Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Hugh was my grandfather who died in 1958, every night he'd put me to bed when I was a toddler and we'd play noughts and crosses but sometimes he used to tell me stories about when he rode in the Charge Of Beersheba and it would take him back there, it used to freak my mother out because about 3 times I can still remember him standing up on the bed and thrusting down saying "Cop This Johnny Turk" mum used to come running up yelling don't talk like that in front of the boy but it never bothered or scared me because I never thought it was directed at me, I realise now that he must have been suffering from what they call today PTSD and he used to have flashes that took him back there, he told me about talking to the Turks they captured at Beersheba and he was surprised because he said Johnny Turk was just like me and showed him pictures of his family, he also gave me about 30 Turkish coins the guy gave him but unfortunately they were lost when the family was in transit at some stage in my younger years and I really regret not having them now.