Did I ever mention that I have a website, wwone100yearanniversary.com? I've posted several excerpts from the journal to the website along with some documents. What I have found interesting about my grandfather's military history is that he joined the Royal Field Artillery, Special Reserves around 1907 and was called up to active duty in Aug 1914. His last journal entry was in May, 1915 and he must have been sent back to England because he was loaned from the RFA to the home defenses in May 1916 and placed in charge of establishing the anti-aircraft defenses for Liverpool. He went back to the RFA in Nov 1916 and I don't know his military record after that time except for a piece of document that credits one of his AA batteries with downing an enemy "bird" or aeroplane in 1917; according to some experts this took place in France. He must have been transferred back to France and served in the AA batteries.
The next document I have is dated 1918 when he was loaned to the RAF to fill a vacancy in their payroll section. He ended up remaining with the RAF until he left the service in 1920.
My next blog will go into what came after the war.
World War One journal entries will transcend the reader beyond the mere historical depiction of the war, transporting them through the personal experiences of one man who endured, while millions of other perished.
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