Friday, May 06, 2011

FFF55: A soldier's tale

Edward Moffat joined the army and went off to fight in the mud and gore of France. He miraculously survived the whole thing and came home a hero, only to be struck down by Spanish Flu in an epidemic that wiped out a great number of those who had managed to live through the fighting.

*****

Edward Moffat is a very minor character in my latest attempt at a novel. His entire tale takes little more than two paragraphs but his death is relevant to the ongoing story. 

Spanish Flu was the same strain (H1N1) as the bird flu that hit last year. Unlike most strains of flu (and other diseases) it hit the young and healthy and left the old and frail relatively untouched. In a world that had just suffered massive losses among its young generation because of the 1914-18 war, the deaths were felt particularly badly. The first cases were reported in late 1918 and the disease continued to spread around the world for two years.  In spite of the name there is no evidence to prove that it started in Spain.

FFF55 is a weekly challenge to tell a story in just 55 words.  It's hosted by the G-Man over at Mr. Knowitall Go visit and read more.

14 comments:

Sandra Davies said...

You've caught me already - WWI is a period I am particularly drawn to. And as ever, your 55 words impress.

anthonynorth said...

It was a tragedy - world war then global pandemic. One theory is that it was bred in the camps behind the trenches - people from all over the world mixing with squalor, pigs and chickens. Then they took it home.

snafu said...

Interesting 55, A real tragedy, I understand the Flu killed more people than the war did.

Brian Miller said...

what a sad 55...to survive a war is miracle enough. then laid low by a disease...sad

Ellie Garratt said...

I remember reading about this and how more people where killed off by the flu than the war. A terrible tragedy.

Austin said...

Cool premise here . . . I created a character long ago in a series of stories . . . it is now every password I ever use!

Blood, Sweat and Tears is mine this week.

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

bless all.
what a tough and honorable life ...

lighten up, enjoy a smiling weekend.

beautiful 55.
you rock.

Happy Mother's Day to Moms around you. Blessings..

PBJdreamer said...

Wow, this will be an interesting story I hope you oontinue with it!


that is all

G-Man said...

AJ...
I Love historical 55's
Thanks for the backstory.
Thank You for your weekly support, it's very much appreciated.
Thanks for playing, and have a Kick Ass Week-End

hope said...

I love the story behind the story, sad though it may be.

Doing work on my family tree I'm discovering that the explanation of, "I don't know, he/she just died" is too often becoming that they were the victim of some flu epidemic.

Belinda Munoz said...

To survive a war only to catch a fatal flu. Very sad. I appreciate the background you provided.

Just picked up a WWI book called To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild in my desperate need to make sense of war...

Steve Isaak said...

Solid work, engaging - happy writing on your novel.

Shanae Branham said...

Very interesting. How does the flu work within the plot. I am always astounded by the time jumps a writer can make in one paragraph.

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MorningAJ said...

As a small clue - the flu isn't actually the important bit. It's the fact that he dies that's relevant. It affects who inherits some property.