Centurion

Today , my dad showed me a photo I had never seen before. It shows my Grandad astride a horse. He is the gentleman on the right. Part of the artillery division... At the Somme..... Moved me. I remember as a boy being fascinated by my grandads hand. It had no thumb and one finger was only half its normal size. He was with five other soldiers , when a shell exploded above them. My grandad was the only one who survived... Badly wounded he was evacuated to hospital and given an extra 65p a week for injuries sustained. I loved my grandad before. I love him even more now. Rest in peace brave soldier. Proud of you.

Win somme lose somme

For years, a vivid movie of soldiers going over the top at the Somme, literally haunted me. It was the one soldier, who never even made it across the top..but slumps back dead into the trench. Instantly gone. Or so i thought!! A fellow trombone player told me tonight , that it was all fake and a propaganda film probably shot on location in wales using actors?? All these years duped with clever images? What next...you will be telling me George Gershwin was not married to his lovely wife Ira ????
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jun/10/battle-of-the-somme-cinema-obsession-war