10 Rillington Place begins in 1944 with John Christie murdering his neighbour Muriel Eady: he lures her to his flat in 10 Rillington Place by promising to cure her bronchitis with a "special mixture", then incapacitates her with Town Gas, strangles her with a piece of rope, and has (implied) sex with her corpse. He buries her in his flat block's communal garden, where a dog uncovers one of his previous victims. In 1949, Tim and Beryl Evans move into 10 Rillington Place, west London, with their infant daughter Geraldine. Beryl is pregnant again and attempts an abortion by taking some pills. When
In Which We Serve is being rushed into commission as the possibility of war becomes a near certainty. The ship spends a relatively quiet Christmas in the north of Scotland during the Phoney War. But by 1940, the "Torrin" is taking part in a naval battle off the coast of Norway. During the action, a terrified young sailor (an uncredited Richard Attenborough in his first acting role) leaves his station while another rating (Mills) returns to work his gun after its crew is knocked unconscious by a torpedo strike. The damaged "Torrin" is towed back to port, all the time being harried by dive-bombers.