We Will Remember Them...
One hundred years ago today, on the 4th August 1914 at 23:00, Britain declared war on Germany and so plunging this country and the rest of the British Empire into a bloody conflict that lasted over four years. I was born in 1964, 50 years after World War One began, and I was lucky enough to know my Great Grandfather, John Herbert Hayes, who survived through the war. He died when I was 9 years old but I still have some great memories of talking to Grampy John. However the one thing he would never talk about was his experiences during the First Wold War. One day, just before he died, he gave me his campaign medals, but he would not talk about that time. My generation, and the generations that have followed, are very lucky. The 'war to end all wars' did no such thing but since 1945 Europe has enjoyed relative peace and war between Germany, France, Great Britain, Austria, Hungary, Italy etc is unthinkable in the 21st century. How can we un...