Re: We Were Soldiers- It's a funny old world

----- Original Message -----
From: Tomb <tomb@dreammechanics.com>
To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
Sent: Thursday, March 21, 2002 3:44 PM
Subject: We Were Soldiers

> Dr. Lambshead (hoi folloi indeed!) said:
> Professional soldiers often have more in common with each other than
> their
> own civilians. In WW1 at Xmas British and German soldiers in France
> played
> a football match in no man's land (they won as usual at football).
>
> [Tomb] Familial anecdote: My Grandad fought with the British
(Scottish)
> 16th HLI through some of the uglier parts of the war (Somme, Pursuit
to
> Mons, a few other notable battles - IIRC). When I was younger, we
talked
> about the technical bits (guns, horses, etc) and the mud and disease
and
> shortage of food. I heard tales of people looting (yes even allies)
and
> of an inspection by King George (IIRC) and some Generals. But never
did
> we talk about the killing (I was young, so I didn't notice the
> omission). I can't imagine my Grandad killing people, which is funny
> because I know for a time he was a Lewis-gunner. I know he fought in
the
> trenches and no-man's land with the infantry. He probably event fought
> close assaults. But I still can't imagine the man I knew doing anyone
> harm.
SNIP

My paternal Grandfather was also a Lewis-gunner, in '14, was one of the
fraternisers at Christmas '14 (very large numbers were- there's a photo
of
the cartoonist Captain Bruce Bairnsfather "on his way to the
fraternisation"), wounded and captured in '16.	We have his letter of
thanks
"from the King".  He and his No.2 were hit by an aircraft, and were too
badly injured to get out of their shell-hole.  They were rescued by
German
medics (he remembered the red serpent badge they wore), but
unfortunately
the No.2 died. I have similar memories of talking about it with him and
his
pals, and they hadn't any great animosity towards the Germans. For me,
the
ground war in WW1 is much more immediate than WW2 because of these
conversations.

I have exactly the same difficulty thinking of my Grandpa
trench-raiding.
Rob Paul