AT the service for Armed Forces Week in Middlesbrough, I got talking with three former servicemen, Kevin Mitchell and Bon Hanson both veterans of the conflict in Aden, and Ronald Shaw, who served in the Korean War.

Headline news in their day, they are now just a footnote in national history, forgotten by most people although for my friends, and thousands more, they were formative experiences.

If we’re honest, for most of us, the Armed Forces and their history equate to the two world wars and the current conflict in Afghanistan. It is almost as if we can only cope with so much of the awfulness of war at one particular time. For the men I met, of course, no such selective oblivion is possible or thinkable.

As they talked of what they and their comrades had done and seen, I got some understanding of the trauma and terror of war and the sacrifices they and others made, and also of the lasting psychological impact of warfare on a person.

I stop short of saying I know how they felt, because, quite simply, I don’t and never will, I’m just like the vast majority of people reading this.

Twice in the last 100 years large numbers of young people spent several years in uniform actively and seriously engaged with an enemy. Those days will never return. Our wars are fought for us by a small, professional army. We should never forget what they do for us and save us from.

As I say, no painting, poem, play or film can wholly capture what it must be like to be in the front line, however graphic their depiction of events. As my friends from the services would no doubt remind me, there is no fast forward button on the battlefield.

But a programme this week came closer than any I have ever seen in capturing the essence of war, the carnage and obscenity, but also the courage and dignity that shine through the horror.

The BBC is having a pretty torrid time of things at the moment, but it can still produce programmes that on their own are worth the licence fee. The documentary about war photographer Don McCullin, who reported from the main trouble spots across the globe in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, was outstanding.

McCullin shared the dangers and hardship of the combatants and the civilian populations and through this shared experience, he produced some of the most moving and powerful images I have ever seen.

The old saying about the camera never lying rings hollow in these days of media trickery.

But McCullin who is an honest, highly professional cameraman, captured the image with an impact I have rarely seen. The pen can be a potent weapon for conveying the truth but an honest photograph depicting the war scene can be even more powerful.

I hope you caught the programme, as I can’t really do it justice in a few hundred words. I think it would be particularly valuable to young people and to say that I was impressed with the way in which McCullin spoke of his experiences would be an understatement.

Mercifully, very few people will be plucked from their peaceful lives to serve in armed conflicts or have to cope with the sight and memories that McCullin must have, but it is the stories of people like McCullin, as well as the three ex-serviceman that I spoke to at Armed Forces Day, that make us appreciate what we have today.