Durham Light Infantry

Prompted by Haiku Heights theme of ‘grass’, I decided to write about the beautiful garden of remembrance I visited in London this week.

Wreathed in fallen leaves

A sea of wooden crosses

And scarlet poppies

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Lawned garden of grief

A moving memorial

Heroes remembered

This week I have been in London, and I was fortunate to be passing Westminster Abbey at just the right time to see an amazing spectacle. Wreaths were being laid to mark all those brave men and women who fought and died in the service of our country. Several members of the Royal Family were there to honour their sacrifice. Movingly the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Harry laid crosses of remembrance in front of two wooden crosses from the Graves of Unknown British Soldiers from the First and Second World Wars. Every conceivable branch of service was represented by wreaths and crosses of all shapes and sizes. This year there are 388 plots and 100,000 crosses.

There were poignant photos on some of the displays. Particularly moving were the crosses to mark those who have died in recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I was very impressed by the huge wreaths made up of hundreds of poppies representing our Army, Navy and Air force. My father and my husband’s father were both in the Navy during WW2. But, I spent a long time searching for the display to commemorate the Durham Light Infantry which my grandfather, Frederick Charles McCluskey, belonged to for almost 40 years. He was born in 1899 and he joined up at the age of 14 years 8 months to fight in the first world war. He was sent to France at the age of 17 as a bugler! He survived that war and went on to fight in the Second World War. He was one of the Desert Rats and fought with the Durham Light Infantry at El Alamein. He wrote an account of that battle, a copy of which I still have.

Grandad never talked about the war but he kept wonderful photo albums of the places he visited during the second world war. It wasn’t until after he died that we read in the newspapers of some of his exploits when they called him a hero:~

“Tyneside war hero, Major Frederick Charles McCluskey who played a leading role in a legendary desert trek to freedom, has died at the age of 88.
In June 1942, he and 200 men from The Durham Light Infantry‘s 9th Battalion evaded fierce enemy fire to escape after being surrounded by a division of Rommel’s desert army at gazzala, North Africa.
They travelled 350 gruelling miles to safety. Major McCluskey, who lived in Milvain Avenue, Benwell fought in both world wars.”

I am very proud of him.

Armed Forces Wreath of Poppies at Westminster

The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Harry at Field of Remembrance (telegraph.co.uk)
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pay respects with surprise visit to High Street Kensington station to boost poppy appeal (standard.co.uk)

Poppy Day in UK

Remembrance Day falls on the same day as Armistice Day this year, Sunday 11^th November. This will not happen again until 2018. Somehow as I get older it seems more special. I listened to the BBC Radio 4 Remembrance Service at the Cenotaph in London today. It was very moving. There were 2 veterans of the Battle of El Alamein speaking. They were only 21 in 1942 when the battle occurred. It is recognised as a turning point in the war. After this victory at El Alamein, Winston Churchill would write in “The Hinge of Fate”, his famous verdict: “Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat.”

Field Marshal Montgomery and Rommel

Grandad
With Durham Light Infantry in the Western Desert

My grandfather, Frederick Charles McCluskey was in the Durham Light Infantry with the Eighth Army and fought in this battle. He was one of the lucky ones, he survived. But he had a tough time in this war and it left him with Malaria, which recurred throughout his life, and dreadful foot problems from his long trek through the desert. He was part of the long march through the Western desert and told me that he wore out the soles of his shoes, then the soles of his feet on this trek. His friends wrote an obituary in the local newspaper after he died in 1988:-

“Tyneside war hero, Major Frederick Charles McCluskey who played a leading role in a legendary desert trek to freedom, has died at the age of 88. In June 1942, he and 200 men from The Durham Light Infantry’s 9th Battalion evaded fierce enemy fire to escape after being surrounded by a division of Rommel’s desert army at Gazzala, North Africa. They travelled 350 gruelling miles to safety. Major McCluskey, who lived in Newcastle fought in both world wars.”

Grandad
Major F C McCluskey

I also found out that my grandfather who was born in 1900 enlisted in the army for the First World War. He was just 14 years 8 months when he joined as a Bugler with the Yorkshire Regiment. He served right through the First World War. After the war he joined the Durham Light Infantry and was with them throughout his career, ending it as a Major with a commendation for the MBE. He only left the army in 1952 when my much loved grandmother, his wife, was dying of stomach cancer.

Grandad as a young bugler in the First World War

In 1952 he bought a general store in Newcastle where I spent many happy childhood hours sitting by the fire in the back of the shop, or helping myself to sweeties.

I am very proud of my granddad and it is lovely to remember him today and all he did for our country.

I also remember my dad who was in the Royal Navy. My mum and he were married during the war in 1945