- Born
- Donald Hodge was born in 1894 in Kent, England, UK.
- He was one of the last surviving veterans of the first world war. Like many young English boys he joined the war at the age of 18 with the idea that he would be fighting glorious battles. Like many of his comrades he found that war was anything but an adventure and soon began to realize the long arduous Hell that he would be trapped in for four years.
- By the late 80s, Donald had settled in the Sussex coastal town of Seaford.
- We were brought up to spell duty with a big 'D' and our duty was to God and our country and that was the end of the matter.
- [on shell shock] There is a breaking point for most people. Those people descended to something less than human. They were robbed of all humanity and dignity and courage, all the things that make life worth living really.
- [After World War I] "I lost all my youth, the best years of my life you might say and I lost so many friends. A few medals don't make up for that. Nobody wins in a war, they lost but we didn't win."
- [Before World War I] "I was in a crowd of other 18, 19, 20-year old boys and we thought it was going to be a tremendous lot to go and knock the Kaiser off his throne."
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content