Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Thomas Johnson — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 16:27:12 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]We honour not only those who gave their lives for us in the Forces in the Great War but also those who gave their lives in the Second World War and all other wars we have had to fight – the Korean War, the Falklands, the various Middle Eastern wars, and others, and Northern Ireland too.[/quote]

Exactly, while the 11 November date may have no relevance to the other conflicts mentioned it is right to have a day when we stop and make a conscious act of remembrance, and to change the date because the Great War has faded further into history would just cause confusion. Also most of the war memorials in the UK are from the Great War, often with plaques for World War Two added, and provide a focal point for the act of remembrance.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 14:43:51 GMT

[quote user="Julian Earl"] For how long do we commemorate the day?[/quote]

For ever.

We honour not only those who gave their lives for us in the Forces in the Great War but also those who gave their lives in the Second World War and all other wars we have had to fight – the Korean War, the Falklands, the various Middle Eastern wars, and others, and Northern Ireland too.

It is "We will remember them" not "we shall remember them". In other words, we will make a conscious effort just once a year to spend just a little time thinking about them and we will make a public commemoration even if it does inconvenience us just a little bit.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Julian Earl — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 12:34:43 GMT

What did you think about the commemoration at the Cenotaph yesterday? I thought that it was done extremely well, with so many nations actively involved. The BBC did a good job by interviewing such a wide cross-section of nationalities and ages as well. I was pleased to see the German President speaking. That was very good and proper for reconciliation. I was also impressed by some of the youngsters interviewed who showed great maturity and sensitivity to the significance of the occasion.

The Peter Jackson film , "They Shall Not Grow Old" was rather moving as well. No wonder that veterans did not like to talk about what they did!

The main unanswered question is, what happens next? For how long do we commemorate the day? I guess that it will be for as long as people such as myself have memories of relatives who fought in the first World War. I honour the day for my Grandad and his brother who fought on the Somme. I knew my Grandad when I was a kid but his brother is buried in France where he fell.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Julian Earl — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 17:07:44 GMT

Of general interest, perhaps, this is a link to a friend of my Grand-Dad who served in te Middlesex Regiment with him. His name was "Harry" Fusao O'Hara and ws a Japanese journalist who didn't like the Germans and when war started he went to India, joined the Sikh Regiment, then the Gurkhas, before going to London to join the Middlesex. He subsequently left the infantry to become the only Japanese pilot flying with the Royal Flying Corps.He crashed a few times, won a medal or two and after the war he used his carpentry skills to make children's toys , one of which I inherited from my Grand-Dad. He lived until the nineteen-fifties and his daughter still lives in Holland.He was a remarkable man whose history deserves to be told. As the site says, not all Japanese pilots were Kamikaze.

The link is here: https://greatwarlondon.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/harry-fusao-ohara-japanese-fighter-pilot-1918/

I hope that this is of interest?

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Joyce Whitehead — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 23:51:01 GMT

[quote user="grumpyoldman"]

He was also a giant of a man in his time being over 6ft 4in tall. There was no fondness for king and country or the British Empire just a kind of resignation " we here now and there isn't anyone else so lets get on with it "

[/quote]

My grandfather was also a giant in his time at 6ft 2in, very tall for a highlander. I’m only 5ft 4in and my husband is about 5ft 9in, but I think my son has granda’s genes, as he is 6ft 5in.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

grumpyoldman — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 23:31:57 GMT

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

grumpyoldman — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 23:11:39 GMT

Thanks for sharing that ,

My grandfather on the paternal side served with the Eniskillen fusiliers ,and Ypres and Mons were mentioned , he died aged 74 in the early 70s, I remember him as a nice retired old man who taught me to read and write pre school so that I could take his betting slips around the corner to the betting shop and place his bets. Most of his friends died around him and he never slept much and probably drank too much PTSD ?? who knows. He remembered the smell of death and the stench in no mans land. He did come out with a few jaundiced one liners though, never volunteer for anything, let the king do his own shooting, and look after your feet ,teeth ,and backside come what may. He was born 1898 and after surviving it spent the rest of his life stoking kilns at Twyfords. When WW2 started he made my uncles join the airforce or the navy ,he was apparently adamant that they did not get used as cannon fodder.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 22:31:13 GMT

