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It was the greatest drama we’ve ever been through.
I first became interested when…
As a kid, I read Commando comics and played soldiers, with World War II as a kind of reference point – but then I completely lost interest. I was actually more interested in Romans and Greeks growing up, while my father used to take my brother [historian Tom Holland] and I off to see Sealed Knot battles, where thousands of enthusiasts would re-enact events of the English Civil War. When I was at secondary school and university, I did no 20th-century history whatsoever. My specialist subject was the 17th century – so the Restoration, the Civil War again, and all the rest.
That all changed when I was in my 20s. I remember very clearly going to Hyde Park, on what must have been the 50th anniversary of VE Day [in 1995]. It was a huge commemorative event – the largest since 1945. That piqued my interest in a big way. Shortly afterwards, I remember playing cricket, when an old aircraft came over and started doing its stuff. When I asked the umpire what it was, he replied: ‘That’s a Spitfire’. Literally the next week, I took myself off to IWM Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, for its ‘Flying Legends’ air show – and that was it. I’ve been obsessed ever since.
My favourite period or conflict…
World War II, always. It’s the scale of it and the fact that, from a Western point of view, it was the greatest drama we’ve ever been through. But what’s really interesting is the human element. However much you get into it, it always comes back to human experience. Whether you’re a frontline soldier, a civilian at home, a pilot in the skies above Europe, or a partisan in the mountains of Italy, it comes down to that.
The figure I most admire…
Field Marshal the Earl Alexander (1891-1969). He was a brilliant general, a proper hero, and a role model. He was the most experienced battlefield commander on any side in WWII, because he’d commanded troops at every rank. He could also speak seven languages and was a brilliant artist. And he was just effortlessly charming – an interesting character, with a profound sense of honour and duty. I’d do anything to have a conversation with him.
My dream dinner party…
Alexander would be there, and then so would photographer Lee Miller. She’d be fantastic. I think Christine Granville (aka Krystyna Skarbek, the WWII Polish agent who worked for the British Special Operations Executive) would also be amazing. You’d want to mix it up a bit. I wouldn’t want Monty (below) – because he’d dominate. But Colonel Don Blakeslee, the Spitfire pilot who flew more missions against the Luftwaffe than any other American, would be great.
A book that changed me…
Eagle Day by Richard Collier, published in 1966. Because it’s the first book I read really about WWII. It’s all about the Battle of Britain, and it’s told in a very journalistic way – but it’s just a fabulous read and remains my favourite book about the period.
My favourite war film…
The Cruel Sea (1953), starring Jack Hawkins and directed by Charles Frend from the novel by Nicholas Monsarrat (see ‘War Classics’, MHM February/March 2024). I just think it’s a brilliant film, terrifically acted. Everyone in it had been in the war, and they were using real wartime corvettes, so everything’s absolutely spot on. It’s a fantastic study of character and hardship.
Another film that is very accurate and realistic is The Thin Red Line (1998), Terrence Malick’s adaptation of James Jones’ 1962 novel about the conflict at Guadalcanal during World War II. Some of it was actually shot on Guadalcanal, and the action is second to none. MHM
James Holland is a historian who specialises in the history of World War II. His many books include The Savage Storm: the battle for Italy 1943, which won MHM’s Book of the Year Award 2024, and he co-hosts (with comedian Al Murray) the WWII podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk. His latest book is Cassino ’44: the bloodiest battle of the Italian Campaign, and his recent novel, Alvesdon, is published in paperback on 2 January 2025.
(Photo: Bantam Press)
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