For King and Country.

Much has been made of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WWI today. Its a sobering time of great emotion and deep felt gratefulness to those who gave their lives all those years ago in a foreign land. The men who volunteered to fight for King and country were ordinary chaps, but extraordinary in their devotion to duty to their country. A programme on ITV last night Brothers in Arms managed to capture the essence of that courage and commitment. Life blown apart and destroyed by the battles like the Somme on 1st July 1916. Some 400,000 men died in the four and half months of that battle of carnage, blood and iron. One chap who volunteered for the army was told by his business in Birmingham that his time abroad "would be a good holiday for him" - little did they know. The endless tedium broken by burst of artillery and then 'going over the top' on the blast of an officers whistle. The perils of 'trench foot' and the fear of being gassed some 200,000 were inflicted with the effects of chlorine gas. The artificial Dutch courage of the rum ration and the possibility of being killed or maimed was a nightmare that hung over all. During the course of this international conflict there was an estimated 16 million who lost their lives. The life expectancy of an officer was six weeks on the Western Front. If you were not killed the exhaustion caused you to be able to sleep 'standing up'.
All this for King and Country 100 years ago tonight.