90 years since the end of World War I

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 the Armistice between the Allies and the Central Powers came into effect and the Great War, the "war to end all wars," was over. Only a few veterans of WWI now remain to mark the commemoration ceremonies.

My grandfather on my mother's side served in WWI with the South African troops, and took part in the battle of Passchendaele (aka the Third Battle of Ypres). There he was captured by the Germans and spent the rest of the war in a prison camp, but was certainly better off than the 140000 Allied troops who died in that battle alone.