Today is my not so silent Sunday, not because I'm ranting or shouting about anything, but my photos don't fit the criteria.
It does however fit in with what today is, Remembrance Sunday.
My great grandfather was killed in the Somme on 12th July 1916, my grandad was born in September 1914, we don't know if he ever got to meet him or not!
So cruelly taken away from his wife and their four children he has no known grave. His name appears on the wall of Thiepval Memorial, a memorial to soldiers missing in action.
Those whose bodies could not be identified either because there was no body to identify or because the wooden dog tags of the time hadn't survived!
As gruesome as it sounds I always try to believe things happen for a reason, after all had he not been killed they might not have moved to the house they did and my grandad might not of met my gran!
Thiepval is a very quiet and reflective place. The memorial looks like a huge building when you stand back, but when you get up close the scale of loss becomes obvious!
Name after name line the stones, nothing can compensate for the pain and suffering both those men and their families went through!
I feel sad my grandad never got to go to Thiepval and I was determined I would, to pay my respects to those who will never have their own grave and who never got to see their loved ones again.
Thank you to those who gave their lives so we might have ours and thank you to those that continue to do so at home and abroad!
