I'm amazed! Just logged on again today to the Ancestry website and - I kid you not - the military records of my father's father popped up!
I'm not joking. They literally popped up onto the screen. I'm sure that, last time I was a member, things like this didn't happen.
I suppose, the more information you have in a family tree, the more the site is able to give hints.
Well, whatever the reason behind all these little helpful pushes, I'm grateful.
Today, with very little effort, I have discovered the my dad's dad was 5 foot 8 inches tall, with a fair complexion. I have his chest measurements and certain distinguishing marks, such as tattoos on both forearms. The records say that he had blue eyes. He had pock marks on his thigh.
I can't believe I have so much information now.
His records seem to show that he was in and out of the army, and it's a bit confusing to me - he is down as serving 8 years, being discharged as unfit for war service, re-enlisted, transferred...I just can't get my head round it all. Then, to top it all, it says he is called up for ninety days service in 1921.
So...I've just been trying to find out what was going on around that time.
It seems Lloyd George declared a state of emergency because of the economic slump.
I need to research this. I'm a bit ashamed that, at my age, I don't understand the details of why this happened.
I think the coal mine owners tried to cut wages drastically, I think there was a threatened strike, and I think the government set up the defence force to keep industry going...BUT...I really need to try to understand it fully.
Something to keep me busy for the next few days I think.
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