RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Matt R on Tuesday 29 August 23 21:01 BST (UK)
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Hello Rootschat,
As some of you may already know, I am a History teacher working in a secondary school in the East Midlands.
I have recently been asked by my Head of Department to take a lead on planning and resourcing our WW1 Scheme of Learning and I am pivoting towards a study of how the First World War impacted on ordinary people, e.g., the soldiers who fought in it and the families who lived it.
As part of this, I intend on using real-life examples of families during this conflict as well as experiences and stories by ordinary men on the front lines in extraordinary circumstances. My philosophy when teaching History is to make it as relevant and as powerful as possible to engage students' understanding.
In this vein, I have a polite request. If any of you have any stories or photographs of First World War soldiers/families that you would like to be incorporated into my lessons then I would love to hear from you, either publicly or privately.
I'd like to stress that as a teacher I will be making no profit from such work and if chatters wish, I'd be more than happy to share the lesson PowerPoints so that you can see how I have your family's stories of sacrifice to bring history alive for the next generation.
I hope that admin can accommodate this request; I don't believe such a request has been made before and I'd love to have real, authentic experiences of ordinary people during this time to share.
I'm looking for the following in particular, including images if they are available:
- Stories of loss on the front. Did your ancestor serve with friends who died in service?
- Stories of heroism or humanity shown on the battlefield, whether it be with friends, comrades or perhaps even the enemy?
- Stories of men who were taken as Prisoners of War.
- Stories of how families struggled back home.
- Stories of women who worked in munitions factories or who drove the ambulances near the front lines.
- Stories of soldiers who married their nurses.
- Stories of families losing more than one son/brother to the war and of course the awful stories of battle and warfare that the men experienced.
- Stories about soldiers being punished or tried for what the army deemed as cowardice.
I promise to treat all of the above with the respect and sensitivity they deserve. They are, after all, our family history. I'll be sharing the story of my great gran's cousin Peter who signed up with his friend; they had consecutive army numbers and served in the same machine gun battery, only to be killed on The Somme 24 hours apart.
Please reply or drop me a message if you are interested!
Kind regards,
Matt
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You have forgotten
Soldiers who were MIA & Prisoners of war.
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Thanks mckha489,
I have now added this to the list.
Kind regards,
Matt
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Maybe you should include the "Conscientious Objectors" too.
Carol
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The family story that gets me every Remembrance Day tells of one young British officer killed near Ypres and his German brother-in-law, also a young officer, killed on the other side of the lines. Their deaths were a few weeks apart. I can give some detail if you would like to use this example.
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Hello, What a wonderful project.
My father was in a sort of reserve scheme ,The Derby Scheme, Earl Derby
was a local Aristocrat ,local being Lancashire
After the enormous losses of The Somme ,another battle in Belgium was planned ,at Passendale.
My father was called up in September 1916.
His mother died just then but there was no deferment ,and he had to report to Manchester Town Hall.September 1916.
His Regiment was The King’s Liverpool .
After the initial training at Pirbright he was shipped to France.
This would be Spring 1917, he was captured at Freilingen in May and spent the next years as POW.
This meant he did not serve at Passendale, and that probably saved his life.
Repatriated in early 1919 .
I will send more which might help .
May I recommend a book ,about “ The Somme “ by John Harris ,
c
Covenant with Death ,it leads up through training a group of lads from the same town - a Pals’ Regiment , to the dreadful first day of “ The Battle of The
Somme”.
If you can’t find a copy let me know ,it describes so well how it was.
The aftermath was a town that had lost a high proportion of its’ young
men .
There are many stories available , just one , Billy McFadzean, in the front line trench on the first day of “ The Somme” .
Waiting for the signal to go over the top.
Soldiers were passing boxes of grenades along the front line trench .
Someone dropped a box which spilled out its contend, some had lost the safety pins ,so Billy flung himself on the spilled grenades and was blown to bits .
However his action minimised the effect of the exploding grenades.
His name is on the huge Thiepval memorial .
The last words in the book I mentioned are true of many of those “ Pals’ Battallions “
“ Two years in the making ,ten minutes in the destroying.”
