INTRODUCTION

During the summer of 1914 a shot fired on the streets of Sarajevo started a chain of events that changed the lives of everyone in the world, this was the incident that ultimately lead to the First World War.

When the guns fell silent on 11 November 1918 a total of 37.5 million casualties on all sides had been sustained - my great grandfather was one of them.

It has been said that there was not a single family in Great Britain left unscathed by the carnage on land, at sea and in the air. Thus, this story has many features which will be common to the history of families throughout this country. However, after eighty years how many people, especially those of my generation, remember, or even realise the sacrifices made by their forebears?

These pages are not intended to be a dry lesson in the history of the world's first total war, they are intended to tell a story about a man lost to my family for eighty years and my own reflections on his rediscovery. I have split the story into four parts:

Background - the known history about my great grandfather and the events that lead up to my visit to Belgium.

The Journey - remembering my great grandfather.

25 September 1915- what happened to my Great Grandfather

Feelings - a summation of my reflections on the whole experience.

I hope that you can spare a few moments to read these pages, I would like to think that they might inspire people to make contact with their past and remember again family members who made the ultimate sacrifice for King and country.

Please email me if you have any suggestions or comments