This was on late last night. I haven't watched much that's been on the telly this year about WWI. I feel that I know the pain and the sadness of those years and the tragic waste of so many young lives, and I don't want to keep seeing programmes about it [although I do understand the need to show them]. But Simon Armitage is one of my favourite TV presenters. I was ok until he talked about a lady who had 8 sons. She kept all of the correspondence from that time, which included letters from her sons. And 5 letters informing her of their deaths [the ones who survived were badly injured I believe]. But what left me a complete wreck was when he read out one of the letters telling her of her son's death and there was a note at the bottom saying that she 'did not have to pay for this letter'. To me it summed up the anonymous way that these young men died for their country. I'm still choked now, just thinkng about it. He also mentioned [something I'd never hear of before] the 'Thankful villages', pointing out that some places, in a miraculous way had all of their young soldiers return to them safe and sound. It was a wonderful programme; but I would expect that of him.
....Cambridge University astrophysicist loses Esa project role over Brexit row
