Where did I did that from ? First hand from a veteran, as I said. I heard it and so your opinion of it sheds an intersting light, for me, on your opinions.

The people behind "Oh! What a lovely War" were doing it a time when there were plenty of people around to pass comment based on first-hand experience. I don't know what my grandfather's view was, but as a blue card carrying reader of the Daily Mail I doubt it was unthinking acceptance.

Cosy little argument you can have when those who remember the mud, and the rest, are all gone.

I suppose you could say that they were all too close to it to have an objective view - the standard way for [some] academics and armchair experts to minimise the value of first-hand experience "Ah yes, but you were there, you will have a biased opinion".