I lost a great uncle in the first weeks of WW1. He was in his 40's, fought in Africa in his teens and rejoined the Marines when ar was declared. He died at Antwerp where I managed to track down his grave a couple of years ago. I think I was probably the first member of the family to visit it...which was quite sobering.
Another great uncle, his brother, died at Gallipoli. His other brother, my grandfather, joined the Royal Flying Corps and ended the war in Egypt instructing balloon observers, having been mentioned in dispatches. I have a number of his training photographs. At the start of WW2 he tried endlessly to rejoin the RAF (I have copies of all his letters pleading his case and the replies). He was in a reserved occupation as an electrical specialist and worked in radar development instead.
On my mothers side, my great uncle Seth joined the NZ Machine Gun Corps in 1916 with his best friend, both from Christchurch. He died at Passchendaele and I visited his grave at Tyne Cot last year and found the place where he died this year.....very poignant. My wife obtained all his army records from the New Zealand authorities who were extremely helpful and we discovered his war medals were given by his widow to his best friend who survived the war and then emigrated to Australia. By the power of the Internet and what seems to be a world wide interest in family history research, his family contacted my wife and returned the medals to us. I may be sentimental but I took them with me on my trip to where he died.
