Researching My Grandfather Bernard “Pop” Green MC: When Is a Book Ever Finished?

I have spent the last four weeks writing a new book about my grandfather, Bernard “Pop” Green MC. It is complementary to the book I wrote about him fifteen years ago, but it takes a radically different approach.

Half of each chapter focuses on the research I have done and the places I have visited that are connected with his extraordinary life and military career: where he was shot down, where he was captured, where he lived, where he fought in the First World War, and where he was stationed during his RAF service.

It has become quite obsessional.

But that obsession has uncovered many new facts about Bernard “Pop” Green MC and his experiences during the two World Wars. I have followed his story through archives, historical records and the places associated with his life, trying to piece together a more complete picture of the man behind the family stories.

Now, of course, comes the next challenge: finding a publisher who will accept what I have written. Wish me luck!

When does the research ever end?

The trouble with historical research is that it never really ends. When do you stop finding out new things? When is a book ever truly finished?

I have checked every fact against multiple sources, and I have spent an almost unreasonable amount of time checking the spelling of Danish, Polish and German names. Every new discovery seems to lead to another question, another document or another place I want to investigate.

Perhaps that is the nature of researching family history and military history. The more you discover, the more you realise how much you still don't know.

For now, though, I have to draw a line under the research and call the book finished.

At least until I discover something else about my grandfather, Bernard “Pop” Green MC…