As far as being left behind Jom - It was you wasn't it who tried to tell us all that in 1914 there was no work in Liverpool and that the only alternative was to join the Army and that the men available were all stupid enough, gullible enough to be hood-winked by lies told to them by the Government on the following promises:

1: That it would be over by Christmas
2: That they would be fighting the war to end war
3: That they would return to a land fit for heroes with everything they could possibly want provided for them

Only trouble was that in 1914 Liverpool was in the middle of a building boom so there was no shortage of jobs for unskilled labour. After War was declared there was no need for anybody to go out recruiting as the recruiting offices were overwhelmed by volunteers. Also no promises of any such kind as those detailed above were ever made to anyone during the entire course of the war.

As far as Jom's personal family history goes as far as his life in the UK goes he manages to take "victimhood" to new and never to be surpassed levels - The family motto being - "It always somebody else's fault".

"No new information of any significance has been discovered over that last twenty years - what has happened is that, at the centenary of the war a group of historians have decided to rehabilitate WW1 as well led and acceptable, and have adopted the extremely insulting tactic of suggesting that the British people's knowledge of that war is based on a television sit-com."

So no new information of any significance in the last 20 years:
- Hitherto unknown information from the Russians, Germans, French, Belgians
- Material released and declassified by the British Government
- Foreign material previously untranslated
- The personal records of former WW1 veterans who have died and their diaries have been donated to various museums
- Archeological work carried out across the former battlefields in advance of major infrastructure projects in Belgium and Northern France (Hey Jom it was on one of those within the last two years when it was discovered how it was that the Germans could pop up behind our guys on the first day of the Battle of the Somme - hitherto unknown, is that significant?)
- Major work related to the hundreds of thousands of letters and diaries held by the Imperial War Museum (Guess what Jom? - No mention of Summary Executions, Special Groups of Military Police and no mention at all about being forced over the top at gun point)

Now why would those Historians do that Jom? They would open themselves to ridicule by their peers and lose whatever reputation they had - they would be committing professional suicide. But there has been no ridicule, not a single thing that they have said has been challenged, most certainly nothing such as the disapprobation heaped on the works of the "revisionists" A.J.P. Taylor or Alan Clark when they wrote on the subject of the First World War.

(Note: Just for GUEST & GUEST Dave's benefit:

Those who wrote about the First World War from 1918 to 1929 were generally those who took part in it.

Those who wrote about it between 1929 and 1969 were "The Revisionists" as they disagreed with those who actually fought the War.

Those who wrote about it from 1970 onward armed with far more detailed information than the "Revisionists" generally agree with those who wrote in the period 1918 to 1929 and have discredited and disproved work done by the Revisionists.)

Lastly Jom I do not think at any time discussing this subject have I ever introduced as evidence that something happened the script of a televised drama - YOU HAVE, on more than one occasion - I do not rely on the drama department of either the BBC or ITV to support any statement I make. And Dr Gary Sheffield is not the only historian to lament the fact that most people's perceptions of the Great War far from being based on actual historical fact are based on shows such as "Blackadder Goes Forth" and "Oh What A Lovely War".

I see that the emoji-king still has got absolutely S.F.A. to say - so no surprises there.

Guest Dave - Ian Beckett, any chance of you actually highlighting where he takes the diametrically opposite view from the likes of Dr. Gary Sheffield on anything relating to the First World War? Don't worry I won't hold my breath - Reviews of Beckett's work are hardly recommendations.