I will P.M you if you think I have anything of interest.
You would find the book a great help.
Published a good while ago by The Companion Book Club London .
However the original,publishers were Hutchinsons .
Viktoria.
P.S just looked it up and it is back in print ,at Waterstones there is a number but does not say it is an ISBN —- 9780090012602.
Not expensive about £7 ,paperback.
Viktoria.
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I also recommend "Covenant With Death" - I have here beside me as I type.
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If you can find a copy - Anne Powell's anthology A Deep Cry about soldier-poets of the Great War is an excellent read.
[conflict of interest declaration - we are cousins]
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Yes eadaoin, I think it was The Sheffield Pals but could have been any of those Pals regiments
Sheffield Park is a little enclosure on the Somme, if I remember correctly The Accrington Pals memorial is there, an Accrington brick wall ,those very hard engineering bricks, The Chorley Pals was a plaque on a tree.
I have the Roll of Honour for the district ,sad heartbreaking reading ,brothers and fathers sons etc. Many with the same name and address,so a family .
All gone.
The first morning when the telegrams were arriving ——
It is good that the youngsters know, I was brought up with it ,many have no idea.
All we have to give is remembrance ,costs nothing either.
Viktoria.
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This was my Grandfather's final hours in WW1. His body, like many others, has no marked grave.
Lance Corporal John Hughes, Black Watch, killed in action at
the Battle of Hanna 21st January, 1916, Mesopotamia (Iraq)
11. On the morning of the 21st, under cover of an intensive Artillery bombardment, our Infantry moved to the attack. On our right the troops got to within 100 yards of the enemy's line, but were unable to advance further. Our left column, consisting of the Black Watch, 6th Jats and 41st Dogras, penetrated the front line with a rush, capturing trenches which they held for about an hour and a half. Supports were sent forward, but losing direction and coming under heavy fire, failed to reach them. Thus, left unsupported, our previously successful troops, when Turkish counter-attacks developed, were overwhelmed by numbers and forced to retire.
12. Heavy rain now began to fall and continued throughout the day. Telephone communication broke down, and communication by orderly became slow and uncertain. After further Artillery bombardment the attack was renewed at 1 p.m., but by this time the heavy rain had converted the ground into a sea of mud, rendering rapid movement impossible. The enemy's fire was heavy and effective, inflicting severe losses, and though every effort was made, the assault failed. Our troops maintained their position until dark and then slowly withdrew to the main trenches which had been previously occupied, some 1,300 yards from those of the enemy.
13. As far as possible all the wounded were brought in during the withdrawal, but their sufferings and hardships were acute under the existing climatic conditions, when vehicles and stretcher-bearers could scarcely move in the deep mud.
14. To renew the attack on the 22nd was not practicable. The losses on the 21st had been heavy, the ground was still a quagmire and the troops exhausted. A six hours' armistice was arranged in order to bury the dead and remove the wounded to shelter.
15. I cannot sufficiently express my admiration for the courage and dogged determination of the force engaged. For days they bivouacked in driving rain on soaked and sodden ground. Three times they were called upon to advance over a perfectly flat country, deep in mud, and 'absolutely devoid of cover, against well-constructed and well-planned trenches, manned by a brave and stubborn enemy approximately their equal in numbers. They showed a spirit of endurance and self sacrifice of which their country may well be proud.
My grandmother, who was left to bring up 6 children, also lost her brother, killed in France in the final weeks of the war.
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I have written about a cousin here:
https://www.liverpoolpals.com/survivorsstories/edwin-william-barratt-vincent/?id=13
You are welcome to use it.
Do you want New Zealand soldiers too?
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The IWM have done interviews of some people that served in WW1 (& WW2.)
This link takes you to a recording of Clarence Jarman who was born in Stoke Newington 1896 but grew up in Woking. Clarence (Clarrie) lost a leg in WW1.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012654
There are 3 reels about his experience of the war and how he coped with his injury afterwards
(Content description describes what is on the reels)
I remember 'Clarrie' in the late 1950's on his adapted bicycle. ;D
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You could look up my cousin twice removed, Job DRAIN V.C. There is plenty of information about him online, including images of him, his Victoria Cross, his statue in Barking, his house with blue plaque, and other information.
