It was a schoolboy history assignment half a century ago that led Clifford Williams to first ask his grandfather about “the war”.
Albert Williams, then 84 and a retired builder, had joined the Royal Engineers in 1914 and transferred to the Tank corps in 1918 where in France in August he took part in fighting around Querrieu Wood on the first day of the Battle of Amiens.
A century later, his grandson Clifford, a retired police officer, has dug out his school essay and will retrace Albert’s steps by attending a remembrance service with hundreds of others in Amiens cathedral on 8 August to mark the centenary of the battle and the start of the Allied offensive that ended the first world war.
Six hundred tickets are available for UK descendants and those with an “emotional connection” who wish to attend the service, to be chosen from a ballot that closes on 9 April. The event is being held in partnership with France, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Clifford, now 60, got top marks for his essay. It engendered in the young boy a love of history, which he read at university, later taking an MA and PhD in criminology and joining the police. He retired as a chief inspector and volunteers as Hampshire police force’s historian, writing books and collating oral histories.
“I can still picture it vividly,” he said, recalling how, in 1972, aged 14, he knocked on the bedroom door of his grandfather, who was living with him and his family in their south London flat, saying, ‘Grandad, I’ve got this homework, doing an essay on the first world war.’”
In the essay, a young Clifford writes how Albert operated the gears in a gun-carrying tank: “On one trip his gear mate left his hatch door open and was blown to bits, but my grandad always kept his door shut. The noise was terrible and signals were made by hand. My grandad used to sing at the top of his voice and still couldn’t hear himself,” he wrote. His teacher gave him top marks and commented “at this rate you may well turn out a historian, Clifford”.
The Battle of Amiens marked the start of the hundred days offensive, a series of battles that culminated in Germany seeking an armistice in November.
Albert and his two brothers all signed up to fight. All three survived, and Albert, who had three sons, returned to life as a builder, rarely speaking of the war. Clifford’s other grandfather suffered shellshock.
Williams said visiting Amiens all these years later, “will, I think, just strengthen my feeling of affinity with both grandfathers”.
“I think it is very important that we remember the suffering that people went through during the first world war and how it affected nearly every family in the UK. Very few families didn’t lose somebody or know somebody who was seriously injured. So I think it is very important that we reflect on that, and that it is something we wouldn’t want to go through the trauma of again.”
Not too many children of those at Amiens will still be alive. But Clifford expects to meet grandchildren, like himself.
Albert, who died aged 97, had recounted his experience in “a very matter of fact way”. “He thought the war was a folly. My father became pacifist later on and was an anti-war campaigner,” said Clifford.
The culture secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “The Battle of Amiens marked a turning point in the first world war and this anniversary gives us a chance to reflect on how the war in Europe moved from entrenched conflict to the signing of the armistice in 1918. We have a duty to tell the stories of those who lived and fought in the first world war to keep their memories alive.”
