I have something quite tragic to discuss this week. Matthew and William, Matthew’s soldier servant and a past footman at Downton, are in Amiens, and they are preparing to attack. During the battle, a shell landed near the pair. William heroically tried to save Matthew by throwing himself in-between the shell and Matthew. But Matthew still sustained serious bruising, and doctors believed that his spinal cord was transected. Poor William’s lungs were fatally damaged by the blast. I would like to look at each of these two men individually and analyze how the blast impacted their lives, which is how this terrible war would have impacted many similar lives.

First, William. This brave young man is going to die for his efforts. But William will not die without leaving his mark on the world. And, for William, this means marrying his sweetheart, Daisy. William loves Daisy, and he believes that Daisy loves him. During a previous visit to Downton, Daisy promised to marry him. Unfortunately, the relationship is not quite so simple. Although Daisy did agree to marry William, she only did so that William could go off to war believing his hopes and dreams would be fulfilled at the end of the war. Daisy, with the influence of Mrs. Patmore, feared that, if she refused him, he would lose his motivation to keep fighting. But Daisy was not content with her promise. In fact, she felt as though she had “lead him up the garden path with all that nonsense, and I’m ashamed.” When William returns to Downton in his weakened condition, he asks Daisy to marry him before he dies. Daisy is torn, for she does not want to “be false to a dying man.” Although I do understand Daisy’s inner struggle, I must agree with Mrs. Patmore: “What matters now is the poor lad knows some peace and some happiness before he goes.” And, in the end, Daisy does marry William.

Heartbreakingly, he did pass a few hours after marrying the love of his life. During the “Great War,” many couples quickly married before the war separated him. These pairs believed that a short marriage was better than never getting the chance to marry. The same is true of William: he longed to be married to Daisy, even if it was only for a few hours.

Now to Matthew. Though Matthew will live, his injury will be a part of him forever. As Mary put it, this is not the end of his life, simply the “start of a different life.” But, for Matthew, this “different life” is not worth living. Matthew decides that he must say goodbye to Lavinia, his fiancée. Although Lavinia does not realize this at first, Matthew’s injury means that they can never be “properly married.” In other words, they can never have children. Matthew’s honor will not let him marry Lavinia and tie her to such a life. In an emotional scene, Matthew tells Lavinia, “I won’t steal away your life…Remember me as I was.”

From spinal damage to shell shock, the horrific injuries of World War I affected men long after they left the battlefield. The damage ruined marriages and impacted families the world over. Young children struggled to understand what caused their fathers to change, and mothers were forced to undertake their husbands’ duties, as well as their own.