I would invite another of my relatives, this time a little on the distant relatives side - James Younie James being born in 1884 to George Younie and Helen Riach. In 1916 James was in the Somme region of France in rather undesirable conditions. I do hope that asking him for a meal over the holidays would make him an object of jealousy from his brothers in arms or, more to the point make him AWOL. I will have to send him back to the front with a 'doggy bag ' for his comrades. But, while he is with us I would send him for a hot relaxing bath to get the cold from his bones, give him a set of clean clothes (he may not like jeans ! ) while the washing machine sets too and removes the caked on mud from his uniform. The tumbler dryer may have a hard time coping the the trench coat, but at least he would be clean when he went back. As other members of my family served in Yorkshire regiments during WW1 it would be nice to see if the Scottish regiments compared better or worse being in a differant part of France. He would be interrogated in the most friendliest of ways and asked what would you be having for dinner if not AWOL. Are the photographs we see a true testiment to the trauma. I would then let him sleep, probably the first uninterupted sleep for many a night. His absence would probably be notice so off he would go in his clean and warm clothes and his 'doggy bag' back to his 'mates'. Note :- James was killed in action on 14 Oct 1916 and is remembered at the THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, France. Carol Admin Moray Mailing List www.wakefieldfhs.org.uk/morayweb James was the brother of John Younie who later served in the Indian Civil Service