Boy of 12 Youngest to Serve in British WW1 Army?
The British press have published recollections of a former British soldier in World War 1 which reveals the tale of a twelve year old boy. The memories come from George Maher, who lied about his age to enlist for the British army when he was only 13, and was sent to the front line trenches during the Battle of the Somme. He broke down during the conflict and his true age was revealed, at which point he was locked up in a train with other boys who had also lied. One, unnamed in the report I read in the Telegraph, was only twelve, and had also lied about his age. Mayer recalled "The youngest was 12 years old. A little nuggety bloke he was, too. We joked that the other soldiers would have had to have lifted him up to see over the trenches." This would make the boy the youngest soldier known to have served in the British army during the war.
Comments
I find this scary but not surprising. Even in countries today children that young are fighting wars. I cannot imagine though because my son is that age and to me he is still such a little boy! How did these boys sign up to fight? Were they run aways or was it with their parent’s permission? Those were different times, I understand, but it is still so sad to think about! War is ugly albeit necessary.