Parallel files diverge
The brothers enlisted within a week and received consecutive numbers. For two months their files run together: same depot, same draft, same battalion. Then one becomes a signaller and the other joins a Lewis gun team.
Their wounds also differed. One suffered shrapnel injuries to an arm during a working party; the other collapsed with fever after a wet tour. Neither wound matched the heroic image their village might have expected, yet both altered employment after discharge.
Duties and risk
Signallers moved between headquarters and front line, exposed to shellfire while maintaining wires. Gun teams carried heavy equipment and attracted counter-fire. Each role created its own pattern of exhaustion.
Return and memory
Pension cards record different disabilities, but photographs show them in identical uniforms. Public commemoration flattened difference; medical files restored it.
Where to look next
Service record methods clarify each file, while memorial order shows how families were sometimes separated visually.