This is a summary cut and pasted from my tree software:
He volunteered for the regular army in 1912, aged 17, as an alternative to unemployment. During the Great War of 1914-1918 he served as a Driver (service number 69960) with the 37th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery. On 26 August 1914 he was part of the British Expeditionary Force in France, when his Battery strove to limber up their guns in a hail of fire from enemy infantry, who were within 200 yards of the muzzles. Four of the battery's 4.5 inch howitzers were got away, but to recover the remaining two was a task that seemed suicidal.
Nevertheless, when his Captain Douglas REYNOLDS asked for volunteers, two teams galloped forward to what seemed like certain death. One was quickly shot down, but the other got to the gun position, wheeled round, limbered-up and brought one of the howitzers out of the action, one of the drivers being hit in the process. REYNOLDS and Drivers Frederick LUKE and Job DRAIN all received the Victoria Cross.
His award was announced in the London Gazette on 25 November 1914: "Le Cateau, France, 26 August 1914, Driver Job Henry Charles Drain, 37th Bty., Royal Field Artillery. With Driver Frederick Luke at Le Cateau on 26th August, as volunteers, helping to save guns under fire from hostile infantry who were 100 yards away."
Job was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V in France on the 1st December 1914. He was later promoted to Sergeant and survived the war. In addition to the Victoria Cross, he also received the 1914 Star + clasp "5th Aug-22 Nov 1914", the British War Medal (1914-20), the Victory Medal (1914-19), the King George VI Coronation Medal (1937) and the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953).
The medals awarded to Sergeant DRAIN have since been acquired by the Michael Ashcroft Trust, the holding institution for Lord Ashcroft's VC Collection.
On 16 January 1915, he was mentioned in an article in the Bendigo Advertiser in Australia, apparently reprinted from the London Daily Express. The article, titled "Bad Boy who won the V.C." referred to his heroism and quoted his step-mother [Emily DRAIN, née ANDERSON] as saying that Job "was born in Barking, and as a boy had attended the Back-Lane Church of England School. It is true that one of the masters there had described him as amongst the worst boys in the school, and he was frequently up to some mischief or other.
"He hated school, but, on the other hand he liked work, preferring above all things, to mind the cows. He was sent to the Walthamstow Truant School in 1910, and joined the Army two years ago being stationed in Ireland on the outbreak of war.
"He was only nineteen in October, so that he was only eighteen at the time he won the V.C. Naturally we are all very proud of him. In his letters home he said nothing about the war or his own actions. He just said that he was well, and that his trouble was that he could not get "fags".
The article added that not only had he received a telegram from Mr. A. BLAKE, the chairman of the Barking Council, reading, "Heartiest congratulations, the town of Barking is proud of you." but that the art master of the school at which he was described as "the bad boy" was painting the hero's portrait, to be hung on the school wall!
After the war Job had some difficulty getting back into civilian life. He worked as a messenger for government offices in Whitehall, then as a fish porter, a local bus driver and finally for the London Electricity Board.
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Another book “ Death of a Hero”.Richard Aldington.1929
A man not a hero at all, until his last moments as a Runner( running with messages when trench telephone wires were cut in the explosions.
At the end is a sort of poem.
The action is at Gallipoli , and The Dardanelles are where it is believed the City of Troy was.
Epilogue .
Eleven years after the fall of Troy —- it is about old soldiers of the Trojan War, reminiscing , two young people pass and the lad us very sneering about the old soldiers ,he pulls his girl friend away ,he is fed up with the old tales etc.( Sadly just as people begin to be in the hedonistic 1920’s)
There is a bit of arithmetic involved ,bringing the two conflicts together in a way ie the poet describes them “ And I looked at the old men nearly forty ,so 39 maximum, eleven years after Troy means they were 28when it ended, that war lasted ten years so they would be 18 when it started, the age of conscription in WW1.
“And I thought of the graves by desolate Troy
And the beauty of many young men,now dust ,
And the long agony and how useless it all was “
“ And I looked at the hollow cheeks
And the weary eyes and grey streaked heads
Of the old men, nearly forty, about me;
And I too walked away
In an agony of helpless grief and pity.”
