The Unknown Grandfather.

This week I received a wonderful letter from someone I don’t know, they had taken the time in finding our address, and wrote an incredibly  moving story.

It tells the story of a soldier who was in the 1st World War, who suffered deeply after what he had been through, as did many.Unlike today , we are more aware of PTSD, back then it was dealt with in a very different way.

He was sent away, never to be spoken of within the family, it was a subject never mentioned.

When he sadly passed away in the 1930’s he had only had any contact with one remaining family member.

It left others with feelings of terrible guilt, who in turn suffered greatly.

The writer of the letter, was determined to find out about this missing link in his family, he was still his Grandfather.

With help from family members he did find out about him, and wrote a tribute to the Grandfather he had never met.

A tribute of a brave man, a man who had suffered not only at the hands of his enemy but suffered at the hands of an uncaring society, a family who had no support to help them cope with his devastating injuries.

But a man who has never died in the writers heart, he is to be always remembered by him,  I quote, ” You live in my mind,’Tis where we have met, And now you’re alive, I will never forget.”

We too will now never forget.

The memories and desires we have to know about our grandparents is so strong, it is such an important part of us. The stories that they could share with us would be so wonderful a proper look into a world be have not known, not a snap taken on an iPhone but real life.

All too many of them are no longer there with us and their tales have gone with them.

It is why the relationship between a grandchild and a grandparent is a bond like no other, it is why we have to keep fighting for the grandchildren to enable them to share and understand the generations that have gone before them.

It is with the same determination as shown in this letter, that grandparents must stand together, must not try and divide, have to be the voice of the millions of children across the UK, and beyond, we have to remain committed in making things right for them.

I would like to thank the writer for sharing his story with me, doing what I do is such a privilege.

Jane

 

 

About Jane

Jane setup Bristol Grandparent Support Group in 2007 after a string of incidents led to the loss of contact with her Grand Daughter.

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