2998: Granda Goffin, family hero
I grew up always being told about my hero Granda, so much so that, on the anniversary of the commencement of WW1, I took Granda's surname into my own.
Granda was a miner, who lied about his age in order to go to war.
He told his daughter, my Mam, very little about the war but one story carries on through the family 100 years later. Granda told how, after witnessing a battle, his senior officer broke down in distress - he collapsed into Granda's lap & sat there like a baby, being hugged by my Granda as his senior officer cried like a baby.
Granda rescued a senior officer under fire, receiving a gallantry medal. He received another honour for being in advance of his unit, monitoring a village for hours: under constant fire, he went back & forth to his unit, feeding information about the enemy's position.
In total, Granda received the DCM twice (DCM & Bar) & the Military Medal.
A modest, kind, & gentle man, he returned to the mines after the war - his service underground killed him, dying a painful death of lung diseases.
