When I first read about this project earlier this year, I was so moved by it that I tore out the pages from the Sunday Times magazine and saved them. I found the combination of past and present so compelling – I love when new forms of technology are used to preserve history.
Chris Ayres noticed each entry in his late grandfather’s war journal was about the same length as a Twitter status update, so he opened a Twitter account to post the entries and honor his grandfather’s experience.
But not only is Ayres’ honoring his grandfather’s service, he’s also sharing a really incredible story. Ayres’ grandfather, British Private Ross Taylor, was captured as a prisoner of war and kept in work camps until he finally escaped five years later in a stolen, wood-burning truck with flat tires.
Two weeks after he was reunited with his girlfriend, Flo, who waited for him for all that time, they married and were together for 64 years.
Ayres didn’t get a chance to hear his grandfather tell the stories in his journal first hand, instead only fully began to understand his grandfather’s history after he had died. Many of us have grandfathers who fought in wars but never kept journals and aren’t eager to speak about those years.
In our world of over-sharing and constant status updates, I find our grandparents’ lives as soldiers utterly mysterious. Every so often, I get snippets of what my grandfather’s life was like in World War II, but there’s so much I’ll never know. He comes from a generation that couldn’t or didn’t need to pour out feelings and opinions at every turn. Stories could be kept and just never ever told.
I get goosebumps knowing that there are stories around the world that will never be spoken or heard. I know there are countless stories of bravery and courage, and probably stories of vulnerability and loneliness so deep that nothing I ever feel will quite compare.
When you stop and think about those untold stories, it’s just a little eerie. Are there stories only you will ever know? I have a few but maybe I’ll wait and share them with my grandchildren so they think I have grand secret stories!
3 Comments
What an absolutely amazing idea! A modern peek into an old world — I’m just so fascinated by the concept. And I think there are stories I’ll only know, or at least ones that won’t find their way to the next generation. It’s kinda sad. I often wish I had made my grandmother tell me stories more.
We don’t have a journal about his war experiences per se, but we do have all of your Granddad’s letters to Grandmom. He was often very eloquent, sometimes teasing, sometimes wistful. He couldn’t write about war experiences because all their letters were censored and they were not allowed to include specifics about the war. The letters tell a beautiful story about his experiences and his growing love for my mother. They are also the story of two people caught in the course of history. When you are back here next summer, you may read them.
I will love that, Mary Cath!