The book is not what I would think is suitable reading for youngsters, not even these days! However the gist and conclusion are very powerful.
First published in 1929 by Chatto and Windus then by Sphere Books 1965.
It shows that your typical hero is not always a perfect person.
Viktoria.
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Hi my son Matthew is a secondary school teacher of History as well. He teaches at a school that is in an old market town near Milton Keynes. He ran a project for a year 8 class who's only view of history did not go further than breakfast that day, however he was in shock when they got stuck in and the work produced. Here's what they did.
They looked at the names on the local war memorial.
Looked up soldiers on CWGC.
Used computers to look at their families in the census.
Mapped the soldiers to their homes on a map in class.
Some went home and printed off records ( parents on board as well)
Photos were taken of the addresses found.
Tazzie
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My grandkids did similar in year 8 tazzie. They were assigned a name or could choose one from family or friends. The first one was an assigned name. We managed to find quite a lot about him and the home he lived in. The second I was prepared for and had some family members names ready. Grandkid chose a NZ cousin killed during WW1. We had photos of him and it was a totally different type of presentation.
The following year they did WW2 battles.
This is in Australia so we are fortunate that the information is available online if you know where to look.
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Those seem like very good ways of going about raising interest, more personal and local too so more relevant to the pupils.
I can’t imagine it being forgotten , but other conflicts have been,except as history.
No special day for Waterloo, Crecy,Poitiers,Agincourt ,Nazeby ,the dreadful toll of Towton,and those were often hand to hand encounters.
We have few records of burials of those who died in those battles , no remembrance fior them .
I suppose because it went on for four years ,over such a big area, the enormous numbers lost and injured, and the artillery involved ,plus I think it would be the first war where conscription was in place, makes a huge difference ,it was a war,not a battle.
Wars of The Roses,yes but that was not continuous .
France has agitated for some time to reclaim the cemeteries for farming.
However, the land was given “ In perpetuity” and the cemeteries do bring in tourism .
To start small and local and find out where that fits in to the very big picture
is an excellent way of gaining the pupils’ interest .
It was such a big overwhelming cataclysmic event as to be unimaginable for young people.
Hope we hear from the RootsChatter who asked for info, it will be interesting
to get the pupils’reactions.
Viktoria.
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Viktoria it also helped that Nanna knew where to look for the records. For the second one we did a tree linking them. That went down very well with the teacher.
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I can see it would be a great help, especially the direct links to present day people.
I must photocopy the project my grandson did, just one soldier, captured and so a POW pretty early but some family background too.
I find it hard ,as I was brought up with it all, that people don’t know ,but that could have been said of me re earlier conflicts such as The Crimean War, yes Florence Nightingal,The Light Brigade, Balaclava ,but the every day life of the troops was never mentioned, their home backgrounds etc.
I would love to be in that classroom .
Viktoria.
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My sons students discovered family members and added photos. A couple found they lived in houses or near to houses of the soldiers, one planted a poppy corner. He had some lovely comments at parents evening about it as well.
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Volunteered during Covid to become a Researcher for The Liverpoolpals Memorial website Roll of Honour
Was Allocated Surnames A to M and Research those Fallen Pals who had No Age Known and No Biography listed
Starting with Only a Name, Serial number and Date of Death - I ploughed through some 2000 cases and ensured they all had an Age and Biography ( except two cases- One Canadian and One Scotsman who enlisted under false names)
Here is a Link to an Example of one of the cases that I created from nothing known.
https://www.liverpoolpals.com/soldier/?i=17/25705-Pte-frank-ainsworth
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Hello Rootschat,
As some of you may already know, I am a History teacher working in a secondary school in the East Midlands.
I have recently been asked by my Head of Department to take a lead on planning and resourcing our WW1 Scheme of Learning and I am pivoting towards a study of how the First World War impacted on ordinary people, e.g., the soldiers who fought in it and the families who lived it.
