Betty Just reading your mail having got in from our local Legion service. I'm sure you're aware that many of the men who fought with the International Brigades were initially not allowed to join the forces on their return
Sent from my iPhone On 11 Nov 2011, at 11:38, John Boocock IFA <[email protected]> wrote: > On 11/11/2011 11:09, DAVID NATTAN wrote: >> On another issue, I have just stood to alert (scouts equivalent of >> attention) for 2 mins in silence for Remembrance Day - bearing in mind that >> I am at home alone and always feel a bit strange doing it, I just wondered >> if I am the only one or do others do it ? > > Dave you are not alone. Today is also my late father's birthday so it has > added poignancy for me. He was RAF just after the war and really only talked > about the japes he and the other Erks got up to. I do remember going to > Pudsey Cenotaph with him though. > > I've spent a lot of the past two years researching my maternal grandfather's > time on the Somme and have come across a lot of very interesting stories, not > just about him but also about people from Swinnow who were involved in the > war. It has spurred me on to write my first novel (watch out Chris I'm > coming!). In fact I've already been pencilling in "away weeks" when I'm > staying in an isolated spot in Arkengarthdale to settle down and write the > first few chapters. > > The sort of story I came across was like this: > > My grandfather was in the Durham Light Infantry and was a Sergeant by the > time of the Somme but by 1917 he was only a corporal. Why I wondered? It > appears that he had taken a chicken which was destined for the officers and > fed it to his men who were near starvation. Hence his reduction in rank. > Didn't last long though and he was eventually mentioned in dispatches for his > leadership in battle conditions. He was 25, the age of my daughter. > > "Has anyone seen the general? I know where he is, I know where he > is......................" > > I am also piecing together the life story of a Stanningley lad who was a > sergeant from the Tank Regiment - he spent most of his life after 1919 in and > out of prison for petty theft. I recently met his daughters and their story > of life as children in South London immediately after the first war was very > moving. Then they went through it all again in 39-45. > > My grandfather volunteered for the International Brigades. He seemed to like > the war stuff or maybe it was his massive family that spurred him on to take > regular breaks away from them. I often think of the International Brigades > today, they too fought against fascism whilst so many stood by and just > watched. > > War is never fun and I always believe that at each end of a gun is a worker. > Yes there is just cause and yes there is human sacrifice but it always is > tempered with loss of life which invariably has to be born by those left > behind. > > Today our thoughts should go out to all those people who have lost family, > loved ones, good friends and close colleagues in any conflict. Laurence > Binyon's words say it all. > > They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: > Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. > At the going down of the sun and in the morning > We will remember them. > > Betty > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > > PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] PETE CASS (1962 - 2011) Rest In Peace Mate
