From our ‘Family histories’ section: The Horn Family: ‘George Horn’: Courtesy of Diana Jones Nee Horn
This is the story of my Grandparents and their family during WW1. They were, I should think, a typical agricultural family of the period. They had 10 children, 5 sons and 5 daughters:
My father, George, kept a few precious mementoes of the War and of his brother Fred. He said little but I always knew it was a serious and emotional topic. When George left school he became a grocer’s errand boy and then was apprenticed to a grocer in Faversham, Lawrence and Son.
When war came he joined up as a Gunner with the Garrison Artillery:
He was very ill at one point which is mentioned on the post cards but he and Fred kept in touch when they could. A Christmas card was sent Christmas 1916 which was folded in my father’s pocket for many years as can be seen. In it as usual he says he is A1, and has had a letter from Home and that he is getting his letters alright now:
The card above shows soldiers crossing a Pontoon Bridge over the river Jordan in Palestine
The transcribed text reads:
July 12th 1918:‘To Edie. Hoping you are well I am A1 of course. Looking forward to the time when I can see you all, then I can explain all these places to you, hoping you are loving good weather from George’
George survived the War; went on in the Grocery Trade, married in 1929 and I was born in 1937. Most of my childhood holidays were spent visiting my Aunts and Uncles.
My father visited Staple Street in 1977 and although blind recognised his old home.
Image and text courtesy of Diana Jones Nee Horn