The first few months will be relatively quiet but obviously as the war progresses the pace, sadly, will quicken. It’s the enormity of it all that overwhelms me whereas, conversely, it’s the minutiae that intrigues me. I can’t look at the Memorial without thinking of Sassoon’s ‘intolerably nameless names.’ It now turns out that five and possibly six brothers actually lived next door to me in 1911. Three died, two survived but with wounds yet only two are commemorated on the Memorial, one of whom is recorded both on the Memorial and by the CWGC with the wrong first name. I feel saddened that some of the entries will be little more than name, rank and number, however, others will have a very extensive entry.

It’s a learning curve, sometimes a steep one, and sometimes you find things that you wish you hadn’t, but that is the nature of history.

Thanks for your kind comments.

Regards,

Kevin Mears.