Sample

Their Fathers Lied

‘If any question why we died
Tell them, because our fathers lied’
Rudyard Kipling

Prologue

Older men sometimes carry a dignity which younger men could never possess. Richard Turner had this quality in abundance. He had transferred his style into success in his business and family life and was a venerable friend to all who knew him.
In his younger days he was a soldier and fought in the First war. Only his wife knew of his real experiences, but his grandchildren pressed him for details, which, in his older years he was beginning to release, in small and censored measures.

He was sitting in the pleasant surroundings of a Gentlemen’s club in Pall Mall. He knew the place well and was a prominent and active member. He had stayed here for the first time while on leave in 1917, as many young officers had at that time.
He looked out of the large windows onto Pall Mall where taxis raced to find their positions to turn left down Marlborough road towards the Mall and his mind drifted to his younger days, squinting his eyes as a heavy memory passed through like a pedestrian on the outside street.
‘Afternoon Dickie.’ He was startled by the arrival of his friend.
He was having lunch this day with a yet older gentleman. George Price was another old soldier from Turner’s Regiment who had seen service in both wars but usually from a safer distance. He turned and greeted his old friend.
They talked about their families, the cricket and all the usual topics discussed during these lunches which occurred every three months or so.
After a brief lull in conversation, the slightly scruffier George Price blurted out a question, in a manner that suggested it was a question he had been waiting all afternoon to ask.
‘Do you remember Billy Mercer?’
Major Turner was shocked.
‘How extraordinary, I was thinking of him just before you arrived.’ He paused. ‘Billy Mercer, now that’s a name I have not heard for a long time.’ His eyes and thoughts were temporarily elsewhere.
‘Yes, I remember Billy Mercer. There was a time when I thought of that man every single day’
He returned his gaze to his friend with a smile that held tenderness and a little regret.

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