We will remember him

The story is part of family lore. How, during the Battle of Mons, on 23 August 1914, two long columns of men from the Royal Field Artillery passed each other. One column was withdrawing from the frontline, the other heading into what was the first action between the British Expeditionary Force and the German army in the first world war. A shout went up: ‘Is Mulholland there?’ A reply in the affirmative from somewhere along the lines; a swift exchange of greetings between two brothers, Danny and Patrick; a mutual exhortation to ‘look out for yourself’ — and then they moved on. In opposite directions.

It was the last time they saw each other. Only one would return home.

Last month I stood in front of a white headstone in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Niederzwehren in the state of Hesse, central Germany. My sister and cousin were present too, and we shared one unspoken thought: Danny, we’re sorry it took us so long.