My grandfather's army blanket on my bed.While I was tidying my room yesterday, I came across my winter blankets - all neatly folded and ready to go away in the linen cupboard, but not there yet. One of my favourite winter blankets is a small (smaller than a cotton throw without the edging or fringes) and gray blanket.
It's woven out of rough and scratchy wool and it's got a plain and serviceable edging. It's beginning to get a little raggedy around the edges and thin in the middle. Considering its age - and history - it's looking very good and has lots of use left in it.
It's my grandfather's army blanket, that he carried round Europe and slept under during WWII, while he was helping to win the war.
I never knew my grandfather, who died two years before I was born. I wish I had known him - even if I'd only known him as a baby and couldn't remember him, I'd like a story of how he greeted the news of my arrival or a picture of him holding me.
I've grown up listening to my parents and grandmother and great-aunts talking about my grandfather and I've seen pictures of him - as a cute little boy, a serious big boy, a handsome young man, a kind middle-aged man. But he became real to me when I slept under his war blanket ...
It was then that it struck me that he had been a 'real' man and soldier - that he'd used to blanket to keep himself warm or to rest his head on, that it had rubbed against his uniform and absorbed everything around him - powder and shot, smoke, maybe tears and blood.
Yet now - over 60 years after WWII - the same blanket lies on my bed. I sleep under it, wrap it round me when I'm wearing pretty clothes or comfy pajamas, dump books and jewellery and pretty or fun girl things on it ... amazing!
I like to think that if my grandfather was still alive and knew that I sleep under his blanket, he'd be pleased. It is small and it's also shabby. But it's special to me. It's not just a gray blanket. It's my grandfather's army blanket - he was one of many unsung war heroes and I'm proud to be his granddaughter.
(And to have the privilege of sleeping under his army blanket ... which is actually very warm and cozy ... and which I take very good care of!)
5 comments:
I like to sleep under my grandfathers army blanket that he used in WWII allso. I don't have his blanket on my bed...but when I stayed with them in winter as a child I used that oh so very scrachy blanket.:)
Janel, that's so neat ... I thought I was the only one to sleep under my grandfather's army blanket. It's really special to know that you've slept under your grandfather's army blanklet too! Thanks for sharing your memories! :-> I have to admit, I love it ... but my grandfather's army blanket is scratchy too! :->
You know,my grandpa faught in WWII as well! Then he became sort of a "documentor" for it instead.
What a great story. Thanks. I've linked.
I'm glad you all liked this post! :->
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