And here in his home guard uniform in World War Two with his son , my father, in his RAF uniform. Grandpa was on fire watch in Westminster putting out incendiary bombs landing on the roofs of buildings.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 22:28:46 GMT

thought you might like to put a face to the words in the diary

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Neil Wheadon — Sat, 03 Nov 2018 11:15:55 GMT

and in the Times today

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/weekend/the-day-i-found-my-greatgrandfathers-war-diaries-0hgmsqd3x

Neil

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Bob Russell — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 09:53:07 GMT

From my grandfathers recollections it seems he was saved on more than one occasion by forced breaks in hospital because of trench fever.

It all goes to show that survival was often a matter of luck!

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Iain Richards — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 23:37:53 GMT

I've mentioned earlier that my grandad was also RFA but never spoke of it. Apparently not, one of my cousins was having a whisky with him and he related how he was sent back from the front line to collect more ammunition. He was picked as he wasn't fully fit. On his return, his entire unit had been killed. Shortly afterwards he was invalided home due to pneumonia.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Bob Russell — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 10:00:26 GMT

Coucou is probably Koekuit.

Troops had some very interesting and inventive versions of local names. My grandfather was at Wipers!

Fascinating stuff - thanks.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 18:54:25 GMT

Another instalment

It was here that I had my narrowest escape. One morning - the 13^th October it was – we were ‘standing by’ for action in the dim, dark hours just before the dawn and Jerry was dropping his whizz-bangs about as usual. I was sitting on the laying steps and the other three were standing round the other side of the gun, when a shell lit on the road about fifteen paces to our left. I remember feeling the blast of it distinctly, but when some cartridges near by began to ‘go up’ we all scrambled away as soon as possible. We had not gone many yards before poor old Gordon fell down and we discovered he was wounded in the thigh. It was pitch dark, the ground was very slippery where it wasn’t deep in mud, shells were still flying about, and we had a rare struggle to get him under cover, where we could dress his wound. However we managed to get his wound dressed, and half a dozen of the boys went off with him to the dressing station which [was] some miles away. Altogether it was a most unhappy morning and we were all feeling very depressed.

When it got light and we were able to look round we found that a piece of shell had cut holes in my overcoat and made a big dent in the iron trail just under the laying step on which I was sitting, and moreover the piece which hit Gordon must have very narrowly missed me. [1]

October 14^th

Next day we had another ‘stunt’, Menin, Wervik and Comines being captured [from the Germans], and we were soon on the move again. This first fortnight in October was quite the worst time I had had in France, and it left us all very much shaken in nerve for some time.

October 15^th

On the 15^th we moved forward to a position near Geluwe, the wagon lines being brought up to our last position (Kruisate). We fired a few rounds from here and had a few back, but Jerry did not stop long and we were soon out of range. However we could not move forward at once because the existing bridges over the Lys [Leie?] were not strong enough to carry our guns.

October 18^th

On the 18^th the bridge on the Bousbecque Road was nearly finished and we moved into Coucou [?], stayed there the night, and crossed the bridge next day – we were the first battery to cross the bridge – in fact it was hardly finished. It took us across safely however and we went through Bousbecque and into Roncq, where we stayed the night. Roncq was the first inhabited place behind the old fighting area that we had been into – flags were flying from practically all windows and everyone was very excited. I was somewhat astonished at the well-dressed and well-fed appearance of the natives. Jerry had taken all the cattle and foodstuff he could readily lay hands on, but had missed a few horses.

