January 11 1939

On that day, my youngest uncle was born to my paternal grandparents. He was their seventh child. His name was Etienne Theodore Timmermans. He passed away three days later, on January 14 1939. According to my notes he was born and died in Ninove. That is possible, but not really probable : my grandparents lived in Meerbeke and it was not really usual for children to be born in a maternity. Most children were born at home.

I do not really know what happened. I always knew he had lived for a very short time, but such painful occurrences were not talked about in the family.

My second name Etienne comes from him ; my first name Paul comes from a brother of my mother who died in 1934, aged fourteen years and four days. His birthday is coming up on January 25. I remembered Paul Joannes Neukermans in earlier posts. He must have been an extraordinary boy, wise far beyond his young age.

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