As part of this, I intend on using real-life examples of families during this conflict as well as experiences and stories by ordinary men on the front lines in extraordinary circumstances. My philosophy when teaching History is to make it as relevant and as powerful as possible to engage students' understanding.
In this vein, I have a polite request. If any of you have any stories or photographs of First World War soldiers/families that you would like to be incorporated into my lessons then I would love to hear from you, either publicly or privately.
I'd like to stress that as a teacher I will be making no profit from such work and if chatters wish, I'd be more than happy to share the lesson PowerPoints so that you can see how I have your family's stories of sacrifice to bring history alive for the next generation.
I hope that admin can accommodate this request; I don't believe such a request has been made before and I'd love to have real, authentic experiences of ordinary people during this time to share.
I'm looking for the following in particular, including images if they are available:
- Stories of loss on the front. Did your ancestor serve with friends who died in service?
- Stories of heroism or humanity shown on the battlefield, whether it be with friends, comrades or perhaps even the enemy?
- Stories of men who were taken as Prisoners of War.
- Stories of how families struggled back home.
- Stories of women who worked in munitions factories or who drove the ambulances near the front lines.
- Stories of soldiers who married their nurses.
- Stories of families losing more than one son/brother to the war and of course the awful stories of battle and warfare that the men experienced.
- Stories about soldiers being punished or tried for what the army deemed as cowardice.
I promise to treat all of the above with the respect and sensitivity they deserve. They are, after all, our family history. I'll be sharing the story of my great gran's cousin Peter who signed up with his friend; they had consecutive army numbers and served in the same machine gun battery, only to be killed on The Somme 24 hours apart.
Please reply or drop me a message if you are interested!
Kind regards,
Matt
Matt - Use this link for a street near you and expand UK map and zoom in on your East Midlands Area to see those lost in WW1 in your area.
https://astreetnearyou.org/#=undefined&lat=35.84156446066883&lon=18.74999284744263&zoom=3
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I drive through a Thankful Village quite frequently. They have added that fact to the signs as you enter the Village. I believe that there are no Thankful Villages in France.
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My grandfather and his younger brother lied about their ages in order to join WW1
He rarely talked about his experience
But once he did tell my sister about the time his comrades either side of him were shot .
She remembers him veering off in the park as he told the story probably to go to the gents so he she wouldn't see him cry ...she didn't realize where he was heading and was so engrossed in story nearly went inthe gents toilet too.
He was also terrified off mice ..we thought that was funny but later learning of the rats in trenches which bit soldiers we realized it was a more rational fear than his wife's fear of cows !
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Something that may resonate with your students is that it is
estimated that over 50,000 underage boys volunteered during the war.
A few years ago I took this picture at Essex Farm Cemetery of
Valentine Strudwick of the 8th. Rifle Brigade.
He died age 15.
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Hello everyone,
Firstly, can I please just say a sincere thank you to everyone who has responded to this thread until now and to those who have messaged me privately to send on your stories/memories/photographs. I am currently away for the weekend but I wanted to check-in so that you all don't think I'm ignoring you. I'm truly thankful that so many of you have shared stories that are so personal so please accept my humble thanks.
I am having a meeting with my head of department next week to finalise our curriculum plan for Term 2 (when we teach WW1) and I will use these stories as sources to inform our lessons and PowerPoints. I will also be able to read them in more detail and respond to PMs once I have done this.
I've had a lot of responses so please accept my apologies if I don't respond right away.
Thanks again - my students are going to find this all extremely useful and informative.
MattR
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On 'boys' at war: Jack Cornwell, Boy 1st Class, was awarded a posthumous VC aged 16 for his courage at Jutland.
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Another at Delville Wood ,theSouthern end of the main activity of the first day of The Battle of The Somme.
A 16 year old.
I have a photo.
I am open to correction ,but were there still drummer boys etc ?
Viktoria.
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I am open to correction ,but were there still drummer boys etc
They lied about their age.
Minimum age was 18.
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Something that may resonate with your students is that it is
estimated that over 50,000 underage boys volunteered during the war.
A few years ago I took this picture at Essex Farm Cemetery of
Valentine Strudwick of the 8th. Rifle Brigade.
He died age 15.
