day 315 - remembrance day $

My grandfather enlisted in WWII when he was 22 years old. He enlisted willingly and immediately, knowing he would have more choice in what his station would be. He joined the Royal Engineers making invasion maps for the Allies. His two brothers waited, with his older brother joining the infantry and his younger brother also joining the Royal Engineers. A year after the war started, he married my grandmother. He went back to his station in the caves in Egypt, and she stayed home in England working for Tate & Lyle's.

At one point, he got word that there were going to be bombings in the neighbourhood they lived in. He tried to warn my grandmother by telegram but he couldn't reach her. When he didn't hear back, he went on leave and went to find her. He found her at work at the sugar refinery where she had been sleeping because it wasn't safe at home.

When my grandmother told me this story several years ago I thought it was pretty romantic. It was a moment straight out of a movie and a reminder of how thankful we should all be that there are people in this world who are willing to put their lives on the line to protect the ones they love.



On this day I remember my grandfather: Sidney Rawlins, Sergeant, Royal Engineers.