Grandfather

Christmas greetings from Grand Duchess Olga to another Olga

December 26, 2021 1 Comment

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolayevna as a nurse in WWI – postcard from the author’s personal collection

Remembering Grand Duchess Olga on what would have been her birthday

November 14, 2021 No Comments

I was reminded by the Facebook post in the group “In the Steps of the Romanovs” that Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, eldest daughter of the Tsar Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, was born on 15th November. The Facebook post is linked to Helen Azar’s video about GD Olga’s

Round and Round the Circular Family Tree

November 7, 2021 No Comments

Every now and again I dive into the large plastic tub which holds the many letters my father kept. Most of them were written by his two sisters but there is also a rather large stack of letters from my cousin Wolf Lackschewitz, who I have written about previously. Wolf,

There’s a bear in there… and a dog as well

October 17, 2021 No Comments

I am guessing that Australians who read this blog post will automatically have a tune going through their heads as they read the title. The theme song from the well-known Australian children’s television program Playschool begins with the lines: “There’s a bear in there… and a chair as well…”. Playschool

In the Years 1915-1917 the Bank was Foreign

October 3, 2021 No Comments

My parents and grandparents were definitely hoarders. Each time I attempt to sort through the papers and letters and documents and photographs and other things I brought home after the death of my father; I am amazed at how much they kept. Bearing in mind either my grandparents had to

What happened to her fur coat?

September 26, 2021 2 Comments

I often find documents in the many papers I inherited, which make me wonder about why they have been kept for so long. Documents which nowadays we would (and I do) throw out after they are no longer needed – of course many of our documents are now virtual. In

Alex de Fircks