Probably the man was so old that queer meant strange and gay meant happy. Flags and words have been hi-jacked long since his youth. That`s the first time I have heard that about crossbows btw.
I have never heard a crossbow referred to that way. Queer used to mean odd not Gay. I think Bean is correct in his answer.
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.