William Bernard Whitmore was my grandfather. He was born in 1883 in Barrow, but his family soon returned to their Warwickshire roots. By the time war broke out in 1914, he had married Caroline, and was the father of three children: Ken, Hetty and my father, Norman Eli. In 1915, when Norman was still only three years old, he became one of the original volunteers to the Birmingham Battalions, number 133. During his training and early months in France, he kept a diary. William survived the war, and on demobilisation became the landlord of The Royal Oak on the High Street in Alcester (the pub is still there today).
- Reviews, 1915
- In France