My grandfather, Joseph Thomas Edwards, was a private in the 8th Ardwick Battalion of the Manchester Regiment in World War I - a 'Pals' regiment. He took part in the Gallipoli landing, where he was wounded. After - apparently - recovering he continued in the Army until the end of the war.
However, he did suffer from stomach pains, putting this down to being shot in the turn at Gallipoli. He was right, of course, but what he didn't know - until he collapsed at work in early 1930s - that a Turkish bullet had remained inside him for around 14 years. It was very visible on a Manchester Royal Infirmary X-ray.
The bullet was removed, he had a brief convalescence at Grange-over-Sands, before returning to work at Langfields. 'Welcome back, Joe' they said. 'Nice to be back,' he said, 'but I'm only fit for light work.' 'Light work?' they said. 'We haven't got any. You're sacked'. Work was hard to find. He took on temporary postman at Christmas, pedalling away on a cycle, but didn't really get a job until the Second World War, when he helped to build Lancaster bombers at Metropolitan Vickers in Trafford Park.
