All the King’s Men

This BBC drama portrays the events leading up to and surrounding the disappearance at Gallipoli in 1915 of the Sandringham Company, made up of the King’s household staff. Led by estate manager Captain Frank Beck (David Jason), the company left their rural existence to fight in the Great War, and the news of their deaths in battle brought home the reality of the conflict to the royals for the first time. After the war, the Royal Family sent a special envoy to the region to try and discover what had happened to the company, but the truth was never fully revealed.Synopsis
An all-star cast portrays this most poignant and mysterious event of the First World War – the disappearance in action of the Sandringham Company at Gallopoli in 1915.
Commanded by the Estate Manager, Captain Frank Beck (David Jason), they were just ordinary men – servants, grooms and gardeners – drawn from the staff of the King’s private residence. They left an idyllic rural existence for the fatally ill-prepared campaign and their deaths brought the horrors of the First World War to the heart of the establishment – and to the Royal Family itself. After the war a special envoy was sent at the behest of Queen Alexandra (Maggie Smith) to discover what fate had befallen the entire company. But the truth was never fully revealed…