The Bandoleer

Foreword

This story is dedicated to my wife Eilish and her family.
It is a work of fiction, but as always with fiction there may be a kernel of truth at its heart. The truth in this story is that at one time the Bandoleer at the centre of this story was in the keeping of my wife’s family. They were from the Markets area in Belfast. The Bandoleer did disappear and no one in the family ever knew what happened it!

In setting the context of this story I have drawn upon some historical events which have been important parts of my own life-long journey of learning. As a student at school I had to choose to study either History or Geography and chose the latter, which I have always loved. However I constantly read history books to fill in many of the gaps in my education, and I firmly believe that understanding our own and world history helps us understand how we humans have arrived at this moment in time. Whether we learn from our history is an entirely different question.

I want to thank all those sources which have helped inspire me writing this story.
I also thank my wife for her patience as my editor and S.D. Henry, a really talented artist, for his cover design.
To ourstoryireland, thank you for the opportunity to tell this story to a wider audience.

To you the reader, if this story you enjoy, can I ask that you keep in mind your own cancer charity and drop an extra few coins in their collecting box the next time you are near. If it happens to be Marie Curie Cancer Care, thank you very much indeed.

Noel Henry