Tag Archives: love

The Timeless Appeal of the ‘Star-Crossed Lovers’ Trope

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, to be ‘star-crossed’ is to be ‘thwarted by bad luck’.

 Star-crossed lovers are two people (normally young) who experience love at first sight, but their relationship is threatened by forces outside of their control.

The most famous ‘star-crossed lovers’ of all time are almost certainly Romeo and Juliet, from William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. In fact, the phrase ‘star-crossed lovers’ was even coined by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet (1597).

However, while Romeo and Juliet might be the most iconic star-crossed lovers, they were actually not the first…

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

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My Great Grandpa In The Great War

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My great grandpa, Norman George Dale, was born on 7th March 1896 to Frederick Dale, a farmer, and his wife Martha. He was one of ten children, three sisters and seven brothers and the family lived happily at Oxheys Farm in Cheshire.

When the war broke out in 1914, two brothers, Harry and Fred, stayed at home to maintain the family farm; even when conscription was introduced in 1916 they was exempt from service as a result of their occupation.

The remaining brothers Sidney, Walter (32), Albert (23), Frank (21) and Norman (18) all fought in the war. While Norman was technically too young to serve overseas – the minimum age for this being nineteen – he lied about his age so he could fight beside Frank, as the two youngest brothers were inseparable.  Walter, Albert, Frank and Norman all joined the Manchester Regiment; Albert in the 22nd Battalion, Walter in the 2nd/5th and Frank and Norman in the 2nd/6th.

Norman George Dale

Norman George Dale

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One Of My Favourite Love Letters From The Great War

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This is one of  my favourite love letters from the First World War. Its author is one George Hayman, a private in the Lancashire Fusiliers, and he wrote it to his wife shortly before he left for France in June 1916.

The letter, as you can see, is written in the shape of a kiss and also contains drawings George made himself of his young family. In one part he writes “I only wish I could be home with you, still never mind this war will soon be over now. Then we will have a jolly good time” and he signs off “from your loving boy, George xxxx”. The innocence and obvious adoration George felt for his wife and their child is so lovely – making it all the more heartbreaking that George died in combat two months later.

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