4th of August, 1914

Your entire family were gathered around the wireless, the announcer speaking very gravely of the developing situation in Germany.

"Great Britain is in a state of war with Germany. It was officially stated at the Foreign Office last night that Great Britain declared war against Germany at 7pm. The British Ambassador in Berlin has been handed his passport."

Your mother began to cry, your father sat down heavily in his armchair and swiped a hand down his face, having served in the second Boer war that only ended in 1902.

Alfie looked up to your father greatly, his own intention to join the army and become a captain mirroring your father's.

Alfie.. your heart sank, he had probably heard the radio announcer too.

Without a second thought for shoes or a coat, you sprinted from your home into the typically characteristic warm rain of August in London.

Until your feet were numb and your chest ached, until your clothes were soaked through, you ran barefoot through London's streets, dodging misery and sadness as other families and crowded the paths, praying to catch the announcement in the recaps on the night air.

Upon reaching Alfie's home, only his mother was home, the kindly Russian woman you'd come to know and love with such familiarity.

She brought you indoors and sat you down, listened to your tears and told you Alfie would be home soon but that simply wouldn't do, you needed to see him now.

With tears in your eyes and a stitch in your side, you made it to one of Alfie's regular haunts, the bar that the soldiers, new and old, frequented.

"Darlin'!" Alfie called from the opposite side of the pavement, "you've 'eard haven't ya! We're going over to give Gerry what for!" his friends cheered triumphantly at Alfie's statement.

He grinned like nothing was wrong, until he saw the state you were in.

"Darlin' heart," he crossed the road to you, picking you up off of your feet and setting you on a low wall by the pub.

"Where on earth are your shoes, treacle? Does your father know you're out? What's he said? Is he going over too?"