The Icelandic connection - 01.12.2020, Blaðsíða 26

168
ICELANDIC CONNECTION
Vol. 71 #4
Christopher O’Kelly V.C., MC.
a World War 1 War Hero remembered
by Keith Kristofferson
Introduction
World War I was one of the bloodiest
and most devastating conflicts in
history, when viewed from the individual
perspective of the soldiers who fought in
this epic battle. It was a warwhere emerging
technology such as artillery, machine guns,
trenches, chlorine and mustard gas had a
tremendous impact on each and every one
them, both physically and psychologically.
The closeness of the fighting in hand dug
shallow trenches, in some cases
only yards apart, often lead to a
ferocious determination by the
soldiers on either side, to kill their
enemies regardless of the cost.
Over the four years of the
conflict, from 1914 to 1918, the
continuous artillery bombardment,
machine gun and small arms fire
and poison gas attacks combined
with the endless rain and mud in
the trenches, created intolerable
conditions. The ongoing sights
of dead and mutilated bodies,
surrounded by the persistent odours
of decaying flesh which permeated
the trenches as rats ran about freely
at night carrying disease, caused
even the hardiest and stalwart
soldiers to succumb to this plight.
After the war finally ended
on November the 11th 1918, the
prolonged physical, psychological
and emotional trauma that the
soldiers experienced in this conflict,
haunted many of the survivors for
the rest of their lives. Thousands
of wounded men faced long term
PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY KEITH KRISTOFFERSON