History tells us that dramatic changes happen that shape the lives of millions. One day a country can be at peace and its population blissfully going about its family and commercial business without a care in the world...then suddenly all is plunged into chaos through political turmoil, recession, war or disease.

In a flip of a coin everything that went before becomes a memory of something lost and perhaps never to be regained – at least for that generation. No-one could argue that coronavirus is one such event and it caught the world completely by surprise by its severity and global impact.

Back in 2017 I travelled to Savannah in Georgia, US, on business and while there tried to track down some family history. Having a very rare name such as McLaws makes such matters much easier than for most folk. There are but a handful of us in the UK but there is a good smattering in the US.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to discover that 200 years ago one relative emigrated to Augusta where he gave birth to a son whom he named after the legendary French military hero Lafayette who is credited with a crucial role in helping America win independence from the British.

This young lad was named Lafayette McLaws and went on to West Point to train as an officer with the US military. Ranked as captain the young McLaws fought in the Mexican-American war with distinction but faced a tough choice when the “Yankee” army in which he served went to war with his homeland Southern States. He decided he had a moral duty to return home and join the Confederate army of the south where he rapidly rose through the ranks to become Major General.

In Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah, I found his grave – an impressive stone casket bearing the inscription “I fought not for what was right, but for principles that were right”. Later that same day I visited the city’s Forsyth Park where I found an impressive bust of my relative on a large stone plinth. Eight weeks ago it was vandalised during the night – a white hood placed on top of the bust and a black fist spray-painted on the engraved text of the monument.

In recent days the city has removed the monument and had it relocated to a cemetery – but not the one where he is buried. I’m so glad I got a chance to discover and see this part of my family history before the strife of 2020 changed everything. I’m also so glad I got to travel the world and live an outrageously blessed life of love and fun before my cancer and chemotherapy treatment and the dreaded Covid-19 flipped my world.

Ally McLaws is managing director of the McLaws Consultancy, specialist in business marketing and reputation management. All back copies of this column are available at www.mclawsconsultancy.com