A photograph of my uncle Frank Hanna, who was in the first class of 100 carefully selected warrant officers and petty officers who became officers through Winston Churchill's scheme to commission promising young men from the lower decks. He received the King's Commission early in 1913 as Mate, a rank equal to sub-Lieutenant but one which distinguished officers from the lower deck from those who had entered the service in the usual way as cadets.

A photograph of my uncle Frank Hanna, seated second from left, in the ship's company of Torpedo Boat Number One (TB1), a small craft that patrolled the East Coast of Britain from Immingham at the outbreak of WW1, before moving to Newhaven to patrol the English Channel. My uncle was in the first class of 100 men from the lower decks who were promoted to officers in a scheme initiated by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty. A contemporary journalist wrote that my uncle was the first officer from the lower decks to be given a command.

Photograph from the enlisting form of Christopher Doyle. Photocopy of the Missing Notice from the Evening Herald newspaper where his parents are seeking information on the wherabouts of Christopher Doyle. Death medal of Christopher Doyle. || I became aware of these items when I was a teenager and have been interested since. My grand uncle, Christpoher Doyle joined the Royal Dublin Fusilliers 'C' 2nd Battalion in January 1913. He was promoted to sergeant and was wounded three times. I also have a copy of an article that appeared in the Evening Herald newspaper. It was a Missing Notice that was put in the paper by his parents who were looking for any information on where he might be as he was missing. He died in France on 23rd October 1916. His name is engraved in the Memorial in Thiepval in France and we haven't visited it. I hope to go there some day.