It's no exaggeration to say that the world in which we live was forged in the blast furnace that was World War Two. As a social and cultural historian, I find myself less interested in the geo-political or economic arguments and considerations - important as they are - and more intrigued by the thoughts, hopes and goals of the individual and how they tied in to the overall experience of society.

We are, without a doubt, the last generation of historians who are able to question men and women who were alive and in the centre of events and are, therefore, in a race against time. Yes oral history is full of pitfalls and often raises more questions than answers, but not to record the voices and memories of those that are left would, in my opinion, be nothing short of an academic loss of unimaginable proportions.

Of particular note, I hope readers will find the stories of the Polish men I have interviewed to be of interest. Their recollections, while ably recorded in their mother tongue, have, for one reason or another, often been overlooked by British historians.

A key resource for researching Poland at war has been the archives at the Sikorski Museum: www.sikorskimuseum.co.uk

Polish antipodeans, or antipodeans of Polish descent should also take the time to visit www.researchinstitute.org.au