In June 1940, British citizens prepared for an imminent German onslaught. Hitler's troops had overrun Holland, Belgium and France in quick succession, and the British people anticipated that an invasion would soon be upon them.

From July to October, they watched the Battle of Britain play out in the skies above them, aware that the result would decide their fate. From September through to the following May, the Blitz killed more than 43,000 civilians. For a year, the citizens of Britain were effectively front-line soldiers in a battle which united the country against a hated enemy.

Joshua Levine has delved deep into the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive to unearth previously unpublished accounts from the men and women who witnessed the battles and the bombs. We hear first-hand testimonies from the soldiers, airmen, fire-fighters, air raid wardens and civilians, people in the air and on the ground, giving us a thrilling account of Britain under siege.

Forgotten Voices of the Blitz and the Battle for Britain is the definitive oral history of a period when Britain came closer to being overwhelmed by the enemy than at any other time in modern history.

Read by: Simon MacCorkindale