230781 Sgt. Frederick William Brittain British Army 7th Btn Rifle Brigade from:London, E14 (d.5th April 1943) Fred Brittain was my dad. I was born in May 1939. When he went abroad my mother was one of those who didn't know when, or even if, they would see their loved one again. On his death, mother was reclassified as a single woman (with a young child and amid all the stigma associated, and a grateful government even deducted one shilling and ninepence for the blanket he was buried in). It would be interesting if someone has collated the life expectancy of people who were in the army at the start of the war and how long they survived.
|