Gunner Alfred Horatio Harrison
5045 19th Btty Royal Field Artillery
Lived at 29 Nairne Street

We believe grandpa was torpedoed along with all the other soldiers in
his regiment and they were stranded in the sea for about 10 hours,
after which his hair turned white almost over night. Apart from three
unfortunate men, they all survived this wretched ordeal. He could
barely eat much at all from that time on, such as just one sprout at
dinner time apparently, until he got a virus in 1918 which for some
reason did at least give him his appetite back! He had a very sad life
early on, losing his mother and his father when he was a very small
boy and going to live with his grandparents from then on, and out to
work in the mills from a young age of course. Then he lost his first
wife in childbirth and was bringing up his only child Fred on his own,
til he met my grandma. They moved with Fred to the Midlands in the
early 30s, and then had two more children, my dad and my aunt. Then
tragically, Fred was killed in the second world war in Sicily, and I think
that must be about as much tragic loss as anyone can bear.

I never knew any of this when he was alive. He was wonderful. He used
to sing a song called "my piccanini" to me, take his false teeth out
and make us laugh, and tell a story of the wise old elephant who never
forgot, and basically was the best grandpa you could ever wish for. He
lived to 87, and grandma lived to 105!!

(courtesy of his grandaughter Kate Watson)