On this day one hundred years ago Asquith and Crewe (and others) addressed the House of Commons and the House of Lords respectively on the murder of Archduke Ferdinand. Across the seas in Australia my direct ancestors and their siblings were conducting humble lives. I do not wish to glorify conflict but the sacrifices of The Great War ought to be marked. This is the first in a series of posts written to honour the memory of my ancestors.
My Great Grandfather (GGF) had emigrated from Scotland just a few years earlier and on 30 June 1914, aged 23, he could have been reading a newspaper after supper such as The Sydney Morning Herald which carried the following summary on page one concerning Asquith’s address.
My GGF was lucky. He recovered and on arriving home married his sweetheart and swiftly conceived my grandfather. Other family members were not so fortunate. I made the pilgrimage to Gallipoli a few years ago to attend the Dawn Service at Anzac Cove.The service and my time on the peninsula was moving. Another family member is buried there. His story deserves its own post.
We can speculate on how World War One could have been avoided and offer alternative diplomatic responses to prevent the assassination from being a trigger. We cannot reverse the long lived consequences of this war.In the countdown to war many of our ancestors were regrettably fated to be the real victims of what Asquith described as Ferdinand
0 yorum:
Post a Comment