I feel very strongly that it is important that we understand why the First and Second World Wars were fought and the consequences of those wars in the great ebb and flow of world history. If you want to understand the 20th century, and the world we live in, in 2014, then you have to understand the causes and consequences of both world wars. For men and boys, especially, there is an unquestionable glamour and fascination in the technology of the wars – Zeppelins and submarines, the great hulking Allied bombers like the Lancaster and the Superfortress, or the German Tiger tank and V1 and V2 rockets – and the extraordinary set piece battles of the Second World War: Stalingrad, D-Day, Pearl Harbour, The Battle of Britain – all epic in their scope and drama.