Interesting News About My Grandfather

Above is a photo of my grandfather and my grandmother that hangs on the wall in my parents house. Little is known about my grandfather who died in 1942 when my dad was only 2 years of age. We knew he was in the army but we did not know much more. He was away alot and he and my grandmother were not married. They kept that quiet because there were 6 children and that was not a thing to do back then. When he died my grandmother had to raise all 6 kids on her own which is a tough feat. She borrowed a jacket for the photo above because she didn't have a penny.

My father is now 79 years old and he received some news from his nephew Trevor who was in the Irish army. He is into looking up the family tree's and time-lines. His son has just joined the 2nd Royal Irish battalion in the British army. He was amazed to see the photo of my grandmother and grandfather and was extremely interested in his flash symbols on his army uniform. He then started digging and looking up records on the net. He also asked a couple of army experts about the symbols on his arm. His answer back was that one of the symbols was mortar fire trained.

So he spent weeks looking through the war records of the Royal Irish Regiment. And he finally came across the man himself.

5th line from the bottom. 14th July 1916. Richard Blanche. Shot in the arm during the battle of Bazentin Ridge which was an important battle in the battle of the Somme. His army took the village that day but at great cost.
The battle of the Somme was one of human histories most bloodiest battles. 1 million died between 1st July to 18th November of 1916. Trench warfare. It must of been horrifying. He was only 19 years old.
We knew his two brothers dies at the Somme in Belgium but we were not aware my grandfather was there also. It has come as a surprise for us because he never mentioned it to my grandmother. It must of been a bad experience for him to keep that quiet.
Over the years as my father has got older , he heard stories about his dad. Some good and some bad and he just didn't know what to believe. Not so long ago one of our relations said he wasn't in the army at all and he was a bit of a charlatan. But hearing this has definitely put some of the not so good stories to rest with this news. My father is a bit shocked with the news and it proves to him that his dad was actually in the thick of things in World War I. I will be looking more into these details in the coming weeks to learn more about the battle of Bazentin Ridge but I find it really interesting to learn more about it. He came back from the war in one piece. I will keep you updated with any more news . Now I know why I never really liked Belgium!