"I was 16 when my granddad died and as far as I was concerned he was a typical pensioner. Retired, bingo and Labour club loving, and sitting in front of the coal fire watching Corrie. And that was all there was to him.
We started to go through his things after he died and it was then that I began to discover the real person. His extensive valve collection. Perhaps he thought they'd be back some day in a big way or more likely having lived through the war, he was reluctant to throw anything away.
Photos of him at school as a small boy. It must have been during the 1920s. But the photos of him in the army and Burma were a revelation. He'd travelled more than I had. He'd has this life-changing experience of leaving the pit and going on this long journey away from everything he knew, and he'd never mentioned it. But more importantly, I'd never asked."
