GETTING inside the minds of the men who chose to go to war in 1914 was the driving force behind Jeremy Paxman's new book, the author has told the BFP.

The combative news host, speaking in Marlow on Friday night, revealed the story of his Yorkshire textile worker great uncle, who perished thousands of miles from home in Europe, having never ventured beyond England previously, fascinated him.

Speaking at the event, organised by Burnham shop Horizon Books at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, he revealed his determination to understand why ordinary young people had been motivated to participate in the conflict.

The Newsnight veteran said he found the subject "absolutely fascinating".

Before his presentation to 169 guests, he said: "I think that it is terribly hard for those of us living now when the real premium is upon individual freedom, do what you like, and no one must interfere with any one else's freedom of action, to understand why young men and women committed themselves to a cause over which they had no control. I think that's a really hard thing to understand.

"My real reason for doing this was I just wanted to try to get free from the prejudices we all have of what this thing was about and try to see it as it was seen at the time."

His research for 'Great Britain's Great War' showed of the 16,000 villages in England in 1914 only 38 did not lose a single person.

One of those lost was his great uncle, killed in Gallipoli. Mr Paxman said he was an ordinary young man, who worked in the textile industry.

He joined in 1914 but within a year he was dead.

He said: "I was just interested in how a young man who had not only never left his country, but I bet had never left his county, could possibly end up dead on the other side of Europe.

"I was just really interested in how that could happen and what on earth they could think they were doing. Its almost unimaginable to us now, I think."

He described the Great War as "the event the made modern Britain".

He said: "A time traveller from the mid-Victorian times coming back in 1914 would have recognised Britain as a country he or she knew. If they came back in 1924 they wouldn't have recognised it.

"The Government had interfered in people's lives all over the place and it was inconceivable after the war that there wouldn't be a new deal between the Government and the governed and that is the world we recognise now."

Organiser Ian Fletcher, co-owner of Horizon Books, said: "The feedback I've had from everybody has been excellent, they all loved the venue, the food was great and they thought Jeremy Paxman was wonderful.

"He didn't use any notes or anything at all, he just flowed. It was wonderful to listen to."