My great uncle and his brother ,my grandfather joined the Royal Navy Reserves at the same time in 1915. They were sent for training and then to France. They took part in the battle of the Somme and my uncle was wounded on the 13th of November at the Ancre. He was taken to a casualty clearing station at Contay and died of his wounds there two days later. My grandfather his brother was also badly wounded and was sent back to Chelsea hospital to be treated for his injuries. He often talked about his brother but never the war and although given six months to live when first injured, he managed to survive for nearly 49 years His injuries from the war were something he lived with every day of his life and were a constant reminder to him of how fortunate he was to survive whilst his younger died.

Carole Wistow