Paul Raby first saw the epic film Zulu as an 11 year old in 1964. He was visiting London with his parents, sister Janet and brother Steve.

The family was walking along a busy London street when his mum said: “Look, Lulu’s on. Let’s go and see her!”

Then the family turned the corner. It wasn’t Lulu at all, but the film Zulu. The entire family trooped in to see it, and Paul was hooked. “I never wanted it to end. And I’ve been enthralled by it ever since,” he says.

Back in his native York, he saw the film twice more that summer – and has watched it countless times since. He loves the action, the heroism, the layers of truth (and untruth) that underlie it.

The film focuses on the Zulu war of 1879 – and in particular the defence of Rorke’s Drift, in which a small British garrison held out against a swarm of Zulu warriors.

Eleven VCs were subsequently issued to the gallant defenders, Paul says – a record.

So there was heroism aplenty. Paul, 57, from Monkton Road in York, now recognises that the British in South Africa were aggressors, however, and that they were trying to provoke the Zulus into a war they were bound to lose.

When the former bookkeeper-turned-Rowntrees worker had to give up work for medical reasons, he found himself digging into the history behind the film.

The result is a scene by scene account which follows the dialogue of the film, and contains quotes and personal details about the historical figures, as well as biographies of the seven VCs. A true labour of love.

• Zulu: The Truth Behind The Film is available on eBay.