Every photo has a story behind it! I like how the English historian A.J.P. Taylor held photos of World War One soldiers in awe. He wrote in 'An Illustrated History of the First World War’ that 'The Unknown soldier was the hero of the First World War. He was vanished except as a cipher, from the written records. He lives again in the photographs' { A.J.P. Taylor preface to ‘The First World War: Am Illustrated History,’ London: Penguin Books, 1963}.
I also think that it is important for us to treasure the photos of homeless people because they might be the only things we have to remind us of their lives should they die and not receive a plot in a graveyard. So let me tell you about my Grand -Uncle David Bell. Hardly anyone in the family would speak about the war or should I say wars. They were largely reticent about it as if it was a taboo topic. I only discovered some details of some stories by chance from my late Uncle Jim {God bless him}.
The story goes that my grand-uncle lied about his age to join up in 1914. He was about fifteen when the age requirements for military service overseas was initially nineteen. It is not difficult to understand why he joined up. Compared to doing dull, dreary and repetitive civilian jobs available at the time, the war sounded like an alluring adventure. It was exhilarating.
People were misled into believing the war would be over before Christmas. But this enthusiasm and idealism soon evaporated in the mud and rat infested trenches where burning lice off uniforms became a regular pastime. His older brother Alan Hynd, who had also enlisted, died in the Battle of the Somme when he was just nineteen. The version I was told of his death was that he was shot by a German sniper when he went out for a walk to get some fresh air.
When David Bell's father started reading reports about the high casualty lists he wrote to the army asking for his son to be discharged on the grounds that he had illegally signed up and was therefore underage. But it was all in vain! The red tape of the military establishment was impregnable. When his father won his case it was too late. David Bell had reached the age where he had to serve due to conscription which had lowered the age of service to 18 for recruits.
How David Bell survived was short of a miracle. All his company was slaughtered. He was badly wounded and just managed to survive. The suffering he and other soldiers underwent often defies imagination. And Lloyd George's election promise to create a 'Land fit for heroes' was scarce compensation for what soldiers endured.
Yes, there were improvements such as the construction of social housing amounting to 70% of the 344,209 houses built in Scotland from 1919-1941 and new rent acts to protect tenants from abusive landlords but many soldiers still returned to a land blighted by unemployment, poverty and living in slums. In fact, a century has gone by and we are still waiting for this land fit for heroes.
I don't think my grandmother could forgive the Germans. In fact, she would scold the Kaiser when I spoke to her. Within the short space of 21 years another war broke out and this time it was her only son Uncle Alan Bell who was sent to the front. He joined the signal corps and was sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force to defend France against the Germans. But everything went awry!
On 10th May 1940, the Germans launched their Blitzkrieg or lightning war when a powerful combination of planes, tanks and infantry could use speed, and surprise quickly to split and encircle the Allied forces. The Germans just avoided the Maginot line by going through the Ardennes forest. The Allied forces were forced to retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk with their backs to the sea. The army were caught like rats in a trap. The British government launched a massive rescue operation called Operation Dynamo in which they would evacuate stranded soldiers with a combination of military warships and civilian boats.
Again, I heard about what had actually happened when my Uncle Jim told me. Whenever I asked my grandmother questions, my mother would rightly scold me by saying, "Don't ask such questions. You just upset grandmother."
My uncle told me that Uncle Alan and his comrades were asked by an officer to guard the retreat with a Maxim machine gun. When they glanced back, they discovered that their commanding officer had done a disappearing act. Everyone had fled except them. They decided it was better just to ignore foolish orders and also retreat. They ended up on the beaches Dunkirk. However, German Dive Bombers such as Junker Stukas were attacking them. When one plane swooped on them they got down. When my uncle got up he shouted to his comrades to also rise. But they did not stand up. They had been all killed by a falling bomb. My uncle was shattered by this. But he had enough presence of mind to reason how to best escape. He thought that if he remained on the beach any longer that he too would die. Being a strong swimmer, he thought he might be able to swim to a distant ship. It was very far away but before the war he had been a keen sportsman who often took part in swimming competitions. So he plunged into the sea and swam. Fortunately he managed to swim to a ship which picked him up. He was cold and exhausted. He was able to return to Britain in one piece.
The war must have traumatized him. He smoked a lot and died prematurely. My mother told me "You would smoke like a chimney if you had been what he had been through."
Even in the 1980's the impact of the war was still felt by grandmother. With old age she had become a little senile and would tell my aunt "Have you filled the bath with cold water yet?" This was the precaution families took during the war so that they could use water to put out a fire lest they be hit by German bombers. I was a bit taken aback by hearing my grandmother say this.
On the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in 2016, my old brother James took a photo of Alan Hynd with him to his grave in France. He told me he was mesmerized by the number of white graves he had seen. It was staggering to see them stretch on and over the fields into infinity. Almost a million soldiers on both sides perished in this pointless offensive which achieved nothing. The English historian A.J.P. Taylor stated that 'The Somme set the picture by which future generations saw the First world war; brave helpless soldiers, blundering obstinate generals; nothing achieved’ {A.J.P Taylor, ‘The First World War: An Illustrated History,’ London: Penguin Books, 1963, p. 140}.
Two world wars have passed and now many observers—Noam Chomsky included—fear another one is on the cards because of the growing polarization and unwillingness to listen to different voices or compromise. In fact, any attempts to open peace talks over Ukraine are regarded absurdly as 'betrayal.' Some people think illogically that to listen to someone or speak to them means you agree with them. But to understand is not synonymous with agreement. This is a point made by not only Chomsky but a top F.B.I. negotiator Chris Voss.
When I look at the photo of my grand-uncle I am struck by how innocent and idealistic he looks. I wonder if a shred of his idealism remained after his bitter hard experience.