Kids today won't know anyone from the war

[raindropbox]

Our grandparents or parents were children during the war, and they had stories from their parents or grandparents, who had lived experience of WW1.

So we had a direct connection with somebody with first-hand experience of the world wars. It just occured to me that babies born now won't have that.

Does that mean WW1/2 will feel as distant to them as the victorians do to us? Will it have some kind of subconscious impact on society?

Well the First World War used to be called the Great War and the war to end all wars. Then along came WWII. So I don't know if remembering such a war makes it less likely to happen. I think it's changes in technology and society that have more impact. Todays society (UK) would not stand for conscription, or even mass participation. Individualism, the raised standard of living and electoral franchise widening to become a ubiquitously recognised right of the 'lower classes' (of the early 20c) changed that.

My Nanna tells me funny stories of when she was an evacuee. She's 91.

WW2 had an unspoken negative impact on my family. My maternal grandfather fought in the Pacific and had what would now be diagnosed as PTSD. He was a distant and violent father to my mother and then died from a massive heart attack in his fifties when I was a toddler. He refused to talk to anyone about his experiences as it was just too traumatic

I often wonder if some of my mother’s anxiety is due to his treatment of her as a child.

Have you missed the fact there have been plenty of other wars, not just WWI and II - Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan..where our Armed Forces defended this country or helped to support the humanitarian aspects of global conflict?

I was at a presentation recently with Simon Weston OBE who suffered horrific burns during the Falklands War and he spends most of his life, despite many health challenges he suffered from his Service, sharing his stories to keep the historic facts alive especially with young people.

in my personal experience, people who lived through the Wars rarely if ever, talk about their experiences of war, they were too traumatised by it. Most people just want to forget what happened to them, especially if they were civilians caught up in a war they never voted for, wanted or saw the point of.

Not really I am 47, DS is 19, Dd 17. Both DH and I have living relatives who remember the war ( DH's grand mother's cousin is 96, still lucid, actually served) and my uncle age 90, so six at the outbreak of war and 12 at the end. There is also a man at church who was an evacuee. For us it is my GC who will have no living connection.

and WW2 ended un 1945 ( what are they teaching them these days....?)

According to government documents online since 1945 there are only 2 years (1968 and 2016) that have not had a UK member of the armed forces die in some kind of military service.
My husband was 17 when the Falklands War started. Pretty much the whole of his all boys 6th Form thought they would all be called up to fight.
I remember similar conversations with my male friends when Gulf War 1 started (as they would have been the relevant age).

Like others, asking my gps about stories from the war was off limits.

Precisely.

Again, I have no issue with OP excluding the Troubles when she's talking about wars that had a massive impact across the UK. But, A) it does well to reflect on why that is, are there many other examples of long and bloody conflicts so readily dismissed by the rest of the population of the country they happened in? And B) I stand by saying OP's statement was grotesquely offensive.

I find this very sad too.

The spirit of those who were living during WW2 was/is tremendous. They were/are just so different to the majority of the rest of us, and I really miss that, and think wider society will too/is missing this.

I’m delighted that my children had their Great Nanny around in their lives for a few years, although obviously I wish she was still here with us all, imparting her wisdom and strength, and being good humoured at all times. My children talk about her all the time, and really miss her too, and adore our elderly neighbour who is in her 90’s, always wanting to spend time with her.

@raindropbox "Basically the babies being born now will be the first generation ever to not have a living history of war"

Kind of depends where they're born, I'd say....

Yes. Mostly. .

I have three under 5s, and an 102 year old grandmother who was in her 20s in the war. Realistically she may not live long enough for the baby to remember her, but my eldest will.

And keeping old family stories alive helps to bridge the vast gap. My own great grandmother (whom I remember well) was born in 1895 and that made the Victorians seem less distant and more connected to me.

In the early 1970s there were regular bombs going off in London, not the odd bomb scare.

Surely that's a good thing.

But we need to keep the memory of wwI&II alive though, to prevent it happening again and to remember all those lost.

I mean my nans 83/84 she was born after the war. Hasn't really known many struggles and is a bit out of touch with reality and doesn't understand why we shouldn't have letlft Europe or why I can't afford to buy a house as I spend all my money on rent. She always goes on about how life was difficult after the war but she was born 6 years after it finished..... so bu the time she was old enough to understand what difficulties after a war was it wasn't a huge impact on her life any more. But as a PP said most people think all old people where in THE war.

*Bloody hell, yes really! I didn't know my grandparents.

Did you think I just suddenly forgot about their existence?*

Op's question was about knowing anyone from the war, not specifically grandparents. It's unusual to not have grandparents and to not have encountered anyone who's been in the war. Im probably much younger than you, but I know/knew people

Don't know why you're snippy with Pp

I mean my nans 83/84 she was born after the war

That’s weird. My mum is just a year older and was born before it started.

If your nan is in her 80s then she was born during WW2, which ended in 1945. Mine are in their 70s and were born after WW2 ended.

Yes, for the British public - not just the soldiers and others directly involved in the actual conflict - these wars had a massive effect on society that has stayed in our collective experience. Things like better housing and the NHS arrived because they realised how many in poverty had such poor health they couldn’t fight. Those wars had a huge impact, even perhaps grandparents who were only children who remember being evacuated.

There will be disconnection emotionally with time and there isn’t that person in a household who can remember it directly but we had films and movie clips and photos which will keep it visually alive.

I.must have my dates mudled up. She was still pretty small. Loved in the South East and won't remember much of it.

I'm not in the UK, but here there are a lot of young children who have an interest in the World Wars. They learn about them at school around the time of ANZAC Day, and I see many attending the dawn commemoration I attend, as well as the ones later in the day. Here at least I don't think the memorial events are in any danger of fading, attendance has only increased in recent years.

Ww2 ended 78 years ago didn’t it 🤔 those in the 80s now were children then so may have a limited memory of it.

My grandparents were born just after ww2 ended. They were the youngest of their siblings. Im 32 so had no stories of war

@Floraltears that's what I mean. I'm seriously burnt out at the moment so have got my dates muddled up. She doesn't remember anything really.

My maternal grandfather fought in both WW1 and WW2 but never spoke of either, he was Scottish and grumpy so you knew better than to ask. He was much more free with his opinion of Mick Jagger when he appeared on Top of the Pops 😂