Gospel in WW1

It began on July 28, 1914 – and lasted until November 11, 1918. It brought into conflict the ‘Triple Entente’ of France, Russia and the United Kingdom with Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was, perhaps, the most terrible conflict the world had ever seen and perhaps will ever see. On the Allied side some 22 million were killed, missing or wounded and on the German side the same statistic was around 16 million. And although the war is associated with cheerful songs such as ‘Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag’ and ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’, actually it brought death on an industrial scale and traumatised most of those who survived.

Uncle Harry

When I was a lad, some of those men were still around in my town. I had an old uncle who lived across the road from us in a very sparse cottage, uncle Harry Johnson. I will always remember his gaunt features, the grey stubble on his chin and his grim attitude. He still wore his puttees from the trenches – those bandages the WWI soldiers used around their lower legs. He was a hard, sad man who, I think, spent most of his money on drink to drown the memories.