Very sad stories of them two Grandads im beating myself up as a kid in the 60s i had no interest in ww1 i like many of us at that time was mad on ww2 playing war games in Aston church graveyard wearing gasmasks Arp helmets even german helmets armed with real bayonets anyway the point im trying to make is i had 2 living grandads both were on the somme but they like others at the time did not talk about it i recall a tv programme called all our yesterdays covering ww1 this year been 100 years since the outbreak of that war we are all itching for stories and what our familys did thinking back they just did not talk about it my wife is German she said it was the same in Europe in the 60s only as a teenager working in France did she become aware of the horrors of ww1 Every time i am in Germany i make time to go and and vist the graves of all Nations i aways shed a tear and my grand kids take roses to put on a few of the graves Lest we forrget.
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100 years since the outbreak of WW1
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paul stacey
master brummie
My fathers father , Albert 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards was so mentally scared in the battle of Loo's, that the whole family were broken up, and dad being the baby was farmed out to various relatives till he was 14 and then went in the Gunners, my wife's Grandfather Albert , 1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, was gassed at Passchendaele, he lost a lung, but smoked a pipe and cycled everywhere till his death at the age of 85. paul
donbogen please dont beat yourself up...most of us as youngsters would not have even heard of the great war and i would say it was quite common for young lads in the 50s and 60s to play soldiers and ww2 games..it is only as we get older and take an interest that we come to realise just how awful war was...i think that is a lovely thing that you do by going to visit the graves of the nations when you are in germany...the important thing is that we are now remembering all those lost in both wars and those who came home so very damaged and we must make sure that their bravery is never forgotton...respect to both of your grandads and to yours as well paul...true heroes...
maybe we should dedicate this thread to them and members could post their stories of relatives who served in the great war and post photos of them if possible...unfortunatly i do not have one of my grandad which has always been a source of great sadness to me but at least i do have his war records with his signature on..
lyn
maybe we should dedicate this thread to them and members could post their stories of relatives who served in the great war and post photos of them if possible...unfortunatly i do not have one of my grandad which has always been a source of great sadness to me but at least i do have his war records with his signature on..
lyn
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There's probably a lot out there that wouldn't be too pleased about the "For England" bit. According to my dad, his father was a friend of the (Irish) poet Ledwidge who convinced many of the old Volunteers (Irish Rebels) to sign up to fight the Kaiser. Not that they would have supported the English in anything, but many of them thought Germany was a much greater threat. Grandad got a medal at Messines. The other (English) Grandad didn't fight in that war but he had already served in India and South Africa by then.
paul stacey
master brummie
Coming from part Irish stock, it has always been a scandal to me how the Irish Republic never honoured the thousands who perished and were mutilated, genuine Irishmen, who never the less felt it was there duty to fight against the German occupation of Belgium and France. Paul
hi wam i am quite sure that many countrys and in different parts of england all those who fought in the great war will be remembered as is quite right...as a birmingham history forum obviously i am addressing mainly brummies and so hoping that this city will as i am sure they will do be showing respect to everyone who served and in particular the many brummies who served and came back and to those who gave their lives...
we must be careful not to go off topic on this thread its purely to remember and never forget...
lyn
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The point I was making was that this was not the only country on this side in that war. Many of those who fought did it from their own belief that it was the right thing to do and not for a national cause. The Irish are a particular case in point because at this point in their history, they were more likely to fight England than fight for it. The Easter Uprising came half way through the war and many of those who fought in that would have regarded those fighting in Europe in a less-than-heroic light. It is also worth remembering that a great many Irish have come to live in this city since then and would have had ancestors who fought both in the rebellion and the war. In my case, my grandfather fought in the war and his sisters fought in the rebellion. My father seemed to think more of his aunts than of his father.
As to Ledwidge, he's a good enough example of the situation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Ledwidge and this is a fair assessment.
This is a history of the Irish involvement in WW1 compiled on the site of the taoiseach for the 90th anniversary of the battle of the Somme. https://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Hi...ns/Irish_Soldiers_in_the_First_World_War.html
There have been speeches in the last year that suggest the republic may do more to remember those who fought in that war but I wouldn't count on any major memorial events on the scale that the UK is planning.
https://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/Ne..._of_the_Treaty_Ports_Cork_11th_July_2013.html
hi old boy must admit i had to google for info of the date war started...i got my info from here but maybe wiki have got it wrong..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I
Closing this thread for Moderator discussion.
Astoness/Lyn started this thread to discuss the way (if any) that Birmingham Council was going to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1.
We are going very off topic now so until this has been discussed with Lyn and moderators it will remain closed.
WW1 started on 28th July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in retaliation for the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinard
United kingdom declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914 , the service record papers of British troops 'entering the theatre of war',begin 5th august 1914.
Astoness/Lyn started this thread to discuss the way (if any) that Birmingham Council was going to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1.
We are going very off topic now so until this has been discussed with Lyn and moderators it will remain closed.
WW1 started on 28th July 1914 when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in retaliation for the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinard
United kingdom declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914 , the service record papers of British troops 'entering the theatre of war',begin 5th august 1914.
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