Margaret and Aileen Drennan

Today's the day ..................... to meet face-to-face

The loveliest thing happened today - one of those moments that just takes your breath away and fills you with unexpected emotion.

We'd gone on a mission to Kirkcudbright Museum to find a painting of a Margaret Drennan.  There had been an article about her and this particular painting - in the local paper recently - and that's how we knew it was there. It was a particularly special portrait of her because it had been painted by a 30-year-old artist, Piri Hevizi, who was liberated from the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945.  

Margaret was a Red Cross Nurse and as such, she was one of the first people to enter the camp shortly after its liberation.  She worked at the camp for 18 months helping to bring those so close to death, back to health.  What she saw and experienced can hardly be imagined.  The portrait was painted in gratitude and the canvas stretched by one of the soldiers on site.  It eventually found its way to Kirkcudbright because that is where Margaret spent the latter part of her life.

We were particularly interested in Margaret because we knew that she was the sister of Aileen Drennan - and it was Aileen who bought the house we live in, back in 1931.  She lived here for quite a few years until her husband died and she went to live in Kirkcudbright.  In fact, the two sisters shared a house there until Aileen died in 1980.  Apparently, they were well-known in the town as being full of character.

At our request then, the Collections Manager at the Museum kindly went off into the stores to find the portrait of Margaret.  It was wonderful to see it because it was a powerfully painted portrait that the illustration in the paper had not done justice to.  But it was when we mentioned her sister, Aileen, that Peter said, "Oh we have a portrait of her too - painted by the celebrated local artist, Anna Hotchkis"!

So, much to my delight, I came face-to-face with Aileen (on the right) who undoubtedly walked in the rooms of this house, perhaps put plants into the garden and was as much part of the history of the place as I would like to be.  She was smiling right at me - I'm sure we would have got on .......................