Peter thanked the society for inviting him as this was his first time presenting this story which he started to research in 1964. His grandfather fought in World War I and died in 1981 and his father fought in the Second World War.
William Rudd, his grandfather, earnt £1.80 per day serving his country. He was 20 at the start of the Great War and enlisted with the King’s Own Yorkshire Rifles in December 1915. The regiments and battalions seemed to change names and amalgamate over time. He was also in the 84th Training Reserve Battalion which became the Tyneside Scots. By March 1917 he was trained and the regiment became the West Yorkshire. His grandfather ran the infantry depot in Boulogne. He was at Arras in April 1917 with the 20th Northumberland Fusiliers, at the Third Battle of Ypres and Passchendaele.
Peter’s father had poor hearing and could not join the RAF but did enlist as a technician, working on radar. He later joined the REME and was involved in radar calibration and other technology. He was de-mobbed in 1947 and died aged 93 years.
Peter also showed some artefacts such as shrapnel balls and a shrapnel shell and some personal mail.
Report by Carol Paul