Emmerdale has aired more than its share of complicated love stories over the decades — Moira and Cain and Robron to name only a few.
Yet, there was a love story that played out in the real village that inspired Emmerdale that had been lost to the sands of time… until now. Thanks to ITV’s new factual series Emmerdale 1918, fans re-lived this tragic romance on Thursday (September 27).
The new series was commissioned in honour of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I to share stories of how the conflict impacted the village of Esholt — where Emmerdale was filmed until 1996.
Last week focused on the life of a ‘lost Dingle family member’, whereas Thursday’s episode featured Laurel Thomas (aka Charlotte Bellamy) travelling to the real pub that inspired the Woolpack, for the story of the couple that owned it and their 22-year-old son Joshua Booth.
Joshua was among those who volunteered to fight in World War I, a decision that tore him away from both his love Winnie and his pub to fight for his country on the frontlines in Belgium.
“From this street, 11 men went to war,” Laurel was told of the Woolpack’s community.
Despite being under-trained, Joshua and his regiment eventually found themselves behind enemy lines during the deadliest battle in World War I in the Somme Offensive, which killed more than 57,000 people.
Laurel was determined to find out if Joshua survived, and tracked down a letter to Winnie from the front in 1917 that sadly confirmed that she married another man while he was away. Like many soap romances, theirs was a love story fatefully not meant to be.
Ultimately, Laurel learned that Joshua and two others from his company were tragically killed on December 17, 1917 — at the tail-end of the war. It was a stark reminder of the cruel human toll of warfare.
“It’s very sobering to think that this young man who left a Yorkshire village where he was pulling pints went on a journey… and then he died,” Laurel sombrely noted. “He didn’t really have a life.”
In total, 49 soldiers came back to Esholt from the war.
Emmerdale 1918 continues next Thursday (October 4) at 8.30pm on ITV when Zoe Henry researches the remarkable story of a Yorkshire man who changed the course of veterinary science through his service in the war.
Digital Spy Soap Scoop video – hit play below for all the latest Emmerdale spoilers, as Robert and Aaron get married and Ross gives into his feelings for Rebecca.
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