enemy fire!
Contact front. Fall back to the AOP.
Sir, we should go and find them.
Not our orders.
What if they've got Starfish
and they make it back here and we're gone?
- Man down! - Man down!
- Contact rear! - Contact rear!
Dimarco, move!
Right flanking!
Go! Move! Move!
Let's go.
Re-org! Re-org on me!
Re-org! Re-org!
Move! Move!
Ready, ready, ready!
We've got to move. We've got to move or we'll die here.
Shit.
Cliff! Dimarco, move!
Go, go, go!
Oh, God.
Ready.
- One at a time, go! - Sir.
Climb fast. Don't stop. Don't think.
- Sir? - Dimarco...
I... Look, I don't know how to say this...
What is it?
I'm... I'm frightened of heights, sir.
Who the hell is that?
Halt!
- Sir... - Yes.
It's your wife. You need to turn around and come back now.
Just don't look down.
~
Climb, and don't look...
Sir!
Shit...
Captain...
I can't make this decision...
.. choosing between my wife and my men...
I understand.
You have to make it for me.
We can't leave them out there.
Mary Markham is being looked after.
Let's go.
Ugh, come on...
~
Stop!
No!
Mercy!
Do you believe in God?
Yes.
Good.
Pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day
our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us...
.. and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom --
the power and the glory are yours forever and ever.
Amen.
Sir, it's Dimarco...
You can't do that.
It's my job.
They knew. They know.
It's there for us to see.
It might be an ambush.
Sir, we should do something. Sir?
Miss Franklin!
Miss Franklin...
~
(Christ...) Baxter, no!
Don't touch it, Sergeant -- it may be booby-trapped.
~
If you were to apply for compassionate leave,
you'd probably get it, because you'd be applying to me.
He fought in the Great War, your father?
He doesn't like to talk about it.
Men don't.
There's a photograph of him, in uniform.
He looks...
.. like a...
.. proper soldier.
Perhaps you could show it to me sometime.
I don't have it any more.
But...
.. you could talk to him, couldn't you? Have you ever...
.. talked to him about it?
- I'll drive you to the hospital, sir. - Thank you.
Your father likes your hair combed this way.
Perfect.
Oh, George!
Daddy's coming! Daddy!
Dad! Daddy!
He's going to see your new baby brother.
But he promised.
~
I've been learning Arabic, and my dresses are here.
Have you been drinking?
A little. Oh, Joe, there's a most wonderful club.
Who did you go with?
Alison Laithwaite. She's a friend already.
- She can't be. - What? Why?
Her husband is not an easy man, and I'm superior in rank to him.
- Well, you can sort that out. - Not if my wife is undermining me!
- What do you mean? - Through her relationship with Alison Laithwaite.
- Alison doesn't care about that kind of thing. - I do!
I care.
And it isn't Alison Laithwaite who's putting her life on the line.
♪ Silent night
♪ Holy night
♪ All is calm
♪ All is bright
♪ Proud young virgin, mother and child
♪ Holy infant, so tender and mild... ♪
Hello, Major. Can I help you?
I'm looking for my wife.
- And the mortuary. - Right this way.
♪ Sleep in heavenly peace. ♪
Peter, this is Daddy.
Hello, Peter.
There. That's your lovely daddy.
Oh, Peter.
Hello, Dad.
It's Alex. It's your son.
Dad, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
Yeah. Yeah, I do, I remember. The old songs, yeah.
You first?
♪ There was a soldier, a Scottish soldier
♪ Who wandered far away, and soldiered far away... ♪
I saw a shooting star.
They're dead.
That's what you're seeing.
A death.
I'll get you another.
- You must be missing him terribly. - Ed, you don't have to do this.
You don't have anyone else to talk to.
Your wife, she's embarrassing herself.
- And you. - I'm not embarrassed.
About that reporter -- the world cannot see the photographs she took.
~
- Why are you here? - Because I like you.
- Are you disobeying my order? - Yes, sir, I am.
After all we've been though,
and who we've lost, I want to make this Christmas one to remember.
Oh, God!