Talk:A Family at War

Accent
Despite being set in Liverpool none of the regular characters spoke with a scouse accent.

Actually, I think you'll find that the scouse accent was very subdued in what was then the 'middle classes' and if someone wanted to 'get on in the world' the broad accent was eliminated or reduced as soon as possible. My mother, who grew up around Liverpool (Huyton) at that time, found work in a 'posh' department store and was sent to have elocution lessons so that she spoke in a more 'refined' manner. A bit like Grace Brothers really, but that was what they were like in the late 1930's, early 1940s. Although it was more to do with diction and pronouncing words properly and 'correctly', rather than accent alone. It was because of the 'high class' customers the store had.

IIRC, the Ashtons had a more (and probably accurate) generalised Lancashire accent than scouse. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.4.57.101 (talk) 20:33, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

As I recall not having seen the show for a lot years Colin Douglas spoke with a mild Cumbrian accent and a number of the other principal characters had 'Southern' drama school accents. I think is just more of case that in those days TV producers did not give the slightest consideration to such things. (86.140.193.76 (talk) 22:24, 6 September 2012 (UTC))

I suspect that one of the motivations for setting the programme in Liverpool rather than Manchester was that at that time many people complained, quite rightly, that Granada TV was far too Manchester-centric. Setting FAW in Liverpool was superficial to the story and the particular city did not play any fundamental role in the plot. The series could have been set in any large English city. (86.180.211.70 (talk) 00:52, 14 November 2013 (UTC))


 * It was almost certainly set in Liverpool because the city was a large port and had the Liverpool docks, and was extensively bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1940. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.7.147.13 (talk) 19:12, 14 December 2013 (UTC)