Whilst I totally respect ex soldiers ‘ attitudes that have been mentioned ,we can’t just forget such sacrifice by all men who did serve, willingly or not.
I wonder what our country and indeed the world would have been like had we not won WW1?
Perhaps no WW2 ?
As has been said-“ T he trains would run on time!”
Our country in 1914 was very class conscious ,great divides between the rich and poor and I remember reading once ,that there was a train of thought that women of the upper classes ( note the lower case letters!) grieved more strongly than the “poor” ——— ignoring the facts that thin ,sickly ,poorly clad
children could be dearly loved even if their mothers could not feed them or clothe them very well.
So when poor families lost a son they were not much fussed!
How DARE anyone arrive at that opinion.?
Families grieved but still had to go to work and get on with work and household work as well for women . They were more private , after all as for example when the letters started arriving in Accrington and surrounding small towns and villages, after the first day of The Battle of The Somme, when The Accrington Pals- 11th East Lancs - were almost totally annihilated -someone from every street - it seemed and more than one in many homes were killed, brothers and fathers and sons.
That morning when the letters were received ,there would be grieving families almost every street .
I think that changed the idea of family members serving together ,it had been a sort of inducement ,serve with your brothers,father and pals.
1,076 men enlisted in 10 days, 850 were killed.
The Sheffield Pals were another example -
“ Two years in the making- Ten minutes in the destroying”.
They had served in Mesopotamia before being almost totally wiped out on the first day of “ The Somme. “
It was a prime example of the innocence of youth and ideals of patriotism.
They and The Sheffield Pals were at the North end the battle lines,Beaumont Hammel, Serre, Thiepval .
The huge Memorial there has many of their names on it.
“ The Accy Palls’ “ memorial is an Accrington brick wall, NORI brick ,a very hard wearing building brick made at Accrington.
Just at the edge of the trenches - we have stood in their overnight bivouac trench - and wept.
I have the Roll of Honour , fathers and sons together.
So whilst many men served honourably albeit reluctantly in many cases, they did fight in defence of their country.
All credit to them.
But of course they came back to mass unemployment,dole queues ,the means test, and such deprivation , not really until there were signs that Germany was “at it again “and rearmament started giving employment did things improve job- wise for many many poor people.
I know, my Dad was one.
He could not get married until 1933,too ill to work ,even after the relative luxury of being a POW ,which probably saved his life, or I would not be here now typing away !
A very emotive subject,it almost beggars belief.
I admire those men who really did not want to kill others- who could be family men like themselves ,but they did in defence of their families and
country.
They might not have wanted it but got anyway thanks and admiration - they deserve remembrance .
“Love’s Last Gift- Rememberance.”
Viktoria.