Southerner. I'm the same, except my father moved with his family to north Derbyshire at a young age so most of my aunts, uncles and cousins are still there. (Dad moved down south again for work.) Nevertheless I don't feel like I'm from there in any way at all.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.