I originally reviewed this excellent miniseries in 2018 soon after it was released. I watched it again because of what is happening in the region, including the Yemeni Houthi involvement in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza and the West Bank, and I was in the mood for some good entertainment. You can read that initial review here. I was able to get much more out of it the second time – there is a lot there.
I highly recommend it on the same two counts as before. Not only
is it solid entertainment – the performances across the board of the BBC
production are excellent – but also addresses the British experience in
Aden (‘Adan) in the mid-1960’s; It is somewhat applicable to the geopolitical situations in which the
United States finds itself today in the region.
"The Last Post"* follows a unit of the Royal
Military Police and their families in Aden in 1965. Newlyweds Captain Joe
Martin and his wife Honor arrive into the mix and must adapt to their new
environment and their new lives together. Throughout the community,
relationships are tested as the women struggle against what is expected of them
as British Army wives and their own preferences. At work, the soldiers fight a growing local revolutionary insurgency and face constant threats from hand grenades and snipers.
That’s the theatrical story that carries the underlying
theme – a declining empire dealing with local nationalism and confronting
“liberation” movements. It also deals with military relationships between the officers
(and their families), noncommissioned officers, and enlisted troops. It offers
insight into the British Army, still one of the best military forces in the
world. The series did not fully explain the command relationships between the
various military units in Aden, but, this is entertainment, not a documentary. An
added predictable touch is meddling from an American journalist (ably played by
Australian actress Essie Davis).
On November 30, 1967, British forces withdrew from Aden and the
independent People's Republic of South Yemen was proclaimed. It lasted until
1990 when South Yemen and North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic) merged to form the
Republic of Yemen.
We’ve seen how that has worked out. The port of Aden was the location of the October 12, 2000 terrorist attack on the US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) while the ship was conducting an ill-advised, politically-motivated refueling/“show the flag” stop in Yemen. Read my comments on that folly.
I want to give a shout out to the standout performances by
Stephen Campbell Moore as Lieutenant Ed Laithwaite (I see some of me in his
character), and Jessica Raine and Essie Davis for, well, first, being Jessica
Raine and Essie Davis. Jessica Raine’s performance as Alison Laithwaite, a
conflicted, alcoholic, unfaithful wife dealing with her marriage, is excellent,
often to the haunting rendition by Ketty Lester of “Love Letters (Straight from
Your Heart).”
I highly recommend the series. It moves quickly, and despite a few questionable military tactics, requires very little suspension of disbelief to watch.
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* The "Last Post" is a British and Commonwealth
bugle call used at end of day ceremonies, as well as military funerals, and ceremonies
commemorating those who have died in war, similar to the US armed forces’ “Taps.”
Listen to the “Last Post” by the Royal Marines at Prince Philip’s Funeral.
