How do we begin to understand how civilians felt in a time of war? We often look to diaries and poetry - but today we look to the surrealist artists that sought to make sense of the most extreme times imaginable.

Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar is taken on a specially curated tour of the Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Gallery by Iris Vasey - to discover  history's most private thoughts as their society descends into war. 

Joining them both is  an expert in the psychological impact of warfare; from the First World War right up to today's drone wars, Dr Beryl Pong.

Objects discussed:

Beatrice Viola Fergusson, 'Snapshots' sketchbook, 1938

Keith Vaughan, Echo of the Bombardment, 1942

Julien Trevelyan, Premonitions of the Blitz, 1940

Edward Burra, Blue Baby: Blitz Over Britain, 1941

Chisty, By the Moonlight, 2013

Narrator:  James Taylor. Producer: Matt Hill at Rethink Audio, with support from Eleanor Head, Daniel BenChorin, and the IWM Institute team at Imperial War Museums