It had been on my bucket list but I have now been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit my grandfathers grave in France. He was killed at the Battle of the Somme. The visit was made more poignant as the visit was 100 years to the day that he died and I was accompanied by my brother and niece. The graveyard is in a tiny hamlet and contains around 300 graves but is in immaculate condition and well worth the visit. It is obviously just a very small percentage of those who died in the First World War but the emotion of the day made me think of the devastated lives of families. My mother was just 16 months old when her father died but the grave next to my grandfathers was of an 18 year old who had only just begun his life and is unlikely to have any descendants.
