War on a world scale was over, but there was plenty of fighting still to be done and many dangerous missions for British soldiers.

Korea plunged the West back into major conflict before it had had time to heal from scars of 1939-1945, heralding the start of the Cold War.

Elsewhere, the British Army fought in places as diverse as Palestine, Aden, Egypt's Canal Zone, Kenya and the jungles of Malaya.

The Somerset Light Infantry marched out of India before Partition, bringing to a close a long, colourful and unforgettable chapter of British military involvement on the sub-continent.

Nato was formed in April 1949.