"WW1 Family History" Topic

As it was Remembrance Day over the weekend I went through my Grandfather's papers. He was a 1st July 1916 survivor. I found some interesting bits and pieces and posted them up on my blog.

The first posting has some scans of official forms relating to his service: link

The other is his favourite story of trench life: link

I have more of his memoirs, covering from when he volunteeered through to his eventual discharge. Depending on interest I may post the rest of them over the next few weeks.

Neat.

Thanks. Mind if I read this to my students?

Thanks for sharing that. I just picked this up yesterday. Since it is about 1 July I thought you might be interested. link

This is very cool Trebian. Your Grandfather sounds like a very good man.

Thanks to all of you for your reactions to these family memories. My Grandfather was a lovely, gentle, man with a good sense of humour.

Praetorian: Of course you can read it out. My father was Private Walter James Evans of the 8th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. You may wonder why a Londoner was sent to serve in a Northern Regiment. So do we. In what context would you be reading it?

Since I posted these pieces I've been through more of the paers with my older brother. I need to refine the other bits he wrote before I post them up, but I will probably do so.

A Twiningham: That link is interesting, – not just for the beautiful drawings but also for the debate underneath in the comments which on one side is largely fuelled by ignorance. There's a good number of comments posted by a very well read Canadian, who is fighting a one man battle against people who clearly haven't read a proper book on the subject (quoting Wilfred Owen is NOT research).

Modern research has identifeid that the BEF's weapon system in 1917-18 was a sophisticated all arms process, more akin to the Second World War than what occurred in the Somme. To which some one posted "What about Gallipoli"?

That was in 1915.

Oh dear, what ignorance we have to deal with.

I have to confess I make it a point never to read the comments on any online article anymore. The…book(?) is amazing. Sort of a Bayeux Tapestry treatment of the first day of the Somme.

Praetorian: Of course you can read it out. My father was Private Walter James Evans of the 8th King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. You may wonder why a Londoner was sent to serve in a Northern Regiment. So do we. In what context would you be reading it?

I teach WWI to my World History students and I like to share primary sources that really highlight both the horror of war but also moments of levity (a great vocabulary word for them). I think it is moments like this that are hard to find in letters. I think I've read the Christmas Truce stories/letters so many times that I might have memorized them.

Praetorian: My grandfather's writings arem ostly about lif in the trenches, not fighting. There'll be more in them to entertain your students once I've sorted them out properly.

That's excellent. The fighting stuff they get from Hollywood movies. It's the mud and the rats they need to hear about.

Rats? – An endless source of amusement:

"During spells of inactivity, boredom often set in. To pass the time we used to play a penny sweepstake game of baiting the rat. Pieces of biscuit, bread, cheese were laid along the top of the trenches. Armed with our entrenching handles ("piggystick") we waited the intended victims. Dull thuds were heard here and there. The winner was he who killed the first rat."

Mud – more about keeping clean:

"(Much) as you would like to (keeping clean was) practically impossible for other ranks. Very rare to be taken to a disused brasserie – tall deep vats, filled with hot water, about four men to a vat. Very short men, their feet could hardly touch the bottom, heads barely above water, hung onto the sides. Quite an athletic performance to get in and out of the vat. After the bath we were issued with clean shirt, vest, pants and socks."