Well only you can answer that question so I will tell you a bit about who I am.
I’m an ordinary person, living in an ordinary place, working for an ordinary company, in an ordinary job. But of course, I am so much more than that. I’m Kathryn, heading for 40, living in the heart of England, working in Financial Services, and managing a large budget. That’s still not very interesting though.
I’ve worked for the same company for almost 15 years. This is a long time and something I never intended to do when I started there as a temp all that time ago. Before that I spent 2 years working at Woolworths, for my sins. I have to admit that were it not for the poor wages I might very well have stayed there (until they went bust obviously), as I really loved it. I worked in the Entertainments department although I should point out that this did not involve me providing any entertainment, it just meant I worked in the department selling CDs, videos and computer games (this was before the days of DVDs believe it or not!).
Prior to Woolies, I spent 4 years at Uni gaining a degree in Maths & Computer Science. Not quite sure how that happened but I do have the certificate to prove it so it must be right!
So…onto the stuff that makes me…well…me!
Outside work, I have spent much of my time over the last 10 or so years researching my family tree. It has been a labour of love and I have found many interesting relatives; some of noble birth (sadly no blue blood), some traitorous (lost his head on Tower Hill – see below), and some criminal (shipped to Australia). I have found sad stories (left in a WWI trench to die – see below), success stories (highly decorated, 1st Class Warrant Officer in the Grenadier Guards, who later became a senior Yeoman of the Guard) and many many surprising stories (bigamy, illegitimacy, mass weddings, a forces’ sweetheart, and a chaplain to Charles II to name but a few). My family were a colourful bunch and I’m rather proud of them, even the bad ones!
Sir Thomas Wyatt by Unknown artist
oil on panel, feigned circle, circa 1550
Purchased, 1947
Primary Collection
NPG 3331
© National Portrait Gallery, London
My traitorous 2nd cousin 13 times removed is mentioned on a plaque at Tower Hill in London for raising a rebellion against Queen Mary I. Beheaded in 1554, he was then quartered and his body hung in various parts of London – Newington, Mile End Green, Southwark & beside St Thomas of Waterings at the 2nd milestone from the city. His head was placed on a pole at the Tyburn gallows at Hay Hill but was stolen and never recovered.
Source: Family archive.
My great great-Uncle, Leonard Dobson, immigrated to Australia before the war and during WWI he fought with the 24th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force. Over the course of 2 years he moved up the ranks from Private to Sergeant, filling the shoes of dead men. He served at Gallipolli, survived 3 months of dysentery in Egypt, was transferred to France and fought in the Battle of the Somme. In March 1917 he even made it home to London to see his family. On 3 May 1917 he fought at the 2nd Battle of Bullecourt in Northern France where 80% of the battalion were killed. As you can see from the statement below, he was left behind when the trench was evacuated, too badly injured to be moved. The following December a court of enquiry was held into his death. The Red Cross had mounted an investigation and obtained various statements, confirming the events and ensuring he hadn’t been taken prisoner. He was declared “killed in action”. His name is listed on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial together with a further 10,764 men from the Australian Army. His youngest brother was also killed in France the following year.
I can trace some branches of my family back to the time of King Arthur and I know that apart from being English, I am also part Welsh and part German. I have living relatives all over America, Australia (it’s a convict thing), and Canada. I am directly descended from men who fought in the Army, the Navy and the Marines, about which I am immensely proud especially as several of them made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of their country. I am also directly descended from, amongst others, a musician, a writer, an artist and an engineer. I know that there is an argument for saying that it’s nurture that makes us what we are and not nature. But I think nature plays a huge part in that.
I have been able to sing for as long as I have been able to speak, I can play musical instruments and have been known to write music. I have recently taken up fiction writing in my spare time, posting it online, and have received favourable comments and reviews. (There’s a link to my Wattpad profile in the sidebar if you’re interested.) I‘m developing a small obsession with photography which I guess is my artistic side coming out, and, I’m good with figures…or so they tell me (bit tenuous with the engineer thing but never mind), which is just as well given my job.
So…who do I think I am? I believe I’m a cocktail of all that has gone before me and have maybe added a little twist of my own. I don’t believe I’m about to raise a revolt against the monarch and lose my head but as I always say, never say never!