He was Born March Quarter 1900 Mother Louisa nee Fuller
He was awarded 1914/15 Star because he went over 1915 age 14 probably enlisted 1914 aged 14
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Ah, yes, but of course if killed in battle they would be buried and their gravestones ( crosses at first) would give the age on their dog tags.
However they might be after battle corrections ,their dog tags would have the false ages I should think.
Cemeteries were rationalised after the war.
Viktoria.
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I am open to correction ,but were there still drummer boys etc
They lied about their age.
Minimum age was 18.
Article from Ottawa Newspaper about Joe enlisting.
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My grandfather was 17 his brother 15
I have some photos of him.posing with a german helmet back in Liverpool
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The family story that gets me every Remembrance Day tells of one young British officer killed near Ypres and his German brother-in-law, also a young officer, killed on the other side of the lines. Their deaths were a few weeks apart. I can give some detail if you would like to use this example.
The wedding (see photo) was on 3rd July 1914.
War broke out less than a month later.
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That looks like the German Soldier?
The helmet, but the white(?) tassel- horsehair plume? partly obscures the headwear.
What a great pity those young men were lost, just two stories in the millions of others.
I would love to see a photograph of the other couple.
Thanks.
Viktoria.
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That looks like the German Soldier?
The helmet, but the white(?) tassel- horsehair plume? partly obscures the headwear.
What a great pity those young men were lost, just two stories in the millions if others.
I would love to see a photograph of the other couple.
Thanks.
Viktoria.
Yes, that's the wedding in Folkestone. Of course the bride lost her British nationality that day and became a German. She spent the war in Berlin.
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My Scots grandfathers brother died at...passebdalr the week before end of war
I'm technically challenged but will try and send link to a memorial + a photo
I inherited grandads tin of photos ...he didn't write who's who or dates on the back
Because he knew which photo was which brother or friend but with help regarding uniform
Would that be a good activity for the children to look for any clues to identify Walter 1897 - 1916
or his brother Malcolm MacDermid
Or any of the other men in.this regiment
From.Cambuslang
Lanarkshirr
Or to take any regiment and find out how many survived
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Walters records
Cani put 2 attachments on 1 post ??
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Here's the other
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Thanks for that Brigidmac, you really ought to read Covenant With Death
But buy a really big box of tissues., and that is not my usual flippancy.
Viktoria.
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My great uncle was Charles Valentine Smith, born 1881 at Leicester.He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery and saw action in Mesopotamia. I have a series of tiny photographs he took of fellow soldiers, guns and camp at Babylon. He ended his war as a sergeant and gained an army pension in November, 1919. When he returned home to his wife May Estella (Stella) and two children he should have been able to return to the family business as a master baker. But something was wrong - shell shock I think - because he took his army pistol out one day and shot himself in the head. He survived but was left completely blind.The charity St. Dunstans stepped in and taught him a new trade: basket making. They owned a large house in Desford, Moorefield House, where the family lived for many years until their son George became an architect and designed and built a new house for them in the village.
I have two photographs of Charlie in his uniform;one has what I think is a medal on a ribbon, but I don't know what it is. ; ;
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Another possible angle that's just occurred to me is whether there was an auxiliary hospital near the school, and if you might be able to base something on that.
Last December a photo query was posted which turned out to be one of these establishments in Melton Mowbray:
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=868429.0
There were hundreds of others, and that thread includes links to some resources for them.
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Those with neurotic problems - I don’t mean neurotic in the flippant sense when someone is fussing unneccesarily, Imean deep seated psychoses from the indescribable horrors they witnessed , sadly many took their own lives.
Society was moving on ,but they could not, locked in their feelings that people were not caring any more, were not bothered about the astronomical losses and personal tragedies, they felt so alone.
How could they forget when the nightmares came every night.!
My aunt’s husband took his own life ,a young family too ,she was only thirty.
Were people more stoical then ?
Life certainly wasn’t easy for working class people.
And not to forget that after the war millions were unemployed, the dole queues, the means tests, etc.
A land fit for heroes————-hardly.
Viktoria.
