dejavuatbtn
Well-known member
I only really found out about my ancestors military careers when I started looking into our family tree
Same here - it is something I would recommend everyone does. I hated history at school as I had a terrible memory for dates. Ancestry led me to discover my great grandad’s war and how he was blown up at Passendaelle just two months after landing in France in 1917. it led me to relatives I didn’t know and letters/photos of him from 100 years ago. I was also able to trace my step dad’s father who was a career sailor, who was due to leave service in 1939 before war broke out, whose ship HMS Exmouth was sunk doing escort duty in the North Sea near Scarpa Flow. The family story was that they were lost just off Ireland - took a long while for the truth to emerge.
RIP and thanks to them all.