The Monocled Mutineer

What happens when a controversial real-life figure becomes the centre of one of the BBC’s most politically charged wartime dramas?

In this episode, we revisit The Monocled Mutineer (1986), Alan Bleasdale’s adaptation of the story of Percy Toplis — alleged ringleader of the 1917 Étaples mutiny. The four-part series drew huge audiences but quickly became a flashpoint in debates over historical accuracy, media bias, and the BBC’s role in shaping national memory.

We unpack the drama’s reception, the historical evidence (or lack thereof) behind Toplis’s role in the mutiny, and how the show explored themes of class, power, and military discipline in the First World War.

References

Emma Hanna, The Great War on the Small Screen: Representing the First World War in Contemporary Britain (2009)
John Buchan, The 39 Steps (1915)
William Hussey, The Boy I loved (2025)
Boys from the Black Stuff (1982)
Dope Girls (2025)
The Crimson Field (2014)
Hornblower (1998-2003)
Masters of the Air (2024)
Sharpe (1993-2008)

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Professor of Modern British History at Leeds University. My research interests lie at the intersection of the histories of gender, particularly masculinity, medicine and warfare.

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A historian focusing on the First World War and popular representations of warfare. I received my PhD from the University of Sussex in 2013. My thesis examined relations between British and French soldiers during the First World War.

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Is a Visiting Research Fellow at Leeds University. My current research focuses on manpower and authority in Britain, starting with the First World War and running through until the end of the Second World War.