WWI

I was thinking about my grandfather's WWI experiences today. He was a British subject working in Krefeld,Germany when the war started. He was interned as a POW near Berlin for the entirety of the war. There were British sailors also interned and they taught him how to knit. When he was released he came home with three sweaters for my Grandmother.

My Grandmother and my Mother spent the war in Krefeld where her German parents/family owned a silk tie factory. My Grandmother was allowed to take the train from Krefeld to the POW facility and visit with my Grandfather once a month.

My Grandmother's younger brother enlisted in the German army. He was MIA in Russia and never returned. My Great-grandmother waited for him for the rest of her life.

When my Grandfather was released he returned to Krefeld where my Mother ( then aged 9) greeted him with "Deutchland uber alles" and no longer speaking any English. He packed the two of them up and returned to England...