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Transcript

"I was very close to my granddad although there were fifty eight years between us. My granddad was born in 1924. He met and married my gran Nancy and they had five children. He was a grandfather to 11 and a great grandfather to one.

I lived with my grandparents for a lot before I went to school. As I grew older we remained close, fishing, sharing a beer, watching football, especially Manchester United.

When my gran sadly passed away, he spent his Christmases at ours, we went on family holidays. He was so much to so many people, taught me a lot about life, the importance of family and friends. When he died at 79, I lost a friend.

I always knew at 18 he'd been called up to fight. My granddad never spoke of his war experiences, as hard as they must have been to forget. After his death I researched into the time of his life.

I found out that he had served as a gunner in the 32nd Royal Artillery starting with the Normandy Invasion in 1944. My granddad saw action in France, the lower countries and Germany.

The thing about his life, going to war at such a young age, what it must have been like, I can't begin to comprehend; war, death, destruction. I ask myself, would I be strong enough?

I find the world we live in now a strange and frightening place. We talk about Remembrance Sunday, but never forget there are millions of people worldwide who protest against going to war and nobody in power listens.

Perhaps we have forgotten. Could I do what my granddad had done?"