Australian visitor retraces grandfather's footsteps

Alvin Johnson, who lives down under, is currently touring the UK and Ireland, and during a recent visit to Fermanagh, stayed at a location that bears much significance - Rossorry Villa.

The house, which is now an Air BnB, was mentioned by Mr. West in his letters home to Australia during the First World War.

And incidentally, Mr. West also met his wife in the nearby townland of Littlemount, Brookeborough.

Mr. Johnson explained: “In World War One, my grandfather, Harry West, decided to visit his distant relatives in Brookeborough. While visiting, he met his future wife, who was my grandmother.

“During that period he wrote extensive letters back home to his mother and sister, where he described the family, their jobs, some of the children, and even some of the properties that they lived in.

“One of the properties was Rossorry House. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was listed as an Air BnB. I vowed that when I visited Ireland, I would stay there.”

Recently, Mr. Johnson stayed at the property along with his wife, which is now owned by local woman, Yvonne Elliot.

During his stay in Fermanagh, he also visited the site at the Littlemount townland, where his grandfather and grandmother met and also spent two days looking at different sites in Fermanagh with a distant relative that he found on Ancestry.co.uk.

Mr. Johnson said that residing at a place that was mentioned by his late grandfather was “very special”.

“The visit has been fantastic, and going to landmarks that have been mentioned in his (Harry West) letters has been very special,” Mr. Johnson remarked.

“A number of years ago, I put together a 500-page book on my grandfather’s letters, as well as information about his wedding in 1922, the famine in Ireland, and the war.

“While in Fermanagh I presented the book the local Genealogy Centre, which was gratefully accepted by Caroline Fitzpatrick and Mervyn Hall,” he said, speaking to The Impartial Reporter.