We made ourselves at home for the night in a deserted and somewhat damaged estaminet, and moved off again about 10 o’clock next morning. We were now passing through country which had seen very little fighting – the fields appeared to be well-cultivated and a large area cropped with turnips. The roads, which were ‘pavé’, did not appear to have borne much traffic, for the grass was growing between the cobbles. We met a good few people moving their household goods on barrows piled sky-high, with rabbit-hutches (with rabbits in them) slung on the back.

Sunday, 20^th October

Thus we came to Aalbeke and billeted in a large tile works, all the guns of the brigade (154 & 156 H.B., 194 & 219 S.B.) being parked in the station yard. At this time we were less than twenty-four hours behind Jerry, and we actually found an estaminet with something to sell – coffee and cognac, a little rum, and plenty of beer.

Next day the Right and Centre Sections moved off, leaving the Left Section there, and although they rejoined us later they did not fire another round. We moved off early in the afternoon and, passing through several villages (Rolleghem was one), we came to Dottignies. Here the column divided, the Centre Section going to Coyghen [Kooigem?] and the Right took up a position just the other side of Dottignies.

It soon became obvious that Jerry meant making a stand. The night before we got to Dottignies he bombarded it very heavily, especially the Convent School (St Charles) in which we were afterwards billeted. However he did not put more than a dozen shells in the village all the time we were there. The Right Section did no firing from their first position but, on taking up a new position about 1,000 yards further east, we did a good deal. Whilst in this second position we slept in a bake-house and although Jerry used to shell the neighbourhood a good deal at times he seldom put them near enough to make us uneasy.

Whilst we were here we saw lots of families moving westwards to get out of the fighting area – some of them very old – one poor old woman who looked about ninety was being wheeled in a wheelbarrow by an old man of almost equal age – some of the more fortunate had managed to save some of their cattle and had a horse and a bullock pulling side-by-side in one of those rather clumsy wagons piled high with furniture, the family plodding along behind.

I was also struck with the courage of one of the natives whose house had been completely shattered by a shell – he set to work and cleared the site, piling all the broken rafters, floorboards etc into neat heaps and, making himself a ‘shack’ in one corner, he went on living there.

It was now clear that Jerry was not to be easily moved from his positions the other side of the canal, the intervening ground being very marshy, and on November 3^rd we packed up and were on the move again.

[1] ‘I have one souvenir which I don’t suppose I shall ever lose – a very tiny piece of a shell in my anatomy - anyway it will always serve to remind me of the dim dark early hours of Oct 13^th ....’ Letter, 6.12.18

[RHT note: the convent school at Dottignies was still there, repaired, when we explored a few years ago]

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Julian Earl — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:19:42 GMT

An interesting thread.

My Grandad was on the Somme in the footballer's Regiment, the Middlesex and he as awarded the Military Medal. I was too young to ask the details when he showed it to me in about 1968 but !]has been the family-belief that Bertie was defending a machine gun post and he and his sergeant ran out of ammunition so they resorted to throwing the Germans grenades back at them. For this, He and his sergeant received the medal .Apparently He was disappointed with the Military Medal as he expected a higher award. This might have been the DCM a new medal at that time? I heard this story from my uncle, Bertie's older son. Sadly the war diary records were destroyed in WW2 during an air raid so it seems no official record exists.I reckon the Germans bombed the Archives I retaliation for having their own grenades thrown back at them!

What records are available do support this tale about a "bombing contest" taking place. Grenades being described as bombs in the War Diary. Like so many I expect, my Grandad did not talk of his experiences, but to his dying day in 1972, he insisted that my sister and I stood up at 11 o'clock on the 11th November and I still do to this day. I still have his medal and keep it safely locked away. One can only respect the courage all those young men showed in the face of death.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Bob Russell — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 09:47:48 GMT

The stories told to us as children were obviously limited but conversations between my grandfather (thankfully recorded) with my father were sometimes overheard.

The one time my grandfather risked a court martial and possible execution was when he was ordered to shoot a wounded German soldier. It might have been a humane thing to do (I don't know how bad he was) but it was not something my grandfather was willing to do. Thankfully the officer was distracted by something else and it went undocumented! No Geneva Conventions back then.

