I count my blessings and my good fortune to have never had to fight in a war, I owe a debt of gratitude to those who did their duty and fought for the peace we enjoy today.
My maternal great grandfather was a very proud Scot who lived in Wednesbury in what is now the West Midlands. When the Boer War broke out and there was a call to arms, my great grandfather would not join the local Staffordshire regiment (as did many of his work colleagues and friends) he wanted to fight alongside fellow Scots. Not having the spare money to buy a rail ticket, he walked from Wednesbury to Stirling Castle well over 250 miles to join a Scottish regiment . His Boer war medals are now in the Museum in Edinburgh Castle There is a family heirloom from him, a gold watch guard/chain made from the gold he picked up whilst fighting the Boers in South Africa. Those were the days of a sense of civic pride and duty, he was awarded a gold medallion by the town council for being the best dressed man in Wednesbury that he proudly worn on the end of his watch chain.
My father served his national duty in Germany at the end of 40's he was a Sargant in the Military Police, I always remember his service truncheon was a heavy beast of a thing, it was traditional to hollow out the centre of the truncheon and fill it with lead, as bringing order to drunk quite fit servicemen could be a challenge. Whilst on patrol in depths of winter in Cologne, he came across a heavily pregnant women on the ground in the snow going into advanced labour. Only just eighteen at the time, there was no help around so he took off his great coat put the women on it and helped the birth, cut the cord, then found help and got mother and the baby boy to hospital. He always recalled how proud he felt at that at the moment ., but the next day he was up on a charge and fined for the state of his great coat following the birth on it......he always maintained the fine was worth it.
regards
