We haven’t learned much from history says author

The author and former Children’s Laureate, 69, saw his book about a horse caught up in the terrors of the First World War turned into a Steven Spielberg film.

He is about to see Private Peaceful, another of his novels set in the trenches, adapted for the big-screen.

He told the Radio Times: “To me, these soldiers in the First World War were sent off like cattle.

“In fact, the men were treated very much like the horses – which is one reason I think War Horse works so well. It was senseless.

“This wasn’t ‘a Hitler war’, it wasn’t about Britain’s survival.”

The writer, who decided that he would get involved in film versions of his books after finding that he could not “make inroads” into the big-screen adaptation of War Horse, added: “It’s always old men sending young men to war.

“I do feel we haven’t learnt very much from history.”