"It was....well, I suppose everywhere was a bit of a mess, during the war. I'm from Wellington Wells, a chain of islands in the Bristol Channel. Adjacent to England, but we...seceded after the war. That's the second world war, if that means anything to you."

Arthur thinks that may be the best way to put it. Messy business, he's sure, but he doesn't know any of the details. He'd just been a university student then, when the Mainland Bridge closed and the trading stopped. But most people from other Earths at least recognize things like the world wars. Even if he's gotten the impression everyone else's were much different.

"It ended when I was in my early teens."

He thinks. It did end...probably. Maybe?

Oh Dog, he has no idea. It ended for Wellington Wells, in any case.