--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: During the second world war, my grandad…" description: "\"During the second world war, my grandad was away for the best part of six years.\" — Grace Dent" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg" --- # During the second world war, my grandad was away for the… ![“During the second world war, my grandad was away for the best part of six years.” quote by Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg) > “During the second world war, my grandad was away for the best part of six years.” [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Notes the long absence of a grandfather during WWII, highlighting personal sacrifice and familial impact. **In simple terms:** Grandfather was away for most of WWII. Key Takeaway Recognize sacrifices of wartime families. Themes family war sacrifice Mood nostalgic reflective Type personal historical When to use this quote - family gatherings - heritage projects - war memorial events - educational curricula Key Concepts historical memoir social history Questions to Reflect On - How did families cope with prolonged separations? - What lasting effects did wartime absences have? A Different Perspective May lack broader historical context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Army](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) [Second world war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-world-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) ## Related quotes > [There comes a time when walking away is the best for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aisha/there-comes-a-time-when-walking-away-is-the-best-for-everyone/) [Aisha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aisha/) > [“Sometimes walking away is best. I should know. It's my specialty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/sometimes-walking-away-is-best-i-should-know-it-s-my-specialty/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Before leaving someone behind, make sure that person isn't taking away the best part of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-leaving-someone-behind-make-sure-that-person-isn-t-taking-away/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Walking away is sometimes the best solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-norvy/walking-away-is-sometimes-the-best-solution/) [Jean Norvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-norvy/) > [Come on baby were gunna fly away from here. You were my best 4 years. RIP Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/come-on-baby-were-gunna-fly-away-from-here-you-were-my-best-4-years/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Ukippers are the kinds of fools who haven't noticed they're sleep-walking towards fascism. Many UKIP candidates are of the age when their parents fought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/ukippers-are-the-kinds-of-fools-who-haven-t-noticed-they-re-sleep/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [Every country has its own perspective on the Second World War. This is not surprising when experiences and memories are so different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/every-country-has-its-own-perspective-on-the-second-world-war-this-is/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [Bill Phillips was this nervous, chain-smoking student. He had signed up to be an engineer, he had gone away to fight in the Second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-harford/bill-phillips-was-this-nervous-chain-smoking-student-he-had-signed-up/) [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) > [When the Second World War finished, I was 23 and already I had seen enough horror to last me a lifetime. I'd seen dreadful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/when-the-second-world-war-finished-i-was-23-and-already-i-had-seen/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [I got married and I had children because of the Second World War, as all of us did, exclaiming, 'Oh, no, we are never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-got-married-and-i-had-children-because-of-the-second-world-war-as/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The Second World War is and was constantly being drudged up by Blair and Bush to rationalize the invasion of Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/the-second-world-war-is-and-was-constantly-being-drudged-up-by-blair/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [Ever since the Second World War, television signals (as well as FM radio and radar) have served as Homo sapiens' emissaries into deep space.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/ever-since-the-second-world-war-television-signals-as-well-as-fm/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [It is important to understand the continuing, confused fascination with the Second World War. For most of us, the great unspoken question is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/it-is-important-to-understand-the-continuing-confused-fascination/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [In Finland, we learned quite a lot from our own civil war. The wounds were visible when I was a boy, but my generation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harri-holkeri/in-finland-we-learned-quite-a-lot-from-our-own-civil-war-the-wounds/) [Harri Holkeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harri-holkeri/) > [The memory of the Second World War hangs over Europe, an inescapable and irresistible point of reference. Historical parallels are usually misleading and dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/the-memory-of-the-second-world-war-hangs-over-europe-an-inescapable/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) ## More by Grace Dent > [Give me an impromptu 50-person guest list, a fold-out emergency trestle table and a pack of frozen vol-au-vent cases and, darlings, I will give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/give-me-an-impromptu-50-person-guest-list-a-fold-out-emergency/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [I skip breakfast a lot - often, it's just a litre of coffee with oat milk - and I eat lots of protein at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/i-skip-breakfast-a-lot-often-it-s-just-a-litre-of-coffee-with-oat/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [Once, bit-fetching was the job mainly of children. In the 1970s, if I sat too long looking bored, I'd be dispatched to the shop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/once-bit-fetching-was-the-job-mainly-of-children-in-the-1970s-if-i/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [The truth is I love animals more than I love most humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/the-truth-is-i-love-animals-more-than-i-love-most-humans/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [I've realised