This seemingly uncomfortable fit is heightened by the emergence of lad culture in the 90s and an increasingly jingoistic exhumation of the fallen soldiers for nationalistic and increasingly far-right causes.

As an adult historian of war and queerness, I came to understand better the tension between popular war narratives and the ones I sensed below the surface as a teenager: they tell seemingly contradictory stories about what it means to be a man. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

The army which fought for the Allies was largely composed of conscripts who were not necessarily respectful of military mores and martial manners.

And hooray to Luke Turner for producing a thought provoking and entertaining alternative to the Airfix model rendition of men at war.The self absorption has been replaced by healthy reflection, and there's a generosity towards the people who might sneer at his alleged sullying of their precious myth of British masculinity forged in the cauldron of war. The real strength of the book is in how it demonstrates the power of desire as a driving force: in intellectual curiosity, national myth-making and in writing history. There was far too much about the author's interests in the Second World War as a hobbyist, which really wasn't very interesting. Armed with the knowledge of a war aficionado, Turner cements his seat at the table alongside those who might resist his queer narrative of World War II. Engaging, with remarkable insights into aspects of WWII which I hadn't seen explored in print before.