Displaying items by tag: family

I’ve known bits and pieces of my great grandfather’s story but yesterday I had the opportunity to sit down with my grandmother and her brother to uncover the full truth. My great-uncle undertook his own research in France a few years ago, following in the footsteps of his father, including the exact spot where he was wounded, according to field reports. He travelled to many of the places which I too will visit in fewer than two weeks’ time! Here is the story of my great-grandfather which I have...

I started this journey believing no relatives of mine fought in World War One. What I have found is both deeply saddening and extremely interesting.

My family and I just spent two weeks in Australia catching up with my sister and her children; making memories together to see us through the next few years that we will spend apart.  We passed our time at the theme parks but we also visited ANZAC memorials and talked about our ancestors who had left Australia as young men and women (yes, nurses served in the Army too) and either returned to be...

Where has the time gone? It’s hard to believe that about this time last year we had only just found out that we were Young Ambassadors, but in this short space of time so much has happened! I’m so grateful to have had this opportunity - I’ve learnt so much and I’ve met so many awesome people along the way. Not only has this experience improved my French and knowledge of WW1, it has definitely made me more eager to see the world and discover more of its history.

Throughout the year I’ve been...

Fresh crêpes, cobbled streets, photo booths and Parisiens smoking with cool refinement. Polished marble floors with a glassy sheen, wrought-iron lattices and metro stations flashing by in lights of dull grey. These are the things I remember about Paris. As soon as the Young Ambassadors touched down on French soil, we entered a place where history and modernity walk alive in the streets.

Our first week of the tour was a whirlwind of tourist attractions and grand military parades along with...

It’s been around 3 weeks since we returned from the Young Ambassadors Tour, and the hectically busy life of school has been a bit of a shock after such an amazing trip.

I updated my Tumblr blog for every day of our trip, and all the entries can be found on the following link: http://ailishjean.tumblr.com/tagged/ya_tour 

I can honestly say that the two weeks we spent away were the best weeks of my life- I learnt so much about the war, and I made a new family in the other Young Ambassadors. The...

Bonjour à tous!

So I’m back in New Zealand after an unforgettable trip to France! I had the time of my life with the other Young Ambassadors, creating lifelong memories and friendships in France and Belgium.
Here are some highlights from the trip.

5 jours à Paris :
On the 14th of July, we were lucky enough to be accepted as official guests to watch the Bastille Day Military Parade on the Champs Elysées. It was awesome to be part of such a wonderful event. Later that night we watched the...

Bonjour a tous!

This is going to be a short little blog just to cover some of the more recent exciting events. As I write this there are only 4 more days until we all jet off to France which is beyond exciting. I cannot believe how quickly it has crept up!

Meeting everyone for the day in Wellington seems like eons ago but it was great to put names to faces and get to know everyone. I can’t wait to be spending a full two weeks with everyone; particularly due to the wonderful opportunities we...

Bonjour tout le monde!

Malheureusement Mai était un mois très occupe pour moi. J’ai eu beaucoup des activités de mon école et à cause de ça j’ai été très retard aven mon blog. Pardon à tous, et j’espère je suis plus de organise pour Juin !

Je veux un moment pour remercier le gentil peuple de ma communauté pour le support et la encouragement ils ont offert. En particulièrement je voudrais remercier La Cloche ; un café français  de Wellington pour leur patronage. Ils ont été très généraux...

4th June

This evening I met a man named John MacNamara. His uncle Private Donald Wallace MacNamara, was killed in the Battle of the Somme, only 6 days before my great-great-grandfather James Livingston. Pte MacNamara has a burial at the Caterpillar a Valley Cemetary, where Livingston has his memorial. John read in the Manawatu Standard article about the Young Ambassadors Tour, that we will be visiting the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery during the trip. He contacted me through my school, and...