Looking back IN TIME

Three women explain how delving into the past enriches their lives

- CATHERINE LARNER

'It's my mission to open people's eyes, to understand how wars happen'

Vivien Whelpton, 79, is a retired English teacher living in Woodbridge, Suffolk, with her husband Barrie, 75. They have two children.

I first became interested in war studies through taking my English Literature A-Level students to the First World War battlefields of the Western Front. I needed them to get a context for the literature they were studying.

To be in the place where it happened is important.

When I saw those headstones of 18-year-olds in the cemeteries – the age of some of my students, and my own son – I was struck by how fortunate I was to be born into a place and time when I didn't have to lose my child, and how grim that must have been.

When I retired, I did an MA in War Studies to learn more, and I became a validated battlefield guide. I lead half a dozen battlefield tours a year for adults and school groups. It feels like a bit of a mission, to open people's eyes, to understand how wars happen.

I've also written a biography of the First World War poet Richard Aldington. I love the whole process of research and the weaving of a narrative, be it the story of a battle or a life. It’s a challenge to find that balance between dramatisation and keeping true to the facts.

I don’t want to trivialise the impact of the war but it does tend to be oversimplified in general. Understanding the political, cultural and military context is key. Once you start to immerse yourself in a period of history, it becomes a tapestry that’s fascinating to uncover. And I like the sense of empathy you cultivate towards the people from the past.