Gilbert (know as Gilly) Barker was my mother's cousin. He came from a military family and aged 16 lied about his age, enlisted in the Royal Scots and was sent to France. He was ****ed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme which was also his 17th birthday. Gilly has no grave but is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. His older brother, Evelyn, returned from the war shell shocked and g***ed but lived until 1973.

Maureen Hudd