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A true flower story. In 2011, Clement was clearing out his Fathers flat after he died. He was surprised to find this old wooden box which had belonged to his Grandfather during war. Clement knew nothing about his Grandfather other than being wounded, captured & a prisoner in WW1.
Inside, he was amazed to find this book full of pressed flowers over a 100 years old! They had been lovingly preserved, neatly displayed and labelled- not by flower, but by Date & Battlefield name. He had collected a flower from each & every Battlefield he had travelled through.
After a long pause in dates - matching the dates he was held prisoner - another page then reads “Returning from Germany!” With a bunch of flowers. Touchingly, in the very final pages, Clement learns his own Father then writes in the book in 1962 on the final pages.......
Clement’s Father added this Pilgrimage section displaying these Roses he picked with his Dad when they went back to visit the Battlefields in 1962. His Father had written “In Memory of the Battle of the Somme River. Roses De Chilly”.
Amidst the terror & fear his Grandfather endured in those utterly miserable Battlefields, he had collected signs of ‘life’ in them. Clement reflects by saying “This book represents the victory of life against barbarism. I wish I knew this soldier who preferred flowers to guns”
Thank you Clement for sharing this. It’s a very special flower book and tells a story of hope amidst unimaginable dark days.
