Tower and Town, March 2026 (view the full edition)Ediorial: Some Unkrainian StoriesFour years ago Russia invaded Ukraine - as Kateryna says, "5am on February 24th 2022 is a bleeding scar that can never be forgotten by Ukrainians". This issue is dedicated with compassion to those Ukrainians who fled the horrors of that war for the safety of their families and arrived in our midst back in early 2022, and with gratitude to those many people who responded to their need and who continue to help them. It is hard for the majority of us living in the tranquillity of a market-town in Wiltshire to fully comprehend the pain and fear of having to leave one's home under such terrifying circumstances - the uncertainty of a foreign country, an alien culture, and a strange language, let alone the journey itself. And all of that in the full knowledge of what has been left behind and perhaps lost and gone forever - friends, family, community, country. Like so many towns and villages across the United Kingdom (and indeed across much of the rest of Europe), people in and around Marlborough opened their hearts and their homes to Ukrainian families - those with room to spare offered space to stay; schools created places to provide a degree of normality for the children; employers found jobs to enable the mothers to begin to establish at least a sense of independence. It would be quite impossible to do full justice to the vast range of experiences over this four year period, but I hope this small selection of Ukrainian stories will serve to remind us of what has been endured and achieved. Two mothers and two children tell their stories, and two host families tell theirs. We hear of language teaching and of the work of two charities providing aid to Ukraine. None of this could have been achieved without the great help of Colin and Maria Fraser and Tony Michael and the generous response of the Ukrainians themselves. David Du Croz |