211187 Pte. Martin "Ba" Reid British Army Royal Irish Rifles from:Dublin My maternal grandfather, Martin Reid enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles in Dublin Ireland, when he was 18 yrs old, he was sent to France in 1914. Although he didn't speak about his war experiences very often or in any great detail, he told us about the awful trench conditions, which were flooded and stinking. Often they were short of ammunition. He said they were over run with lice. He told us the noise from the constant bombardment was dreadful. The cries of the wounded soldiers were inhuman. He hated the thought of war, yet he always said sometimes it was necessary, especially WW2 to rid the world of Hitler and the Nazis.
Our grandmother told us what she knew of his time in WW1, he was in Mons, The Somme, & the Western Front as she said. He was in France from 1914 to 1918 and was gassed and eventually wounded, he had to have plastic surgery to his face. His best mate, Archie Reilly, who had enlisted with him was also seriously wounded.
By the time it was 1918 my grandfather was seriously wounded and traumatized, shell shock as Nana said. After his physical injuries were addressed he was sent to Beaufort War Hospital in the UK. My grandmother didn't know where he was, thought he was missing in action. A friend of my grand-dad had seen him and wrote to my grandmother to inform her he was at Beaufort Hospital. She took along their 5 year old daughter to see him. Nana told us he was in a pitiful state, she couldn't comprehend how changed he was not only physically but also mentally, he was a wreck.
She took him home with her, she told us he suffered dreadful nightmares and began to drink heavily, which he eventually got under control. He suffered ill health as a result of his injuries until he died, Neurasthenia and respiratory problems. He was a very good grandfather and father, but he never really smiled. Nana told us his experiences in France changed him forever, yet to his dying breath in 1978 he never shirked his duty.
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