Case file · Series 11, Episode 1
Shot at Dawn
A village feud dating from a First World War execution erupts when a retired colonel is abducted for a grotesque mock firing squad.
The 60-second case card
Should I watch this one?
Donald Sinden and George Cole give a 90-year grievance enough force to threaten a new generation.
- Best for
- First World War · Family feud · Military execution
- Mood
- Dark
- Team
- DCI Tom Barnaby with DS Ben Jones
- Spoiler guidance
- Read the premise freely; open the marked sections only after watching. This is not a complete content advisory.
Why it matters
Donald Sinden and George Cole give a 90-year grievance enough force to threaten a new generation.
A village feud dating from a First World War execution erupts when a retired colonel is abducted for a grotesque mock firing squad.
The Hicks and Hammond families still contest the wartime execution of Tommy Hicks, condemned after testimony associated with the Hammonds. Retired Colonel Henry Hammond is abducted and subjected to a mock execution before a later attack turns the long-running ritual of humiliation into murder.
Barnaby and Jones examine memorials, military records and the younger relatives inheriting a feud they did not begin. Remote mechanisms allow violence to look ceremonial and public, but the planning behind them is intensely contemporary.
Break the seal: reveal the finding
The inherited feud creates several plausible enemies, but the modern killings serve a present family interest. Barnaby follows the remote-control engineering beyond the commemorative performance.
Open the full research dossierProduction, cast, forensics, deaths and filming evidence
Credits, context and checked facts
The episode file
- TV series
- Series 11
- Episode number
- Episode 1
- Written by
- Michael Aitkens
- Directed by
- Richard Holthouse
- Listed transmission date(s)
- 1 January 2008
- Reported filming period
- July–August 2007
- Detective
- DCI Tom Barnaby
- Partner
- DS Ben Jones
- Pathologist
- Dr George Bullard · Barry Jackson
- Principal setting
- Midsomer Parva
- Casebook tone
- Dark
Check the credits, then follow the source trail for production and filming details. Counts below describe this archive’s records.
The fictional setting and the real filming sites are separate pieces of information. The location desk currently connects it to 5 broader filming areas and 5 exact on-screen site identities.
Credits and archive connections
- Writer ledger9 episodes credited to Michael Aitkens
- Director ledger16 episodes directed by Richard Holthouse
- Release positionCase 60 of 144
- Story characterDark · First World War · Family feud
- Location evidence5 exact screen-use matches
St Mary's Churchyard at Cuddington represents the burial ground at the centre of the Hicks–Hammond dispute.
Thame Village Hall becomes Causton Town Hall, while Princes Risborough's information centre supplies a social-services office.
Sources for the production file
Published episode chronology and credits ↗Official ITV programme page ↗Filming-location reference index ↗The chronology is the reference for the credits shown here. A programme homepage does not independently verify a filming date or every production detail. Where multiple transmission dates are listed, territory attribution needs checking. Story, teleplay and adaptation distinctions require the original credit wording; links to external synopses may reveal plot details.
Selected episode credits
Guest cast on file
Selected profiles and published cast-list entries. Database records are linked individually; this is not a full transcription or an independent check against the end credits.
Donald Sinden
Published cast record ↗George Cole
Published cast record ↗Samantha Bond
Published cast record ↗Malcolm Sinclair
Published cast record ↗Tom Harper
Published cast record ↗The performers behind this case
Core cast
Actor profiles for the detective, investigating partner and pathologist credited to this episode.
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John Nettles
Tom Barnaby · Detective Chief InspectorAn English actor, author and narrator who was already a household name as Jersey detective Jim Bergerac. After Bergerac he spent five seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later returned to television drama in Poldark.
- Bergerac
- Poldark
- Royal Shakespeare Company
Jason Hughes
Ben Jones · Police Constable · Detective Sergeant · InspectorA Welsh actor who first became widely known as Warren Jones in the BBC drama This Life. His later television work includes Marcella and The Pact, alongside substantial theatre work at venues including the Donmar Warehouse and Royal Court.
- This Life
- Marcella
- The Pact
Barry Jackson
Dr George Bullard · Police pathologistAn English stage and screen character actor whose career lasted more than five decades. His credits ranged from the landmark television play Cathy Come Home to Doctor Who, Barry Lyndon and many familiar British television dramas.
- Cathy Come Home
- Doctor Who
- Barry Lyndon
Portraits are used only where a reusable licence or public-domain release has been verified. Publicity stills and stock photographs are not copied into this independent guide.
Forensic desk
Dr George Bullard
- Credit
- Resident pathologist
- Played by
- Barry Jackson
Causton's long-serving pathologist is professionally unflappable, quietly witty and an old friend of Tom Barnaby.
Meet the Casebook pathologists →Spoiler-controlled deaths desk
Deaths recorded in this case
3 source rows represent 3 people in the current ledger.
Break the seal: reveal the death ledger
- Tommy Hicks
Accidental, natural or other · Other recorded death
- Colonel Henry Hammond
Murder · Gunshot
- Johnny Hammond
Murder · Gunshot
Real place → fictional identity
What was filmed where?
St Mary's Churchyard
Used as: The churchyard contains the fictional Hicks and Hammond family graves.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.
Village house
Used as: The property becomes Will Hicks's studio.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.The Jolly Woodman
Used as: The real pub supplies the local pub interiors.
Former information centre
Used as: The civic building becomes a social-services office.
Thame Village Hall
Used as: The hall is dressed as Causton Town Hall.
Representative photograph of the real filming location; the exact camera angle or building may differ.Building identities are cross-checked against the Casebook's published filming-location references. A named match describes the part used on screen, not the whole village and not necessarily an interior.
Wider filming areas
Places connected to this file
Beaconsfield
Old-town architecture, churches and nearby estates have supplied homes, police buildings and village streets throughout the run.
Open location →Cuddington
Cottages, halls, churchyard and village shop have supplied police bases, family homes and community events.
Open location →Haddenham
The duck pond, witchert walls, shops and village buildings have portrayed numerous Midsomer communities.
Open location →
Nettlebed
The village and its Crocker End hamlet have doubled for greens, halls, pubs and festival settings.
Open location →Thame
A versatile Causton and village backdrop whose town hall, museum, shops and surrounding estates take many identities.
Open location →