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My grandmother was born in the 1880s and had an English mother and a Hanovarian German father. Her three brothers and her husband were all in the Royal Army Medical Corp (RAMC), They were all trained in medical aid and had been delegated to act as stretcher bearers or ambulance drivers. My grandfather's war ended in 1916 when he was gassed, The gas affected his ability to see and breathe. These casualties were sent home to be hospitalised in London. His wife was sent tickets by the War Department to travel by train from Yorkshire to visit him for a fortnight. She was met at her destination by the hospital almoner who had arranged for her to stay free of charge in a nearby lodging house for a fortnight.
One of her RAMC brothers was punished for sheltering overnight one Christmas Eve in a nunnery with three other soldiers. His punishment was to be tied to a stake in a clearing in the middle of the army camp, where there was no shelter from elements or attacks.
WWI meant there was a great leap of knowledge in the field of medicine, surgery and nursing.. Below are videos which should not be viewed by those with a weak disposition.
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/birth-plastic-surgery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWGSym6NyF0
url link http://www.rootschat.com/links/01smn/
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I worked for some years on the beauty counter at a chemist.We sold Lancaster products which were a bit different to the norm.They were specialised regimes to assist skin regeneration from scar sand other types of skin damage They were very effective.
This site explains the name, that of the wartie bomber:
https://www.hellomonaco.com/sightseeing/made-in-monaco/made-in-monaco-how-lancaster-pilot-founded-world-renowned-brand/
What it doesn't say there is what he discovered helped the healing of the veterans - placenta from new-borns.
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In The Cloth Hall in Ypres, there is a newish museum dedicated to WW1
There always was one from its being rebuilt after WW1 .
There is a section about wounds and re -construction surgery,some dreadful
photographs and the marvellous after surgery photos,the dreadful thought was —— would those men be sent back to the front ?
It surely would not have been possible to do such surgery again.
Viktoria.
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A pair of postcards from a serving father to his children, which your pupils might empathise with: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195968963192
A George Walker is shown at the address in local directories of 1914 and 1922, so he appears to have survived.
Please Sir! How long do we have to hand in our homework? Finding time to put stuff together is proving a struggle.
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Hi Matt
Perhaps this link and some of the resources may interest you.
http://explorers.mlfhs.org.uk/manchester_hill.htm
Kind regards,
CD
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Chris, you reminded me of a friend whose grandfather was killed during WW1. She managed to get copies of letters he sent home. She said one contained some Francs with instructions of who in the village to go to the exchange the money so that his wife could buy some coal. They had three children, the oldest born in 1913, when he was killed in 1917.
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One of my late mother's older cousins once described to me the day she saw a German Zeppelin Air Ship in the sky over the River Humber. This air ship was filled with Hydrogen and had flown up the east coast of England dropping bombs on pre determined targets.
https://www.mylearning.org/stories/zeppelin-raids-in-the-humber-during-ww1/802
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When visiting my maternal grandmother as a child I would always ask if I could look in her sideboard drawer. This was where she kept her personal belongings, amongst which were the silk embroidered postcards sent to her during WWI by my grandfather.
url link
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01sms/
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One rather pathetic story from the start of the war :
My great-uncle Harry signed up with the light infantry in Liverpool aged 18. After 6 weeks he was sent to complete training south of London, being put on guard duty at the mouth of Merstham tunnel on the Brighton line. Someone in a passing train offered him a paper to read, which he went to pick up and was mown down by a train on the other track. Died in the signal box and never got anywhere near the war.
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Hello
Here is an interesting story of Peter Grant of Newport on Tay... you can find his story at
https://www.greatwardundee.com/2016/10/05/ww1-deserter-honoured-by-his-community/
and memorial image I made at
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/485544403567073020/
Wife's Great Uncle's memorial .... Battle of Loos...
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/485544403588809998/
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/485544403582094916/
First Black Watch just before they left for France
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/485544403551562293/
most of them would be killed in about a year or two...James Montague
and lastly the same regiment at the end of the war... please note how old
some of them look
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/485544403564588024/
Good luck with your project... you might also try and see if any pupils share names with those who served during the war as you will more than likely to find plenty of matches...
Regards
Mark W