This year is the centenary of the conflict sometimes known as the Great War. That probably qualifies as an oxymoron. It was on an unprecedented scale but was, like all wars, tragic rather than grand.

Tonight I have watched a documentary with Jeremy Paxman which is what has brought it particularly to mind. I am sure there will be many more such programmes during the course of the year; I hope they demonstrate the same measured evaluation as Paxman’s show and that, in remembering, we will learn lessons for our age and for ourselves.