February 1-8 sees the 14th National Storytelling Week. With both the centenary of World War One and the 75th anniversary of World War Two starting later this year, it’s a good time to think of our families’ amazing wartime stories – but are we overlooking them as a nation?

A recent survey by bespoke autobiography service LifeBook UK has revealed that despite 64% of Brits being told war stories by a parent or grandparent, only 8% of us have recorded them for future generations – important historical events and anecdotes that will soon be lost forever.

The company polled 2,000 people and found that although 69% of them think they can remember important family stories, most haven’t written them down for posterity – and a fifth have forgotten their family stories completely. Yet apparently in a house fire, 32% of us would reach for the family photo album – three times as many as would grab their wallet.

A key message from the survey was that we should talk to our parents and grandparents and record their memories before it’s too late.

The LifeBook UK service creates a bespoke autobiography based on three to six months of weekly face-toface interviews with a professional interviewer, which can be conducted anywhere in the world. The life stories are then written up by a ghostwriter and a book produced. For more information see www.lifebookuk.com.

Below we feature some anecdotes by WW2 veterans recorded by the service.