Everytime I take a fresh look at this page I try to fit another piece in the
puzzle which is family history, there is always something that you can
add to expand on the genealogy a bit, you tend to take your own family details
for granted, its only when there are so few left that you think that you
should have taken more time to listen to the stories and map it out properly.
Some of the tales that families come up with don't seem important at  the time 
but I suppose in future they will form the bits in the puzzle that is social 
history - anyway read on and see what you think!

My father, (20/05/1920 to 17/01/2005) and his family all came from 

a fishing port in north east Scotland, he spent his school days at Fraserburgh
academy and then working for Consolidated pneumatics before joining the royal 
navy after which he seemed to drift south only returning to his home town on a 
few occasions.

His navy days saw him serving mainly on 2 ships HMS Triamph and HMS Opportune 
(links to be added).  He was also stationed for a while at 
Lossiemouth at the fleet airarm station only miles from his home town.

The sea had always been in my fathers blood, I myself am named after a 
fisherman who had married into the family.  My grandfather's claim to fame was
his mention in the story of a fishing boat called the Gowan Lea which had a 
part in the sinking of a battle ship in the Adraiatic on 15 May 1917 - I can't 
find the names of the crew yet apart from the skipper

and Fred Lamb, the gunner from the drifter who lost a leg in the action, who my 
father used to talk about drinking with.

 Anybody fill in the gaps of the other crew members? needless to say the 
stories vary on the telling but what a group of men they must have been.

I don't really know much else about his family because as he moved south he did
not keep contact with other family members.  He had one younger brother Norman
who I met once whilst visiting my sister in Aberdeenshire.   Norman lived in 
Birmingham, was married with two daughters who I've not met yet.

I did meet his half sister Helen briefly twice.  He mentioned a half brother 
once who I have no details of other that, I think, he said lived in Strichen.

If you still want to find out more about the Murdoch's try a look at this
site

My mother was born in London in July 1923 but brought up by her grandmother
Sarah Last in the

area of suffolk owing to the death of her father when she was 3,  she spent her
wartime years working in

at the Garrett works, moving on to Ipswich after meeting my father then
onto Letchworth and finally for the last 43 years of her life to Seaford where 
she lived until her death in January 2010.

My mum had 1 brother Brian Cox known by many as Kiwi following his long 
stay in New Zealand and finally lived in Ipswich, Suffolk

She had a sister Iris who spent many years teaching music and needle work 
at West Hatch school inChigwel Essex and finally retired to Lewes, East Sussex
where she continued using her artistic sckills - more details when I can find 
them. again.

Sadly both Iris and Brian have gone now.

My maternal grandmother was english Freda Last (12/11/1901 to
20 July 1978), she had one sister Edith and three brothers Basil, Hazel & Ted 
all being born & brought up in Bruisyard Suffolk,

My maternal grandfather Arthor Schmies was born in London (1893 to 1927), his
parents were from Germany and many of his family followed to the UK to escape the
first world war & later others left for Bermuda in the late 1930's to escape 
the second war.

We did meet up with some of the distant German family who still live in
Germany but all trace of the folks who went to Bermuda has been lost
due to a rather unusual relative (Aunt Agnes) - much more of this when I have time!

I have 1 sister, Renata (February 1955), she married Len Ralph.  They moved
from Seaford up to Scotland in 1987 and for many years they lived 40 miles north 
of Aberdeen near New Deer and Turrif (only a few miles from my fathers home town).
They later moved back south to Ipswich in Suffolk more or less where my mother 
was brought up.

Sadly Len died a few years back after a long battle with kidney problems
and Renata decided to return to Scotland where she still lives.

I was born in July 1962 and apart from a few years in Letchworth Hertfordshire
have lived in Seaford East Sussex on the south coast of the UK 9 miles west of
Eastbourne & 15 miles east of Brighton.

I worked for many years as a computer programmer & systems analyst for a large 
international company on the south coast producing various statistical material 
for the UK government.

Find out more about me and see the family pictures by selecting
one of the following links:-

And if all of this family stuff has got you thinking about your own relatives 
or long lost friends try taking a look at some of the sites listed on my