Why now should this tale be told...?[..] Perhaps it is because the reputation of War brings these memories to the front again. Perhaps it is because so little English lad with brown eyes wants to know 'what did you do in the War, Dad'. Perhaps then, that is the reason. Strange it is, but true, a person called upon to do outstanding things, and by physical fitness, endurance, courage, and perhaps a bit of luck, gets to his goal, is always reticent to talk about it. (From the Memoirs of Horace Foakes)
This famous photograph of the 13th Royal Fusiliers hangs in the Imperial War Museum. In this photograph is Horace Foakes, the jubilant soldier wearing braces, just behind the shoulder of the French soldier to the right. The photograph along with the memoirs of Horace Foakes, and a letter from his son describing the circumstances behind this image were submitted to the archive by Janet Mercer from Ashtead, Surrey.
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