I am pretty sure a thread was made before, but I can't find it, so heres another one.
I found out about my great grandfather today. He was born in 1890s and was left on the steps of a church, abandoned by his real parents. He was orphaned by a large family, and was named Francis Melody. In 14 he joined the mines and in 17 he joined the WW1 under-age. I don't know much about him in the WW1, he didn't talk about it. After the war, he joined the Territorial Army to gain money and make a life for himself. He married and had kids and in 1939, he was called down to the TA Station and never returned. 3 weeks later, it turned out that he was in France. He was part of the BEF. He was at Dunkirk and he had to knock the soldiers unconscious to get them onto the beaches. While in France, he went into a pub with some other soldiers. He left and then German trucks rolled up and shot everyone else who was left in the pub. During the war, he was shot in the back and in the fingers, so two of his fingers were moulded off. When he returned from the war, he never talked about it, and then he had a heart attack when he was 65.
So yeah, share your stories!