Spearhead (TV series)

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Spearhead

Spearhead was a British television series. Produced by Southern Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of three series and 19 episodes from 1978 to 1981. It featured the daily lives of a group of soldiers in 'B' Company, 1st Battalion Royal Wessex Rangers, a fictional British Army infantry regiment. Set during the late 1970s, the series is regarded as an accurate depiction of life during that time for soldiers in the army. The central character was Colour Sergeant 'Jacko' Jackson, played by Michael Billington. At the beginning of the series, the regiment is stationed in Northern Ireland, with Jackson as a section commander in a recce platoon. Upon the regiment's return to the UK, Jackson is appointed as the platoon commander - as he is not an officer, he runs the risk of being replaced by his superiors at any time.

The series shows fairly accurately life in the British Army during the 1970s, when the army had the task of trying to keep the peace in Northern Ireland. It shows the rigid class divisions in the Army of the time. The 'glass ceiling' for even the most able soldiers of working-class origin, like Jackson, is definitely there, and a constant and frustrating barrier to Jackson's achieving his ambition of becoming an officer. Early episodes of the series show the Army in an even less favourable light; two episodes deal with a petty thief who has a gambling habit, and another deals with an enlisted man going AWOL, and Jackson gets him back. Particularly controversial is an episode set in Northern Ireland, where some soldiers are portrayed as advocating a more aggressive campaign against all hostile civilians (including women and children). In addition to dodging bullets and road side explosives thanks to Britain's poor industrial relations at the time some of the other tasks assigned to the army were fire fighting with 1950s equipment and standing in for striking dustmen.

Through the run of the series, the Royal Wessex Rangers were posted to a number of locations, including to Northern Ireland, to West Germany with British Army of the Rhine, and as the resident battalion in Hong Kong.

Series Titles
- Spearhead in Ulster (first season title)
- Spearhead in Germany (second season title)
- Spearhead in Hong Kong (third season title)