Harry's Song


As the first "extra", I'll post Harry's Song.

It may not be a masterpiece, but after being told all my life that music wasn't my forte, (thank you Nottingham High School) I'm extremely proud of producing something that Harry's experiences initiated. Thanks to Shaz Adams, the singer.

Anyway, you don't have to listen. Turn the sound down and watch the slide show of images from the book and blog.



Positive comments would be astonishing.

Next week, Constance Wilkinson Lamin (Connie). BL

19 comments:

Unknown said...

I am certainly no musician but I do know what I like..and I like this. The singer does an excellent job of bringing out the feeling and meaning of the song. Thank you once again.

Anonymous said...

Loved it! I am so glad Harry's home but I'll be lost without the blog!

Cheryl said...

Oh, it's so wonderful! Thank you for posting it!

Tim Douglass said...

Well done! And a very fine way to summarize all that we have experienced vicariously through the blog. Thank you!

Avey said...

Excellent! I have enjoyed finding this blog and following it for the last 2 years..... thank you.

Alan said...

Very, very moving with the images from the book and blog.

Thanks so much for this project. Although I found it a bit late, I've enjoyed following it for the last 18 months or so.

Kittybriton said...

A lovely gentle, tender song. As much as the letters of Harry, I think it catches the mood of the readers: "What'chu doing Harry?". Together with the video it makes the thousands of men in khaki suits a little less anonymous.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed it because of the lovely harmony and the fact that it told a story.

Anonymous said...

Be very proud of all of your work!
Following Harry through civvie life would be rewarding, as we already have a good sense of the man.
Again - Thank You!
Tom Maher
St. Louis

Parkylondon said...

I turned the music down as you suggested and watched the slideshow. Nice.

I then realised that the music I could hear wasn't coming from the bedroom (i.e. my wife listening to something) but my headphones.

I picked them up, put them on and had a listen. Fairly quickly I realised I nearly missed out on a really good piece of music which matches the slideshow really well.

Thank you for posting this. Well done.

Jo said...

A lovely song which works really well with the slideshow - thankyou!

Anonymous said...

I have loved listening to this song and reading this blog particularly as I had an uncle who was in the 1st world war but I never knew he existed until I started doing genealogy a few years ago. Unfortunately, he was invalided home before the end of the war and I have been unable to trace him after that. I was very happy and relieved to hear Harry arrived home safe and sound but I'll miss the blog. Thank you for all your hard work in letting us share Harry's story.

vintage said...

Thanks for taking the time to keep the blog going like you have.

G. Tingey said...

I agree with Anyonymous.

What happened AFTERWARDS?
What did Harry do next ......

Unknown said...

I started following Harry in the summer of 2007. We had sheep and a smallholding, moved to Norway, had our son, have moved back to the UK. I've changed in that time. Nothing in comparison to how Harry and the world will have changed in the same time. I hope he manages/magaged to cope with the rest of his life.

I'll be visiting the war graves at Nijmegen on my way home. Thanks for making me appreciate things more, realsie how lucky I am

Roger O'Keeffe said...

Schools don't always spot musical talent. Cf. this extract from an interview with Ken Robinson, an inspiring advocate of an education that does more to let people's creativity and other gifts develop:

"...I don't mean to say that you have to have failed at school before you can be a success, but an awful lot of people who did well after school didn't do well in school.

Paul McCartney went to school in Liverpool and, as you say, he went through the whole of his education there and nobody thought he had any musical talent. One of the other people in the same (...) music class was George Harrison, the lead guitarist of The Beatles, and he went through school as well and nobody noticed he had any talent. So (...)one teacher in Liverpool in the '50s had half The Beatles in his class and he missed it."

Google "Ken Robinson TED" for more in the same vein.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful. I do hope Harry and family settled down well together. Must have been a bit of adjustment for all of them.
Thank you so much for the blog. Look foreward to reading all the ''loose ends'' too.
Anne.
Amersham.

Tricia Gurnett said...

It's a lovely song, and beautifully sung. Thank you for the song, and the inspiring website.

^Uyraell^. said...

Not only is it a beautiful and evocative song, very well sung, it is a fine tribute to Harry and those who served with/alongside him.

My Grandfather fought at Passchendael, Oct 4th, 1917, as did his cousin (Harry Ashe), whose body is still beneath that troubled soil.

I have read some of My Grandfather's letters home, written near the time of the battle.
The R.E's are mentioned there, as are a few other units, though by task, not unit designation.
((Eg:"There were Engineers nearby")).
Grandfather did survive the First World War, made it back to NZ, and married my dad's mum in 1920, first child, my aunty, was born in 1921, and my dad was born in 1937.

While I know Passchendael was a large battlefield, I'd like to think Harry and My Grandfather might have laid eyes on eachother during one of the lulls in the fighting, even though intellectually I know that notion is somewhat idealised.

I have to say I found the tale told of/for Harry very moving.
May he Rest Well.

From New Zealand:
Kind, Respectful Regards,
M.E.Pailthorpe, Grandson of the Late E.E.A Pailthorpe, 11/2359 Wellington Mounted Rifles, Veteran of Passchendael.