My uncle, Frank Fawl from Ireland, was already a regular solider when war broke out. Frank Fawl survived the war, and was awarded the Military Medal in 1917. He spent fourteen years in India before eventually settling in England. Frank rarely spoke about the Great War. Although Frank warned his brother not to enlist, my uncle Paddy Fawl volunteered in December 1915. He was commissioned in early 1916 into the Middlesex Regiment. Paddy died on 15th November 1916, having been wounded during the final days of the Somme Offensive. My own father fought with the anti-Treaty forces in the Irish Civil War. He never spoke about his brother's experiences of the Great War.
The medals are copies of those won by Frank and Paddy from a mint in England, including: Paddy's Service Medal, Frank's Military Medal (1917) and Frank's 1914-15 Star. Frank and Paddy are the two soldiers in the photograph. The grave is that of Paddy Fawl and is found in the Couin British Cemetery. His surname is incorrectly written as 'Fall' instead of Fawl on the gravestone. The letter is from Paddy to his brother Leonard Fawl. Written in January 1916, it discusses daily in Ireland. I only found this letter after my father's death.