252533 Pte. Francis Williams British Army 353rd Brigade Royal Field Artillery from:39 Smith Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool Frank Williams was my great uncle with whom I lived and knew very well until his death in 1974.
Born in 1898, he was the son of my great grandfather John Williams (1879 - 1975) who also lived at 39 Smith Street, Kirkdale, Liverpool, from about 1915 until the house was demolished in 1968.
I and 4 of my siblings were also born in the same house. My great uncle would never talk about the war in detail but my great grandfather kept framed photographs in his wardrobe and his war medals.
He often commented how the war had made him a "bit deaf" and he often suffered from skin complaints. I was just glad he survived to live a good life.
After the war he would go to stay in Powell River, Canada, with his father's sister to escape from it all. I can just imagine the conversations they had there. Only as we got older did we understand the sacrifice and horrors these men and women had to endure through those terrible years. We must never forget!
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