PHOTO PROMPT © J Hardy Carroll
Whole village would go up to the big house each Christmas. Mr Gregory would bundle the kiddies in the haycart, the adults following on behind in best suits and hats, all brushed and buffed. There’d be plenty to eat, hams and cakes and the like, beer for the men and port wine for the ladies. Proper bright and shining days.
Then war broke. And there were no men to drink the beer. Poor Mr Gregory passed on the first day of the Somme, both his boys too, though one was underage.
Oh for those bright and shining days back.
Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Field’s Friday Fictioneers. See the prompt photo and tell a tale. Visit here to join in and to read the other stories.
Word Shamble 
Bleakly beautiful! Well done.
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Thank you so much, Sandra 🙂
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Ruins can be pretty, but when they are impregnated with the memories of lives that were cut short, pretty never applies. Sandra is right, “bleakly beautiful”.
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Thank you so much Magaly. What a lovely comment. Thanks so much for reading 🙂
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Such a shame that beautiful scene you created had to be destroyed. The cost of war. Well done Lynn.
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Thank you Iain. So many communities had there hearts torn out by the Great War, partly due to the ‘Pals’ system of drafting men from the same areas and sending them to the same parts of the front. It meant villages could lose many of their men at the same battle. Thanks so much for reading and commenting
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Dear Lynne,
I love the descriptions that I’ve come to expect from you. More than that, I felt the longing that infused this piece. Lovely, wistful and sad.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you so much Rochelle. The impact of the Great War must have been so profound. The author Vera Brittain wrote of losing her fiance, two very close friends and her brother whilst she was volunteering as a nurse during the war. So many other people must have had similar experiences. It really must have felt as if an entire generation of young men were wiped out. Thanks so much for the lovely comment
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This was a beautiful piece indeed, Lynn. A place that created happy, sadly brought to an end by war.
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Thanks so much Dale. They must have been devastating times for everyone. Thanks for reading 🙂
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Splendid story with a poignant sentiment. Well done.
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Thank you J. 🙂
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Seems we never appreciate the bright and shining days enough when we have them. It’s only when they’re lost that we realize how lucky we were. Nicely done, Lynn.
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That’s just so true of life in general, I think. We bumble along wanting more, wanting different, always looking for the next bright shiny bauble life has to offer, then the worst happens and those dissatisfied days become halcyon. Thank you Joy
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Sad, but true.
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Lovely writing and such a shame war spoils so much.
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Thanks Claire and you’re quite right. War achieves little and destroys much
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Why do all good things come to an end. Such beautiful descriptions lace your work, Lynn.
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Thanks so much Neel, you’re very kind. And yes, all things end one way or another, you’re right
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I like this, 🙂 esp the bit about the son being under age to be a solider
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Ah, thank you and thanks for spotting that. I felt that detail – aside from being historically accurate in so many cases – just added to the sense of loss. Can’t imagine a sixteen year old coping with trench war but tragically some did. Thanks so much for the kind comment
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I find myself wondering, if no one had died in the First World War, how different would today’s society be?
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A very good point, Michael. Quite apart from the individuals who died and may have influenced society, there are the sheer numbers of people – how many people have not been born because of their deaths? Thanks for reading
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Superbly understated, intensely powerful.
Love it.
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Thank you so much, kind sir. That’s very lovely of you 🙂
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Joyful beginning, tragic end. Such was life back then.
Click to read my story
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Very true Keith
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So short, but full of meaning. Really lovely Lynn
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Thank you so much Ben 🙂
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Nice one Lynn
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Thanks so much 🙂
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This is a very apt picture of a world dying in the mud of Somme… it’s like one of many many stories
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Sadly, you’re quite right, Bjorn. A tale repeated all over the world. It must have been horrifying to live through such destruction on a Biblical scale. Thanks for reading
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Sadly nostalgic.
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Thank you Dawn. Yes, a mourning for times past
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A lovely tale of loss in several ways and the crime of war
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Thank you Michael 🙂
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Very nice, I like the contrast from rich and full to stark and bleak. Always a pleasure to read your work.
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Thanks so much Carl and thanks for reading 🙂
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