The day dawned misty and cold but the cloud soon dispersed over the gently rolling hills and the autumn sun was shining and bringing some warmth to the air. This was the morning of the day which I had been anticipating for many long months, a day I had told countless people about: family, friends and strangers alike. It was 20th October 2018, one hundred years to the day since my great-uncle had died. Our small party, consisting of my two sons - the eldest just turned teenage

I have been based in northern France since yesterday, but today I took a trip into Belgium to visit the cemetery at St Symphorien which is just 2km east of Mons. Mons was the first major battle of the First World War and many soldiers from that battle were buried in this nearby cemetery. It was established later in the war, while the area was still under German occupation. The required land was freely given by Belgian Jean Houzeau de Lehaie on condition that soldiers from bot

Last weekend I took another trip back to Scarborough, hoping to deepen my understanding of the family history by visiting some more sites. One building I had overlooked previously was 95 Westborough. This was where Lillie Bell, the wife-to-be of my great-uncle Fred Cowling was living before she got married, according to the wedding certificate I had ordered a copy of. And this photo is of the building, with a shop on the ground level. It is actually little more than a stone's