Every history buff and school child alike have studied the Great War, the war that was supposed to end all wars which sadly became a jumping off point into the second world war only a few decades later. On the outbreak of war in 1914 hundreds of thousands of young men from all over the United Kingdom and her empire answered the call of duty and joined our armed forces to defend their countries, peoples and families.
The war took a huge toll on the male population of the allied countries between 1914-1918 with the total reported dead, injured or missing in action standing at nearly 23 million.
When the war was ended the population of young men in the United Kingdom was far reduced which in effect caused unmarried woman to need to marry rather younger or rather older than themselves. Such was the situation in my own family.
My great grandmother (Catherine) being about 25 at the time the war ended fell in love with the man that was to become my great grandfather (Lancelot) when he was just 15. The love between them was to produce my grandfather Edwin. My great grandparents later married and were to be together for the rest of their lives.
Our story now jumps forward in time to 1939 and the outbreak of the Second World War. My grandfather, like many young men of his generation, answered the call of duty and proceeded to join the armed forces - the Royal Air Force and later was attached to the British 8th Army in Africa. However there stood one big obstacle to his service, the fact that at the time of his birth he was illegitimate.
This was a problem faced by many young men who wished to service and was a direct result of the huge number of casualities inflicted on the United Kingdom during the Great War. To solve this issue the government of the day legitimized the birth of a significant number of men. Therefore allowing them to fight for their King and Country.
This was the reason why my grandfather has two birth certificates. I wander how many other families have the same situation?
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