Remembrance

As a family we’ve been very lucky to have our men come home from wars. First World War and Second World War, our men served and came home. Many did not and today I give thanks to those that gave all and to those that came home carrying the baggage of terrible things they’d seen and things they had to do so that we could be safe and free.
 

So I wear my poppy in remembrance for all that served and died.

In the First World War, my Great Grandfather served from the very start of war and saw it through. He fought in the Somme, Ypres and Passchendaele. By all accounts he was a quiet man and fiercely proud to be Scottish.
A well known family tale recalls how he punched and knocked out an English officer for calling him a Scottish bastard. His punishment was to be strapped to a field cannon whilst it fired. I cannot image what he went through.
I have a photo of him in uniform which shows that he has wound stripes sewn on his sleeve.

He lived well into old age although I never met him.

Second World War both my Grandfather’s served. One in the Army and one in the RAF. 
My mum’s father served in the Staffordshire Regiment and fought through France, Germany and Italy. He was shot and captured at Arnhem and remained a prisoner of war until the end. He was a very quiet man and didn’t talk of his experiences and I’m sure he carried the burden till his last.

My dad’s father trained to fly first in England in Tiger Moth bi-planes and then advanced flying school in America (away from the dangers of being shot down in Britain). 

He returned and further trained on multi-engined aircraft and was stationed with No. 4 delivery flight.

His job was to transport aircraft to bases all over Britain. His pilot’s logbooks are fascinating, documenting crashes, near misses and fatalities as well as a large glossary of all the aircraft types he flew.

During one training exercise a Canadian pilot miss-timed his gunning run and crashed mid-air with my grandfather’s Spitfire. Unfortunately the Canadian pilot crashed into the Bristol Channel and his body was never found. Today I remember Sergeant Eldon Howard Caldwell of the Royal Canadian Air Force. My grandfather crash landed on a river bank, his plane a right off but he survived.

He served in India towards the end of the war training other pilots and testing new equipment.

My gran’s cousin served as part of the 8th Army, in the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars. A tank commander and such a great cheery character. He served in Africa, earning the Africa Star with Bar, saw terrible fighting in Italy where his regiment were almost totally wiped out and he spent months in hospital with terrible injuries, returning to his regiment afterwards. He lived into his 80s and wore his tank overalls and beret when doing car maintenance!!

These amazing men make me proud and thankful not only today but every day.

I’m sure most families will have similar stories and the stories should never fade. Find out more about them by researching their service records or ask living relatives.

Tell people about them and things they had to do so that they are never forgotten and we will always remain thankful in remembrance.

Luckily for me I have my grandfather’s and great uncle’s war photo albums. They astound me and fascinate me and I’m sure seeing these as a young kid had a big part to play in my love for photography as well. 

M.