Lord West explains how Britain, and the Royal Navy, adjusted to dramatically straitened circumstances after the Second World War. He describes the dramatic social changes that began after 1945, including big pay rises, improved food and conditions of service - and even the beginning of the end for hammocks. He explores the Royal Navy's crucial role in the development of nuclear weapons, and the impact they had on defence thinking and the future of conventional forces. And he speaks to Laura Sandys MP, the daughter of former Defence Secretary Duncan Sandys, about his seminal 1957 Defence White Paper, which shaped British defence thinking for a generation. Producer: Giles Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.