Monday 31st July 2017

MONO MONDAY: TEXTURE

I've been thinking today about my grandfather, Dad's father, who died in early 1949 more than ten years before I was born. His name was Stanley Lawrence, and I've blipped about him before - www.blipfoto.com/entry/4629462

www.blipfoto.com/entry/2065814166723101306

He lied about his age to volunteer as a soldier in World War I, and served as Acting Corporal in the Middlesex Regiment's 4th Battalion, No. 2 Platoon. According to a little online research today, his unit saw action in - amongst many horrific battles - Mons, Ypres and the Somme. And, one hundred years ago today, the First Battle of Passchendaele. It has been called one of the bloodiest battles in human history. Stanley miraculously survived the Great War, but he must have been haunted for the rest of his life by what he saw and endured on the Western Front. For his courage and fortitude, I admire him just as much as his comrades in arms who tragically did not come home.

The texture in my blipfoto is supplied by the damask fabric of a cushion on Mum's chair, which is actually a rich wine colour and looks very luxurious.