My father often told me wartime stories

Some were about his own experiences

But many of his stories were about his father

Who like millions of others fought in the Great War

My grandfather survived the war although twice wounded

But he did not survive the guilt of returning home

During the Battle of the Somme

He was severely wounded by machine gunfire

It was not thought that he would live

But against all odds he survived

He was later offered a job in the War Office

Which he initially refused asking to be returned to France

But then he changed his mind

Without known explanation

My grandfather never revealed

What caused him to reconsider

And did not welcome questions on the subject

My father thinks my grandmother persuaded him

Arguing that war had been futile for so long

And that the country

Would be a poorer place

If he failed to return