One of Loughton Town Festival’s most popular participant’s is set to return with an exclusive talk on World War One this weekend.

Professor David Stevenson from, Loughton, will present ‘1919: The World After the War’ to mark the centenary anniversary since Armistice Day.

The international historian who has taught at London School of Economics for almost 40 years, said his fascination with the Great War sparked as a teenager.

“I have been working on World War One since the 1970s and wrote six books on this topic throughout my career.

“I remember watching the BBC blockbuster documentary ‘The Great War’ which was arguably the first television series to document this period in history.

“My grandfather fought in the first World War and my fought in the World War Two and they would both tell me stories about their experiences, so it’s a mixture of family connections, family history.

I am old enough to remember the fiftieth anniversary and I have now worked on it long enough to see the centenary.”

Mr Stevenson who has taken part in the Loughton Town Festival since it launched in 2007, is also a member of the Loughton and District Historical Society.

The milestone talk will be divided into three sections focusing on the key stages of what life was like for people across the world following the international tragedy.

Speaking about his passion for studying and teaching histoey, Mr Stevenson said: “It is still one of worst things to happen in modern British happen, with three quarters of a million dead from the British Isles including loses from Australia, Canada and India.

“It’s always a sombre story because almost every family has been affected by it in the UK and has left its legacy around us.

“There are still things that are still with us that emerged from that period where British societies were trying to come to terms with this huge loss of life.

“It’s kind set the pattern of how we deal with disasters across the world.”

David Stephen’s 1919: The World After the War will take place on Saturday, June 15, at The Jazz Archive, Loughton Library from 1pm-4pm.

Advance tickets are available at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/after-the-first-world-war-tickets-58921135703