[4] The film opens with footage taken by the victorious German Army following the Battle of France in 1940 and aerial shots, including Adolf Hitler surveying conquered territory from an aeroplane.

This is Tom and the film follows this everyman through his call up to the East Yorkshire Regiment, his training, his meeting a young girl, his journey to France and his death on D-Day at Sword Beach.

Once that was established, [Christopher] Hudson was able to dramatise some wonderful and totally original scenes extracted from diaries and letters of real servicemen.

[4]The Imperial War Museum and the Ministry of Defence assisted the production in many ways, from help with costumes and props to training actors and a flight by the last operational Lancaster bomber over Bristol.

[12] Jonathan Rosenbaum, however, said the film was "an interesting failure" criticizing the sincere yet clichéd story integrating with a remarkable selection of newsreels.