I'm 63 and was always called an only child...however at some point during my adult years, my mother mentioned that she had, during the war, given birth to two little boys - each one had only lived for 6 or 7 hours. That was all she said.
This played on my mind on and off over the years...I became a parent myself, began to conceive of the anguish which my mother and father must have suffered, not once but twice, having to bury their newborn sons.
Finally now that I have retired, I set about trying to find out about my brothers and was lucky enough to find a lovely lady online who helped me to discover where each one is buried. "Brief Lives Remembered" is the name of the organisation and they were so very helpful.
Now as a result of the kindness of strangers, I have a little photoframe with a snapshot of my brothers Roger and Roger Anthony's final resting places - no gravestones - it was during WW2 and I think that notwithstanding everything else that was going on - bereaved parents were encouraged to 'get on with it' and not dwell on their loss - so my eldest brother shares a grave with ten other newborn babies...our other brother does at least have his own little grave, albeit unmarked.
Willow Tree figurines make one called 'Angel of Mine' which is a mother holding a very tiny baby close to her heart and my little photos have this figurine beside them...I was able to go to an All Souls Service at our local church at the end of October and lit a candle in memory of the boys... I like to think that my parents would approve - I think that they were denied the time or space to really acknowledge or grieve their baby sons - and I can only imagine, from being a parent myself, how many tears they may have shed in private.
My brothers would have been nearly 76 and 73 respectively now - so it has taken a long time to restore them to their rightful place in the story of my life and I too have shed tears, for them, for my poor parents...and for anyone who loses a child and did not have the opportunity to grieve and mark their loss.
Love and hugs to all of the brave gransnetters who have posted their stories on this thread xx
I feel emotionally detached from my kids and grandchildren.