G IS FOR...

...GRANDFATHER
My grandfather was born in Sheffield in 1882.  We have a newspaper article stating that he shaved a couple of years off his birth-date when he joined the British Army which was in about 1900.  I'm not sure how old you had to be to join the army then, so the 1900 date is a little flexible.

He joined the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons.  Below is a postcard of the military dress uniform which he sent to my grandmother in 1905  He addressed it to her maiden name, so they were probably not married at the time. 

In 1900-1902 he fought in the Anglo-Boer War in the Orange Free State.  In this photograph below the X points him out, with his hat rakishly tipped to one side.  I'm sorry I don't have the right military vocabulary but you know what I mean. He was small in stature so I suspect he is standing on something  here.

The Sixth Inniskillings was a mounted cavalry regiment and served not only in the Anglo-Boer War but also in India.  Below is a photo of him mounted on his horse which he rather naughtily called Kate, the name of my grandmother!

While still with the 6th Inniskillings Dragoons, he was part of a team which won the Rifle Championship of the Mediterranean  in 1909. 

In the first World War he was stationed in Mhow, Central India where his rifle skills were put to good use up at the Khyber Pass on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, (the more things change the more they stay the same!)

   

Second from the right in the photo below, he is now a sergeant with a different regiment, the 'D' Squadron of the First Life Guards in France where he fought at Ypres in 1915.  I think these men were draftees.  There were about a hundred of them and many of them had been together in India in earlier years.  According to the dispatches their high spirited  reunion and rash behavior gave the powers that be a headache. I just also discovered from a newspaper clipping that Granddad was a tank commander during the 1914-18 war. As you can see, he was small in size, but I think feisty would be a good word to describe him. From what I remember of him I don't think many would want to tangle with him.

He was a awarded a good many medals which sadly had to be sacrificed by the family in a time of need. At some point, I know he spent some time in China and that he was also appointed as batman to Sir David Rutherford. Once out of the army he remained in service with Sir David as his chauffeur and my grandmother went into service as a housemaid up at the 'Big House'. (Shades of Downton Abbey).

Happy days in retirement. 

 I remember my grandfather best for his eating very highly seasoned (hot, hot) food, for which he had acquired a taste while in India.  I remember being fascinated with the beads of perspiration that appeared on his top lip (must have shaved off his mustache at that time) while eating that kind of food.  For many years as a child I tried to copy that habit, just because Granddad did it.

He died in the sixties. One other significant memory I have of him is when he took me into the fruit cellar where all the apples off Sir David's trees were stored for the winter.  He showed me how each one was set in a space by itself without touching any other apple so that if there were any blemishes on one apple they would not be transferred to another.  He used this as an opportunity to teach a life lesson of choosing friends carefully and being careful not to influence others negatively.

I wonder if grandparents today realize how much influence for good they can have on their grandchildren.

I must give credit to my older brother who died in 1984 at age 48,  who collected and identified the photos above.   Thanks also  to my sister, Kaybee,  who conserved them for many years. Between us and with the help of blogger Snafu we now have many, many old family photos and family trees.

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This is my entry for ABC WEDNESDAY letter 'G'.  If you would like to see more of these intriguing entries, please click on this button HERE  and it will take you to the many others who are participating in this fascinating project.