Video transcript
I was only five years old when my dad told me some upsetting news.
My sixteen year old brother Dean was going to the army. I remember asking my dad on
the Friday night if we were going to see my brothers that weekend, when he told me
that my brother Dean was going to train for the army. There are three of us altogether,
Dean, Tony and me. I knew I was going to miss him as we used to go out every
Saturday so I knew things were going to change. I was very upset. I was going to miss
all the fun times that I shared with him.
The first time that I really noticed that he wasn't there was at Tony's 21st Birthday in
Durham. I thought both my brothers were going to be there but my dad told me not to
build my hopes up - that Dean might not be there because he couldn't get to leave the
army. I was a bit upset about not seeing Dean that night.
Even though he is in the army he still tries to make time to visit about twice a year. Our
birthdays are two days apart, so we sometimes get to celebrate together. He sends
letters with photos and I send letters back. This can take a little while because he is
often stationed far away. He's been to places like Afghanistan, Iraq and he is often in
Wales. I am very happy that he doesn't fight in the front line. He is an engineer so he
works on all the electrical equipment. Even though he's not fighting it is very scary that
he is all the way over there in the middle of a war.
We don't get to see Dean all that often but our family is always growing. Tony and his
girlfriend Louise have a baby girl called Chloe and I've spent time with them at the zoo
and always go to visit when I get the chance.
I hope we will one day go out on a Saturday like we used to, Dean, Tony and me and
our dogs.
