The First Post is the Hardest.

The hardest part of any new venture is the beginning I believe. Decisions seem so very final and appear to carve out the path ahead too permanently. Of course this isn’t always true and is certainly not for my Dissertation, at least not quite yet.

A little more information is needed I think, my name is Susan Kenny and I am working towards my 4th Year Dissertation for my Degree in the Liberal Arts – Humanities at the University of Glasgow.  I am privileged to be studying for this in the region that I am proud to call home, Dumfries & Galloway.  My Dissertation is set quite firmly within this region and I’ll explain why.

I was born and raised in Annan, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.  My father was English and my Mother a local girl.  I never considered my connection to the town itself beyond myself and my immediate family when I was a child.  My  grandparents had died before I was born and so that link was much later in connecting in my mind.

As an adult however an awareness of the larger picture, of what makes a community a living entity has brought me to the beginnings of something much bigger, the history of the people within the town.  In fact the picture of Annan Folk around the time of the First and Second World wars have become my focus.

My Grandfather served in WW2 with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers and my Great Uncle served with the same regiment in WW1.  One man became a Prisoner-of-War and one man died; many stories of men including these two have been relegated to the past and forgotten.  I intend to remember them and through my 4th Year Dissertation I intend to remind others of them as well.

By using archives, military records and oral histories collected from those with memories to pass along, I will share the almost forgotten stories of our local people who lived in extra-ordinary times.

This Blog will allow me to keep a Field Journal of my progress as well as a contact point for any Family Historians or Local Historians who would like to get in touch to share research.

Until next time.

Susan