AT first glance they are simply two postcards from a bygone era.

But the hundred-year-old cards, shared by Alresford man Ken Trodd, 87, of Oak Hill, are a link to the dreaded trenches of World War One.

They were sent to Mr Trodd's father in law Sgt James Horton by his children, Rosy and Sonny, while he was fighting in France.

James Horton enlisted with the Manchester Regiment when he was believed to be 18 and served with them for seven years.

But Mr Trodd's family has since discovered James Horton told a white lie and was actually 16 when he enlisted.

He went on to fight in the Boer War and was discharged in 1904, only to be recalled for service in 1914 at the outbreak of World War One. He fought in France but it is unknown which regiment he served with.

“He never, ever talked to anyone in his close family about his war experiences,” Mr Trodd said.

In the postcards, Sonny and Rosy send their love and wish their father a safe return.

“My family absolutely cherish them. Those two cards portray the anxiety and the trauma that children went through when their fathers were in the trenches in World War One,” Mr Trodd said.

Sonny and Rosy were from James Horton's previous marriage, and Mr Trodd's wife never met her half-brother and sister.

But the family's research has shown that little Sonny went on to become a professional footballer - turning out for Southampton four times in the 1930s.

Mr Trodd is himself a World War Two veteran who served with the Royal Hampshire Regiment.

He was seriously injured while fighting as part of the 'Dash to Arnhem', the battle immortalised on screen in A Bridge Too Far.

The Royal Hampshire's attacked towards Eindhoven in a bid to relieve British and Polish paratroops who had dropped at Arnhem.

“I was hospitalised for 11 months. Then I was sent to work in Austria and spent two years in Vienna, which is a lovely city and I've been back many times since,” Mr Trodd said.