Getting it Wrong (or) One Thing Leads to Another

There's nothing like finding out that you've got something wrong for deflation of the ego or, on other occasions, making you feel a bit of a fool.  And there's nothing like a busy week for getting something wrong!  You've caught me at the end of such a week.  Come in, and I'll tell you more ...

Last weekend was Remembrance and, as I stood in church for the usual words that followed the two minutes' silence, I was suddenly - and unusually - overcome by my emotions. 

The Kohima Memorial

It wasn't "They shall not grow old ...", it was the other one, "When you go home ..."; words that prompted thoughts of 'the uncle I never knew'.  These words are usually associated with the Burma Star Association, and are known as the Kohima Epitaph, after the memorial erected to the memory of the British 2nd Infantry Division who defended Kohima in north-east India against the Japanese in 1944.  By this time my uncle, who was captured at the fall of Singapore in February 1942, had already died of malaria on the Burma Railway.  However, the close geographical association has always associated the Kohima words with him in my mind.

When I explained these emotions, both at the time and later, I had used the expression, 'Kohima Farewell', and it wasn't until I researched the whole episode later that I realised that this is not only incorrect, but actually refers to something far nearer the present day!

I had posted a picture of my uncle on Facebook at the weekend, and this had been spotted by a cousin now living in Australia, who had been moved to make contact as a result.  So it was that, on Tuesday evening, I began to look into the family history in this particular direction.  Wednesday was particularly busy, and so it wasn't until last night (Thursday) that I finally got around to completing my researches and sent off the final report.

This morning brought the embarrassing news that I had made a dramatic error in preparing the chart.  I had committed the genealogist's cardinal sin - assumption.  I had found an appropriate marriage for one particular man, and entered it into the tree; I'm now informed that this was not only incorrect, but had taken place some years after his untimely death!  Corrections and apologies are now in place, and egg slowly being wiped from face!

So, yes, this has been a busy week, not least because of these events, but also in the light of some of the early preparations for Christmas.  Wednesday evening found me dealing with the remaining congestion from a cold, while practising for a couple of choral items for the carol service.  It was also the day when my other blog, The Gospel Around Us (affectionately known as GAU), was published.  I'm not normally give to blowing my own trumpet but, in case you are one who originally found GAU from the note on this blog, you may have found it missing recently.  This is because I have moved it to its own website, which will offer me more development potential for the future.  You can find the continuing twice-monthly posts of GAU by following the revised link in the side-bar of this blog, or by clicking here.