that, from your mid-40s, everything you eat and drink shows in your face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/i-ve-realised-that-from-your-mid-40s-everything-you-eat-and-drink/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [The moment you become sober, you feel 100% better. Then you have to stop yourself being evangelical because you feel like you've found religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/the-moment-you-become-sober-you-feel-100-better-then-you-have-to-stop/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [Everybody you meet, when you're a restaurant critic, tells you they'd love to be your dinner companion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/everybody-you-meet-when-you-re-a-restaurant-critic-tells-you-they-d/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [My rule of thumb with being in the closet is, as long as you're not spending Sundays thumping a bible about Sodom, or weekdays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/my-rule-of-thumb-with-being-in-the-closet-is-as-long-as-you-re-not/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [Sometimes you only realise how far you've travelled when you turn around and see the distance behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/sometimes-you-only-realise-how-far-you-ve-travelled-when-you-turn/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [When I was a little girl I always enjoyed the roast potatoes and the vegetables at Sunday dinner more than the meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/when-i-was-a-little-girl-i-always-enjoyed-the-roast-potatoes-and-the/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [What 'Transparent' actually is if you give it a chance is a compelling, intoxicating look at family, siblings, secrets, divorce, being Jewish, mid-life anguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/what-transparent-actually-is-if-you-give-it-a-chance-is-a-compelling/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [There are no magical solutions to our nation's housing problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/there-are-no-magical-solutions-to-our-nation-s-housing-problem/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [We must carry on dancing, singing and loving. The other option is to make our worlds tiny, dark and untrusting. I think we all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/we-must-carry-on-dancing-singing-and-loving-the-other-option-is-to/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [My freezer always has veggie burgers in it. I don't think you should eat them every day, but they're really handy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/my-freezer-always-has-veggie-burgers-in-it-i-don-t-think-you-should/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) > [Microwaving cooks food from the inside out, so you can say goodbye to spongy aubergines and hello to beautifully soft flesh that soaks up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/microwaving-cooks-food-from-the-inside-out-so-you-can-say-goodbye-to/) [Grace Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) [Explore all 100 Grace Dent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/) ## More Army quotes > [There are no more worlds to conquer!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/there-are-no-more-worlds-to-conquer/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [I just read an article about how young American males feel uncomfortable appearing naked in front of each other in locker rooms. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ivory/i-just-read-an-article-about-how-young-american-males-feel/) [James Ivory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ivory/) > [ I can't imagine that I would be asked that by the president-elect \[Donald Trump\], or then-president \[Barack Obama\]. But it's - I'm very clear.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/i-can-t-imagine-that-i-would-be-asked-that-by-the-president-elect/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“The most important lesson that came out of Vietnam for me was that Marines take care of Marines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-clancy/the-most-important-lesson-that-came-out-of-vietnam-for-me-was-that/) [Tom Clancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-clancy/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I have real strong feelings about our troops and support them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-fichtner/i-have-real-strong-feelings-about-our-troops-and-support-them/) [William Fichtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-fichtner/) > [Personally, I don't really have a set style or look. It's pretty much what I feel like wearing that day, from a floral-print dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/personally-i-don-t-really-have-a-set-style-or-look-it-s-pretty-much/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [Growing up with a parent in the army, I saw firsthand the challenges our service members face when transitioning to new jobs after time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharice-davids/growing-up-with-a-parent-in-the-army-i-saw-firsthand-the-challenges/) [Sharice Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharice-davids/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [Thanks to all members of the military around the world for giving me the ultimate motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-neidhart/thanks-to-all-members-of-the-military-around-the-world-for-giving-me/) [Natalya Neidhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-neidhart/) [Browse all 3,919 Army quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/army/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "During the second world war, my grandad was away for the best part of six years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grace Dent" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-was-away-for-the-best-part-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Army" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-was-away-for-the-best-part-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd4/grace-dent-5550_away_during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-w_963812.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During the second world war, my grandad was away for the best part of six years.” — Grace Dent", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Grace Dent", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-dent/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "During the second world war, my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-was-away-for-the-best-part-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-dent/during-the-second-world-war-my-grandad-was-away-for-the-best-part-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```