(For the previous instalment of this multipart series click here) Soviet Invasion On the 1st of September 1939 Germany invaded Poland from the West, and sixteen days later the Soviet Union did the same from the East. Their secret pact to shred Poland from existence commencing and leaving the Poles unable…
(For part 1 of this multipart series click here) Rzeczpospolita Polska To understand Poland is to understand her people – complex, diverse and resilient. In the late 1700s, without any natural geographic borders to protect her, Rzeczpospolita Polska (the Republic of Poland) was carved into three by Russia, Prussia and Austrian…
Smyllum Park Orphanage Opened in 1864 and in operation until 1981, the Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark was a place of last resort for Scotland’s working-class poor. Children were often placed there if the family fell on hard times, or split apart due to unfortunate circumstances. In similar fashion, forty-two…
For it is in giving that we receive. – Francis of Assisi Promises Life can be about giving a little and getting a lot. Today feels like one of those days. Many years ago I made a promise to my grandmother. Something I do not do easily and once made,…
Welcome to the family Today I had an email from Robert Alexander “Sandy” Sinclair. He is my second cousin once removed. Our shared ancestors are Robert Sinclair and Janet Sinclair, who married 3 October 1888 in Dunoon, Scotland. Generally speaking, it is a small club of descendants. Of the couple’s four…