Helen's Genealogy Journeys - Tracing My Ancestors Around the Globe

  When my parents (Charles ANDERSON, and Flora AINSLIE) bought their first house they were in their 50s and making plans for their retirement in Scotland.  They bought a detached two-storey house in a new development in Longniddry, Scotland, a small town within walking distance of one of the beaches along the Firth of Forth.  There was great excitement as they chose their new home and made plans for moving to Scotland.  As the house was newly built, the garden was undeveloped and work was needed to put in a lawn, and flower and vegetable beds.  My dad was still working as Regional District Manager for the Royal Bank of Canada in Barbados at the time so they were only able to spend time in their new home in Scotland during their annual vacation.   However, my grandad, James AINSLIE, who lived with my granny Violet CALDER in the nearby village of Gullane, took matters into his own hands to help get some planting going in mum and dad’s quite extensive gard...

I am writing this blog from the small seaside community of Oban on the West coast of Scotland. It is here that we are starting our family history research while on vacation in Scotland.  My husband, Dave, is researching his dad's time in Oban during WW2 when he served with the RAF Costal Command unit. I, myself, am planning to spend some time in archives, museums, and libraries in East Lothian, Edinburgh, and the Scottish border.  And hopefully collecting family photos and documents that may be stored at my sister's home in East Linton and my aunt's home in Gullane. One of the interesting parts of this research is the fact that both my dad and my husband's dad trained for the Royal Canadian Air Force through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada.  And when they were shipped out to Britain in December 1941 they were shipped out on the same troop ship.  At this point, their paths diverged and Dave's dad eventually ended up in an RAF Costal Command u...