Remembering
My immediate family background is a Celtic ‘full house’ with Scots, Welsh and Irish grandparents, supplemented by a German grandma and with Cornish not far behind in the mix too. My Scots grandad, also called David, was instrumental in my being alive – by surviving World War One.
Resident in Manchester, he was still recruited into a Scots regiment. His regiment was sent to Gallipoli and, although he was wounded in that murderous assault, he survived. The Manchester regiment was wiped out. Recovering from his injuries, he was loaded onto a hospital ship which was sunk by enemy action. He had never learned to swim. Floundering in the sea, far from shore, weakened by loss of blood and the trauma of having been shot, somehow, he survived. Once he was recovered, he was posted to Palestine. There he caught enteric fever. Although most sufferers survived, they were incapacitated for a long period of time. With what was left of his strength, he was next posted to the Western Front. He survived.
Although he survived, these experiences changed him forever. As an adult, and with some experience of mental healthcare, I can now see that my grandad was suffering the emotional after-effects of these terrifying experiences. He spent some time in a mental health institution in his forties and was obsessed by the need to exercise total control over his environment for the rest of his life.
As a crass child, although I was in awe of his wide knowledge around many subjects, and his fierce views on the importance of education, I just saw him as my least fun grandparent. I hope I didn’t add to the pain he was carrying by being a little distant from him. Sadly, I probably did.
I mention all this because on the 15th of this month we commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, marking the end of the Far East campaign against Japan, and the end of World War Two. A different war and a different part of the world, but the suffering of those who fought was the same as for all who endure war and all its horrors. With the anniversary of D-Day and VE Day still so clear in our minds, I hope very much that we will remember to mark this day too, and by doing so honour all those who have served this country in war.
David Knight Vicar of Fletching
Piltdown and Sheffield Park