First World War

Tony Robinson: "I thought The Somme would be forgotten"

Tony Robinson, Somme, WW1, Discovery

Robinson believed that one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history would slip from the public consciousness as the Battle of Blenheim and the Peninsular War had done before it.

In his new film for Discovery, The Somme: The First 24 Hours, the former Time Team presenter follows in the footsteps of five men who served in the Sheffield City Battalion, one of the First World War’s infamous Pals battalions.

Why is the Second World War so popular on television?

Turn on the TV on any given day and it's likely you'll stumble across something to do with the Second World War.

Whether it's new ITV drama Home Fires, reruns of Dad's Army, or a documentary about Hitler, decades after the war ended, it still dominates television schedules.

This week sees an increased output of programmes centred on the 1939-1945 conflict, as Britain commemorates the 70th anniversary of VE Day.