Tall order?

[Ann In the UK]

It's Clydebank - near Old Kilpatrick/Duntocher - which I've only just realised I've actually been to, when I first started researching! Small world ain't it!

[Alan SHARP]

Brilliant & TalkingScot’s condolences to your Sister, and her extended family at this time.

Alan SHARP.

[Ann In the UK]

Thank you,

Ann

[Ann In the UK]

Just an update to let you know, mother and daughter were finally reunited at a small family ceremony at Clydebank this week.

Thanks again for your support everyone.

Ann

[Alan SHARP]

Greetings Ann.

A fitting, and compassionate, closure of another chapter in life.

Thanks for letting us know. It’s the collective caring culture of TS, with it’s arms around the globe, that makes it such a great forum to belong to. Hopefully is was a beautiful spring day, as well, at the Clydebank Cemetery. It’s the reverse for us, with the deciduous leaves starting to turn colour, plus the odd cold front and first light frosts, signalling fast approaching winter.

Alan SHARP.

[Ann In the UK]

Just as an addendum to the above.

After everything had died down, my sister's father in law was going through his late wife's things. Among them was a box that she'd had in her possession since the death of her own mother some years ago. My sister's father in law phoned my sister to ask her if she would like it for their children. And a few weeks later an elderly, childless aunt of her mother in law in Australia called to ask if she'd like something else that would go with it. She said yes to both.

And both times she called me to gloat.

See, the box was stuffed with old letters and newspaper cuttings, photographs and memories of an uncle of her mother in law (the long forgotten brother of her mother) who was a soldier killed in the war. And the aunt in Australia was sending her his medals.

My sister now has them all in her posession, for posterity. I've read some of the letters on a recent visit, and held his medals, but there was so much to go through I think we may be reading them for some time to come yet. But they're so moving - one tells of his reaction to hearing of the death of his beloved brother, also a soldier. It took us ages to get through it cos it was just so very very sad - his pain was in every word.

I won't mention any names, but he was born and raised in Dundee and we've since been piecing together what little we can find out about him before his untimely death on the battlefields of northern France. And even though he's not exactly my relative, I'm very proud of him and will make sure my nephews and neices remember him the way their grandmother and great grandmother clearly intended.

Regards
Ann

[Anne H]

What a treasure and how wonderful to have been privileged to read through all those letters and hold the medals of one so long gone.

Ann, that was lovely to read.

Regards,
Anne H

[Russell]

Thanks for that update Ann. It is a fantastic experience actually holding in your hands something which connects you to that person directly. you will read and re-read them to extract every bit of information from them and get that emotional experience every time.
I was given a whole box full of letters and cards about three brothers from Kilbarchan, two of whom were killed in the Great War. I had quite an emotional trip reading them. I took them to my family history group and one of the members said 'They were my family'. We were stunned. She didn't even know the letters existed . It will take us ages to sort, process and file them and I hope we can mount a small exhibition later so that the whole village can feel proud of their sacrifice.

Russell

P.S. I moved your topic back to General Discussion and deleted the duplicate post for Anne. Thanks for your understanding.

[Ann In the UK]

Thank you both for your kind words (and hard work behind the scenes!).

I'm hoping in the future to collate the letters, photo's and what we find out about him into some kind of book or album to make it easier for the nephews and neices to follow. But there's just so much of it all, it might take years to do!

I wish one of my lot would call me with such a treasure!

Regards
Ann