Remembrance Day: National biographer shares moving accounts of the brave who fought for their country

Remembrance Day 2022: National biographer shares moving accounts of the

brave who have fought for their country

Research from StoryTerrace found A THIRD of Brits worry valuable historic 

legacies in their family will soon be forgotten

Speak with Rutger Bruining, founder of leading memoir-writing service,

whose desire to preserve his grandfather’s wartime stories led him to start his business

Key stats:

• 56% say that a lot of their family history is lost because they no longer are able to speak with the person who knows the most about it
• 29% of people worry that the historic legacies and heroes in their family will be distant memories in the near future
• 71% say they wish they knew more about their grandparents’ life stories, as they only know vague accounts of their experiences
• 51% wish they could tell their younger self to document their family’s life story, as they feel most of it has been forgotten 

“I want families to learn how important it is to talk and share stories from the past, in the hope that history doesn’t repeat itself”

 

This week 11th of November marks Remembrance Day in the UK and memorial day on Sunday 13th of November; the national day of reflection remembering the brave people who sacrificed their lives to fight for their country. Most of what we know about British history derives from the detailed first-hand accounts of those who witnessed our war-torn country. However, research from the nation’s leading biography-writing service, StoryTerrace, found that almost a third of Brits (29%) worry that these historic legacies in their family will soon be nothing but a distant memory. 

The memoir-writing service has helped countless veterans and war heroes document their life stories – including individuals that weren’t able to do so themselves and had family members do so on their behalf – ensuring that their legacies are preserved for future generations before they are forgotten. This comes amidst their findings that over half the nation (56%) say that a lot of their family history is lost because they are no longer able to speak with the person who knows the most about it. Relating to this experience is StoryTerrace’s CEO and founder, Rutger Bruining, whose grandfather’s wartime stories encouraged him to build his story-preserving business. 

This week, the memoir-writing service pays tribute to those who fought and witnessed the war and have since had their incredible accounts penned with StoryTerrace – offering a unique perspective into wartime stories that would have otherwise remained unheard.

Speak with Catherine Beall, who recalls the incredible story of uncovering her father’s letters to his brothers during the second world war – documenting how he escaped from Austria, survived internment in WWII and changed his name to escape his past:

Wilhelm Fleishmann, an only child to Jewish parents, was a young successful man whose life in the 1930s was torn apart when the war broke out in Austria. While he was kept in confinement under the Nazi regime, Willhelm began corresponding with his brothers who lived in South Yorkshire, who then forwarded his letters to important government figures. Consequently, through the correspondence with his brothers, Fleishmann was able to escape the horrors of Nazi-occupied Vienna.

Catherine Beall, daughter of Wilhem Flieshmann says:
“The hoards of letters, documents, photos, stamps, and objects travelled with me throughout different stages of my life.I started to read through the documents and letters and began to piece together the story of my father’s tragic life. 

“I believe our story needs to be passed onto our children and grandchildren. I want families to learn how important it is to talk and share stories from the past, in the hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.”

Meet Cara de Vert Champ, who found her grandfather’s diary documenting his experience being imprisoned at Dunkirk for four years:
To his grandchildren, Roy Dempster Waters was simply “Grandpa Pop”, an affable gentleman living quietly in the Sussex countryside.

It was only through the discovery of his wartime diaries that his family discovered the astonishing story of four harrowing years that he spent as a prisoner of the war during World War II after being captured at Dunkirk. Provided with meagre rations in harsh conditions and losing many of his comrades, it was his bravery, forbearance and good humour that helped him emerge from the horrors of the war relatively unscathed.

Kenneth Mills’ story as told by his daughter, Paulette Brisker, who documents how he saved Britain and Russia from starvation:
Paulette wanted to write a book about how the Second World War impacted her father’s life. She hopes her grandchildren and their children will appreciate his story. His war stories included battling the Russians and being on the first ship in Penang when the Japanese surrendered.

Kenneth travelled to various war conferences, and amidst the dangers of the war still found love at a dance in Birmingham. They only knew each other for only 11 days before they were married.

After the war, her father worked mainly in West Africa where Brisker herself grew up. He moved around Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria before finishing up his career in Malaysia.

“My father enlisted the day war broke out – he was 19 years old. He joined the Royal Marines and was part of the Atlantic and Arctic convoys. He was even part of the landing party that took the Japanese surrender in Penang. In his last ten years, he told us stories of what happened. War changed his life and started his adventures in life to Africa, Malaysia, the Island of Nauru in the Pacific and Australia. “

When Paulette was asked about her experience documenting her father’s life story, she said: “My experience in documenting my father’s life was truly amazing. I was contacted by one of the ghostwriters who listened to all my stories and wrote them beautifully, and accurately brought my words to life in the way my father would have wanted.”

Gerard Volmer: who led a Nazi resistance group in the Second World War, and had a direct impact on the creation of StoryTerrace:

During the Second World War, Gerard lived in the countryside in the Dutch province of Zeeland, where he led a resistance group to defy Nazi occupation. Prior to the war, he’d trained as a doctor and later became a reserve officer in the army. He would tell his grandson of his experiences setting up a resistance group skilled in sabotaging the Nazi soldiers, sinking 800kg of explosives, and later getting married and having children during the war. He told his grandson, Rutger Bruining, CEO/Founder of StoryTerrace, his stories of the war before he died. Rutger was just 18 at the time of Volmer’s passing and expresses regret at not recording these incredible stories in more detail at the time.

Rutger Bruining, Founder and CEO of StoryTerrace, discusses how hearing his father’s wartime stories inspired him to start his business: 

“As we go about our daily lives, it is far too easy to forget the sacrifices that those on the front line made for the benefit of our society today. On Remembrance Day, I encourage everyone to reflect on the efforts of our veterans and to dig a little deeper into the past histories of our families who may have stories to pass down to future generations.

“When I founded the business, I was inspired by my grandfather and the fascinating stories he told me about his time in the war. He passed away when I was 18, a year during which I spent less time with him, which I regretted. I also regretted not having recorded the stories that he told me.

“The more people who know about their families and where they come from, the better world we will be living in. To have stories that last centuries.”