I think, in common with a lot of novelists, I wasn't the most athletic guy at school.
I think bravery means a different thing to everyone.
At this point in time the war [ WWII] is close enough to still feel hotly personal to a writer, yet far enough away so that jingoism and heroics are no longer required.
It is certainly impossible to imagine forgiving the enemy while their animus remains undefeated.
Yet war doesn't end with armistice, it only ends with forgiveness and reconciliation.
Looking after a very sick child was the Olympics of parenting.