The tales from the battlefields in World War One are familiar stories for British actor Waleed Akhtar, who comes from a Pakistani family that fought alongside the British on the frontlines.

Waleed’s grandfather, Raja Fazal Hussain, fought in both World Wars, and now Waleed, who starred in indie hit Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, is appearing at Watford Palace Theatre in Wipers - a play based on a true story about the South Asian soldiers who fought in the wars.

He says: “Before doing the play I had some knowledge of the experiences of Asian soldiers in World War One as my granddad was a soldier in the war. I remember family visits to Pakistan when I was a young kid, there was a picture of him in his uniform. His uniform was there too and when I was old enough to try it on I did and it was like, wow.

“My grandfather I think was in the Indian Army and he won two medals - the ION and OBI. My family have a history of being in the army. My father was supposed to join the army too, but he had a hearing defect and couldn’t.

“My granddad died when my father was young so some of the stories have kind of been lost. We know that he won these awards and medals,” Waleed explains, “and that’s what made his name in Pakistan. As I grew up I wanted to learn a more about him, but we don’t know much more than that.

“It’s quite sad that his stories have been lost. I now really want to go and investigate what happened – maybe go to Pakistan and find out more about him. That’s why a play like this is so important, so that stories don’t just get lost and that they are told and they are at the forefront of people’s minds.”

Written by award-winning writer Ishy Din, Wipers was inspired by the story of Khudadad Khan - the first soldier in the Indian Army to receive the Victoria medal for single-handedly preventing the Germans from advancing into France and cutting off supplies to British armed forces.

Set in October 1914, Ypres, Belgium, after the first bloody battles of the Great War, a group of soldiers seek refuge in an abandoned barn and must work together to survive and overcome their fears.

“This story is amazing,” says Waleed, who studied English Literature at the University of Nottingham. “Khudadad Khan is the fifth character in the play whom we never meet as he is out there fighting - but it shows how important Asian soldiers were in winning the war. I think in history this has been downplayed and this is such an eye-opening play.”

The Stephen Spielberg fan from Redbridge plays the character Ayub - the youngest recruit, who Waleed describes as being naive and idealistic. “He comes along with all these ideas and they are put to the test. He learns a lot from the other soldiers and is quite funny and a joy to play.

“This battle is very early on in the war and I think a lot of the men thought that they would be home by Christmas.”

He adds: “We’re very lucky to have the writer, Ishy Din, with us. She has done so much research on the subject and has been great to ask questions too. We have had the uniform made up – a replica of as it was from the beginning of rehearsals to try and really get into character and the movement with all the things, like the rifles that were commissioned. It was really interesting and a huge learning curve.”

Waleed admits that acting wasn’t something he immediately wanted to do as a career until after university. He says he enjoyed performing and considered going into broadcast journalism at one point - but not until he gave acting go. “And it has just spiralled from there and I have been fortunate to get work.”

The highlight of his career he says is not the big things he’s done like the BBC adaptation of Dustbin Baby, or the stage production of Kite Runner and Backdown, but a kids show at Soho Theatre.

“My little niece and nephew came to watch it – they were between the ages of four to seven. Being able to share that with them was amazing. During the middle of the production, my four-year-old niece shouted out ‘why is uncle being silly’. I started laughing and it was hard to carry on with the play. That was a personal highlight. Afterwards I took them on a tour backstage and showed them the set.

“The rest of family work in finance so I’m trying to bring my niece and nephew to the dark side,” he adds, “to get them into the arts.”

Watford Palace Theatre, Clarendon Road, Watford, April 27-May 7. Details: 01923 225671, watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk