The Past

I found myself moved to tears on Tuesday watching the Armistice coverage from the Tower of London. All of those poppies, each one signifying a life cut short was incredibly powerful and what the men who fought in both world wars and all wars since did and still do for us can never be understated, forgotten or repaid.

It struck me too just how many people were telling the stories of their ancestors, stories of bravery and sorrow, told with medals and grainy photographs from long, long ago.

I want to tell the stories of my ancestors too but their stories were different. This photo is one I cherish as it is of my paternal great grandad, John William Hammond, his wife Ellen and my beloved grandad, Ernest.

At the outbreak of WW1, John Hammond was 25 and a Durham miner. At the outbreak of WW2 both he, and 24 year old Ernie worked at Scunthorpe Steelworks. Neither served their country in the armed forces as their jobs were reserved occupations, although they both joined the Home Guard to protect the steelworks from air attacks.

According to my dad neither ever talked about their war experiences and a part of me can't help wondering if that was because of their own guilt or the criticisms of others at their staying behind when others went off to fight.

There is hardly any literature or material about the men who worked in reserved occupations and it seems sad to me that their efforts don't seem to be commemorated at all. The Bevin Boys, men who were conscripted to work down the mines in WW2 have at last been formally recognised for the crucial work they did but the men who were already miners when war broke out and continued to do their jobs are not.

So I'm telling you about my grandad and great grandad because I recognise that although they didn't risk their lives in a daily hell they did important work, hewing coal from beneath the ground and forging the steel that built ships and planes and weapons, and I am proud of them.