I didn't know my father. He died when I was seven so I only ever saw him through the eyes of an adoring child. My brother and sisters knew him much better. So it was a delight to me to get the transliteration of his wartime diaries from my sister. It shows the war from the point of view of a common soldier and it gives me an insight into how he thought and felt.
He was 27 when he began the diary and it is such a strange experience to read his words and try to imagine what it must have been like to go off to war. The diaries were written for us with the knowledge that he might not survive. What a casually brave man he was.
Posted by derekmcmillan
at 5:46 PM BST
