His Grandfather and the Great War

He was told that his grandfather died in the first world war as a result of his vessel being hit by a U boat. It had sunk and the majority of the men on board had died, leaving broken hearts behind.

Now several decades after the Great War, he was standing before me and hoping that I would validate this family rumour for him. He had never got the opportunity to meet his grandfather and this "link" was all he had.

When I checked a resource for him that explained that the vessel's destruction was caused by an internal explosion his face became confused. He said in an insisting yet gentle manner that his grandfather had been killed by a U Boat. With sympathetic patience I explained that the source that I was consulting was like a "Bible" for HMS vessels and if the book insisted that internal explosion was the fate of the vessel then it was.

Still unsure he prompted me further to investigate and so I ran an internet search for him. Nestled between poetry dedicated to the ship's demise was an explanation for the two interpretations of the event. Original reports suggested that it had been sunk by a U Boat but on further investigation it was concluded that an internal explosion had caused the destruction of the vessel and the deaths of the men on board.

He asked for a copy of this new information and I could see that it had affected him in some form of fashion or other. To believe that his grandfather had died through an act of the enemy seemed a more worthy death than through incompetence or an accident of sorts. I printed out an image of the vessel for him in a kind of apology for tearing a family belief apart. It seemed an unworthy exchange.

He managed a weak smile and thanked me for my help. He held his hand out and I shook it in a warm way. He repeated that he had never had the chance to meet his grandfather and I replied by saying that this kind of documentation was a way to keep him alive.

I watched him as he walked away and with every step I found myself feeling that little more guilty. It is amazing how we search for answers from our past not knowing that when we get them it just leaves more questions. Even now the Great War can summon up emotions that swell the heart and question the mind.