They Shall not grow old

[anotherdad]

One of the silent soldier silhouettes has been stolen from Ashendon in Bucks. It’ll probably be on eBay at some point, or has found its way to some Yaxley-Lennon wannabe’s front garden as a way of reminding people that they remember more than anyone else. I can’t think what else it would be stolen for.

[BucksBornNBred]

I think the one in Hughenden has also vanished

[bravado]

I am feeling really old now having read this thread! A couple of you mention Great Grandfathers in the first war but I had a Grandad in it! Interesting to read all the comments and I will certainly try to search out those programmes.

I've also felt old this week, due to WW1 discussions, as my paternal Grandad served in Ypres and Palestine.

[Daogroupie]

I don't feel old!

My paternal Grandfather signed up on the very first day on 5th August 1914 and survived Gallipoli and the Somme where he was an Officer, 60% of all officers died on the first day.

Finally he was gassed which he also survived.

He was one of a real handful that made it from the very first day to the very last day.

His daughter only died this year but he never spoke about any of it to any member of his family.

His father was a farm labourer in Scotland but he left Scotland at 16 and came down to England to be a Coachman at Hatfield House. That skill got him into the Cavalry. Did that help him survive?

My grandmother had her fiance and two brothers all at the Somme. How she must have feared the Telegram boy.

Amazingly they all came home.

There was a news item about Mrs Smith who lost five sons from 1914 onwards and had a sixth still in action. She wrote to Queen Mary who arranged for her 19 year old surviving son to come home and it was arranged.

His daughter and grand daughter were interviewed and they stated that they don't feel they would be alive today if he had not been brought home.

Just random chance who came home and who did not.

Hitler was at the Somme and came home. How different things would have been if he had not. DG

[mad?]

An archivist friend of mine has created this website:
https://astreetnearyou.org/?fbclid=IwAR ... YpIXgwrO74" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Haunting, intriguing. The global reach of the tragedy was a revelation to me. I have from this learned that two sons from our first house were lost, the youngest, at 18 midway through November2018. How tragic.

[Guest55]

I have a friend whose grandfather died of his injuries in late November 1918 - quite a few died after Armistice Day.

[JaneEyre]

It was my Dad that was the late afterthought so he was too young to go to war (thankfully).

I have no idea if my granddad was an afterthought or not. What is sure is that he was too young to go to war but he disobeyed his father and went to war. His father looked for him, but despite being a general, he could not find him… My granddad survived the war, but had one of his leg amputated above the knee ; as for his other leg, he had to tend it and dress it for all his life as it was riddled with bullets. Both granddad and great-granddad got the Légion d’Honneur (a French decoration) and my granddad also got the ‘Croix de guerre’.
Moreover, on this side of the family but on my grandmother’s one, her father, a military man, went to war but never came back and his body was never to be found. Therefore, at the end of the war, my great-grandma was still hoping he would be alive.
There is an excellent (but harsh!) French film about the search of missing husbands, sons and sweethearts in the battlefields of northern France: ‘La Vie et rien d'autre’ = ‘Life and nothing but’
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Nothing-B ... othing+but" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
NB : Philippe Noiret is a well-known French actor

On the other side of my family, my granddad was a doctor during the WWI (he also received the Légion d’Honneur for his services to the Fatherland) whilst his father went to the Dardanelles. Thankfully, none of them were hurt during the war.

[DSDSDD]

This was screened again on BBC2 last Saturday and is also available on iPlayer for approx another 4weeks.
Definitely worth a watch for those of you who missed it.

[BucksBornNBred]

This was screened again on BBC2 last Saturday and is also available on iPlayer for approx another 4weeks.
Definitely worth a watch for those of you who missed it.

Are we talking Life and Nothing But, as I can't find it on iplayer.

[scary mum]

No, it's called "They shall not grow old".