He offered another officer a cigarette, lit it and headed alone the trench. Seconds later he returned to find the officer lying dead on his back, cigarette still lit in his mouth!

Just the idea that these occurrences were a daily event defy belief and how so many survived to live relatively normal lives afterwards is a reflection on their strength and fortitude.

My grandfather was a lovely, gentle man (in every sense of the word). He enjoyed a very, very long life and a good marriage of over 50 years!

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Julie Innes — Thu, 11 Oct 2018 08:46:00 GMT

It really is interesting. My husband is just back from a remembrance tour to Flanders (Royal Navy) and he was showing me photos and telling me the stories. It is fascinating and horrifying. The thing that stuck out for me was the sheer volume of lives lost, often in a single day, and often pointlessly. Other half was telling me how many died before they even got into battle by getting so tired that they slipped and fell off the walkway and drowned in mud/ water on their way to the front line. We will never truly understand the things they endured

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Virginia Campbell — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 20:53:25 GMT

Thanks for posting this Clare. I always thought the Kings Troop RHA musical ride looked hairy but imagine doing it in the dark, over cobbled roads in poor nick, under shellfire, clinging onto the gun muzzle. What a mental image. Amazing more of them were not killed. If you have time it would be great to read more, even the "boring" day to day stuff.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Jo Dyer — Sat, 06 Oct 2018 10:48:53 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]

[quote user="Clare Tapsfield-Wright"]thought you might like to see Grandpa’s diary entry 100 years ago today...[/quote]

That is AMAZING! Puts present-day problems in perspective a little. I hope you're going to follow up with more entries, please.

Niall

[/quote]

My thoughts exactly Niall. Thank you Clare for sharing this. Fascinating and humbling.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Niall Connell — Sat, 06 Oct 2018 01:55:16 GMT

These words are brilliant. Thanks very much for sharing them, Clare. My grandads were 1) Plater in the ship yards and 2) engineer so I guess these were reserved occupations. My uncles fought in WW2 against the Japanese in Burma. The uncle I was named after survived the war to be killed on his motorbike, sadly.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 19:21:07 GMT

My paternal grandad was in active fighting in North Africa in the second war. His tales used to fascinate and horrify me at the same time. He.went in as a private, and ended up a sergeant...purely because he kept surviving.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Bob Russell — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 15:57:19 GMT

So many had similar tales but it was not the done thing to discuss them. I hate the idea that these accounts get lost. It is so different to the dry accounts and black and white film footage.

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Robin Grimmer — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 15:35:38 GMT

Thanks for sharing this - could have come out of War Horse. My grandfather served in two world wars, and had shrapnel injuries and shell shock. (What they now call ptsd)

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Anthony Dennison — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 15:26:58 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

Am I the fly in the ointment? I have absolutely no idea what my grandfather's did and even less desire to find out!

[/quote]

Both my paternal and fraternal Grandfathers were captured during WW2. Both escaped from their respective PoW camps as well!

My paternal grandfather was in the parachute regiment and was involved at Arnhem... after seeing this thread I googled him to see what I could find and I wasn't disappointed!

http://www.pegasusarchive.org/arnhem/mervyn_dennison.htm

Very interesting to read how he met my grandmother!

RE: Grandpas diary 100 years ago today

Bob Russell — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 15:17:27 GMT

With the 100th anniversary of the armistice this is quite a fitting time for this thread.

We knew very little about my grandfathers wars until recently. Very little about my other grandfather except his regiment and the fact he was shot in the kilt and a little change of aim and we would not be here!

In a way it is good that this has surfaced after the death of my grandfather. We have a string of questions that he would probably find a struggle to recall.

Just noticed! My grandfather was in the same battle. He was shot in the shoulder that time! That left a heck of a hole!

Edit - just checked with my brother - he was at Amiens in 1918!