BRITISH actor, historian and television host Sir Tony Robinson arrives in Launceston today for five days of filming for a new series that will commemorate a century of war service by Australians.
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Tony Robinson's Tour of Duty will be a 10-part series to be screened on Foxtel's History Channel in early 2015.
Sir Tony and his WTFN Entertainment production team have identified more than a dozen war stories for its Tasmanian episode and starts filming at Legerwood's memorial tree reserve tomorrow.
Other stories include World War I hero Harry Murray, Tasmania's ill-fated World War II battalion the 2/40th, prisoner-of-war artist Geoffrey Tyson and naval hero Teddy Sheean.
Filming will include a special a community day on Saturday from 12.30pm to 5.30pm at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery at Inveresk
``Throughout the series, Sir Tony will travel across towns in Australia and New Zealand to tell the stories of the people who went to war and the people who stayed at home - a mixture of heroes and ordinary people,'' said History Channel spokeswoman Gabriella Facchini.
``Sir Tony will meet relatives and friends of those who have fought in battle and will encourage local residents to come forward with memories of their family's role in the many campaigns across a century of service to their countries.''
At the community day people are invited to bring along their war memorabilia for expert historians to examine.
``If they have a war relic they would like to find out more about or one that has a great story behind it, our experts can assess the item and they might even get the chance to appear on to the show,'' Ms Facchini said.
``Throughout the community day, which will be held at the museum's outdoor traverser area, locals can watch Sir Tony film and possibly make it on camera themselves, enjoy a Rotary sausage sizzle and a coffee, participate in various old-time kids activities and witness all the action of a working television production as it unfolds.''
East Launceston Primary School will be presenting Sir Tony with a time capsule, people will be dressed in reproduction WWI uniforms and there will be various stalls situated on the site, including the Launceston Historical Society, the Tasmanian Family History Society, QVMAG experts and food stalls.
Sir Tony Robinson is best known for his role as Baldrick on the hit 1980s British comedy series Blackadder, as well as hosting the long-running archaeology series Time Team and two seasons of the popular Foxtel series Tony Robinson's Time Walks which also had an episode on Launceston.
