Leopold Victor Tondeur died on 15th September 1916, in the Somme, aged 19, 101 years ago. I find synchronicity fascinating. The date I was writing up a story about death in World War One, and I find it’s the death day of one of my relatives. Now, grandfathers are hard for me because a lot of them are called George Louis or Louis George and are often one of several siblings, if you see what I mean, so I’ll have to check the dates, but I think Leopold must be the brother of my great-great grandfather (i.e. two greats).
Turns out the 12th September (1914) – the 12th was the day before I set out – was the day it was decided to send motorized ambulances into the battle fields. Something else I didn’t know before I started. You can find out more here.
I’m going to look into this some more, but suffice to say I only exist because my great-great-grandfather was shot in the head in 1915 and set home injured.
So: today I wrote up two short stories, the one about the woman who forgets who she is, and the one set in 1920s St Bees in Cumbria, about a woman coming to terms with the death of her husband, amongst other things. My writing adventure was extremely productive, and I felt an almost spiritual connection to the material – it’s when synchronicity happens that I know I’m onto something.