Hope And Glory Filming Location: Where Is The Comedy-War Drama Filmed?

What if your once peaceful life turns upside down after a war breaks out in the country you live with your family and you are forced to grow up between constant bombing and fights while your family tries to keep it together despite the financial hardships caused by the lack of work during the war as everyone is scared to lose their life in next bombing?

As everyone knows, the current situation regarding the war between Palestine and Iran has forced the kids to grow up and mature faster due to them losing their parents daily in bombing, a comedy-war drama titled “Hope And Glory” showcased war’s reality was made in 1987 for viewers to enjoy.

Based on the personal experience of John Boorman’s childhood, the war film depicted and focused on his experience while growing up during the war with his family struggling to make ends meet while he and his friends tried to find something viable in the rubble caused by the constant bombings.

Directed by John Boorman, the war drama stars Sarah Miles playing the role of Grace, Clive’s wife David Hayman playing the role of Clive, a soldier, Derrick O’Connor playing the role of Mac, Susan Wooldridge playing Molly’s role, Ian Bannen playing the role of Grandfather George, Sammi Davis playing the role of Dawn.

Clive’s daughter and Jean-Marc Barr playing Bruce’s role in the lead. Hope and Glory failed to make an impression on the audience, thus getting only a few positive responses, and barely managed to have a box office collection of $10 M with an initial investment of $9.3 M.

Even though the film didn’t do well amongst the audience, a sequel by the same production house was announced titled “Queen And Country,” which got its release in 2014, with the story of an older Bill playing a soldier during the Korean War being the prime focus.

Premise

The film titled “Hope And Glory” primarily focuses on the life of the young Billy Rowan, who is forced to live between the nightly bombings proving to be a frightening show with the thin and only lining of hope being the opportunities to rummage through the rubble with friends in the mornings.

The film starts on 3 September 1993, the ominous day that Britain declared war on Germany, before the scene shifts to telling the story of the Rohan family consisting of Billy, his two sisters named Dawn and Sue, and their parents, Clive and Grace, living in the suburban area of London.

Due to the war announcement, Clive is left with no choice but to join the army, leaving behind Grace alone to raise their kids, leading her to decide to send Billy and Sue away from London to keep them safe, but she ends up pulling them back after she realizes she couldn’t bear to part away from her children.

Grace’s decision results in Billy having to stay back in London for the war’s first year, leaving him to experience the hardships of war and witness the loss of lives that occurred due to the bombings and firing done by the Blitz.

The film shows the effect of war through the eyes of Billy, who is 10 years old and finds the fireworks [bombings] done by the Blitz equally terrifying and exciting, with the ruins and rubbles left behind due to these bombings serving as a fascinating playground for Billy and his friends, who are largely left unsupervised due the demands of parents having to work during the war.

The contrast between an adult’s perspective and a child’s perspective is shown beautifully in the film as Billy’s other family members do not see the bombing in the same way as Billy, but their will to survive brings them together and closer to each other.

Meanwhile, Dawn, Billy’s older sister, becomes pregnant after falling in love with a Canadian soldier named Bruce, who later abandons her, thus making her realize the value of her family while Rohan’s household burns down due to an ordinary fire.

After their house is burned down in a fire, Billy and his family move to live in a house located in bucolic belonging to Billy’s grandfather, thus allowing Billy to spend quality time with his grandfather, where he teaches a young Billy the ways of the river.

Soon the time goes by, and it is autumn of 1942, with Winston Churchill delivering his famous “end of the beginning” speech following which Bruce returns from his secret posting and goes to search for Dawn, and it gets revealed that Bruce didn’t abandon Dawn but he got posted secretly.

After searching for a while, Bruce finds Dawn, and the two get married in the village church, but the MPs take Bruce away, leaving Dawn to give birth to their son alone in her grandfather’s house surrounded by her family, and Billy swoons at the sight of his sister giving birth.

Meanwhile, Billy is forced to return to London to continue his studies until he gets admission into the local school, leaving George to drive the miserable child to his old school only to notice the block is filled with screaming, euphoric children as a stray bomb destroys the building.

After discovering the school’s condition, a laughing George drives Billy back home, and the film ends with an adult Billy recalling the joy he felt seeing his old school in ruins with the music of “: Land of Hope and Glor” playing in the background.

Filming Locations

Surrey, England 

Known to be the mostly wooded country and for its beautiful views, in the southeast part of England, a ceremonial county, Surrey was used by the production crew of “Hope and Glory” to film some important sequences of the war drama film.

Shepperton, Surrey, was used by the film’s production crew to film the part with the grandfather’s house located by the Thames where Billy and his family moved after their house burned down in fire, and Wisley, Surry, was used by the crew to film the part where Billy and his family lived before the fire. 

Sussex, England

Known for its strong traditions of bonfire celebrations and its musical heritage, a beautiful cultural region located in the south region of England, Sussex, was used by the crew to film some parts of the film. Saltdean, Brighton, West Sussex, was used by the production crew to film the part with beach scenes.   

London, England 

Known for its rich history and culture, the beautiful capital of England, London, was used by the production crew of Hope and Glory to film some of the important parts of the war drama.

Queen’s Manor Primary School, London, was used by the crew to film the part with Bill’s school and the ending sequence where Bill and his grandfather notice the school in ruins, and The Vine Inn, England, was used to film the part with the pub where Bill’s dad enlisted himself for military service.