"describing the bugger who killed off half my family as competent is actually offensive."

Killed off half your family did he?? What personally? or were any of the enemy involved? I take it that they, like my grandfathers, had enlisted and that they were aware that there was a war on and had some understanding of what that might involve?

Just as well that they fought under Haig in the BEF and that they were of the family that gave us "Big Al Whittle", because if they had been French as opposed to British and given us "le Grand Al Whittle" it would have been two-thirds of your family killed off and of course had they been German as opposed to British then there wouldn't have been a "Gross Al Whittle" at all so competent was their leadership.