This town used to be rough. You only have to go back thirty years or so. If you came for a night out from a neighbouring village, you’d get your head kicked in for the pleasure of a few pints. You were better off pretending you were visiting from Devon. Somewhere far enough away that a territorial local found you too boring to waste any energy on. These things happened because there was nothing else to do. And the youth were angry. Now all those hellraisers are old and the rage has burnt out and their sons haven’t got the same need to fight. But where does that rage go? Does it just dissipate into the atmosphere? Does it skip generations? This town has changed. For the better some would say. No one fights in public anymore. Not really. Not like they used to. Two-faced battles are fought online and so much of everything else happens behind closed doo...
Fascinating stuff, Tom! Was your grandfather in the Glosters? Were the Hiroshima pictures his own and, if so, did he serve in WWII also?
ReplyDeleteI used to know an ex-Major ( sadly gone now ) who fought at the Battle Of Imjin River in Korea, where the Gloucester Regiment made a brave stand against overwhelming Chinese forces. He was captured and tortured but still maintained his enthusiasm for the army in the years after his military service. They were made of strong stuff in those days!
Hi Simon. No one really knows much about his time in Korea. It obviously had a great impact on him as he promised to name his first son Kim after (it is assumed) someone he met out there. His first son was my dad. Granddad was too young to serve in WWII so, again, I assume the photos that appear in his scrap book were given to him by fellow soldiers who had. Apparently he was part of The Welch Regiment rather than The Royal Welch Fusiliers, two army regiments posted there. A grainy picture of my Granddad's cap badge in one of the pictures would seem to corroborate this.
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