Happy Families – the one with the recap

I mentioned yesterday how strangely a family that doesn’t really communicate that well suddenly gets a burst of enthusiasm for each other. Today I have the recollections of  the #2 Child, my older brother (there are 3 sisters in between us though). Let us begin….

Lots of photo are missing the oldest ones were taken when dad was a misplaced person after the war.

The reason, for his being a misplaced person, is, I believe, dad,  along with many others were rounded up after the Warsaw uprising.

He probably knew Pope John Paul  – who evaded capture.  That could explain why we got Christmas cards and holy bread, and that we also a photo of the pope on the wall. (signed by the pope himself I remember)

This is important  – dad was a slave worker for the nazis , I think he must have been liberated by the Canadian forces so ending up in Canada, where his listed occupation was a barber.

After release dad joined the Royal Engineers.

Mum saw him visiting a friend in London (near her home address in Beacon Road and said “I will marry him” –  and she did  – at Lockerbie in Scotland.

Dad like many other war veterans did not talk about the past.

Dad first went back to Poland in 1964 in an Austin A40 car a red one.  He took to Poland things that were rare like coffee, plasters , chocolate, warm clothes  – including socks and underwear. When he came back home all he was wearing was a top and trousers and a pair of sandals he had given everything away.

The photo you are referring to is at a place called krakow  (possibly Zakopane),  you have been there along with Lesley ,Andy, Stewart also Shirley.  You all went in a Austin 1100.

That was 1966.

I remember going to Poland, indeed in a red Morris 1100 there were 4 asleep on the back seat, top to tail, and mum and dad in the front. It would have been an overnight drive. I don’t recall Stewart being there, since he was born in 1967 it would be unlikely 🙂  OS just myself, my older sisters Shirley and Lesley and my younger brother Andrew.  There are a few vivid memories – I was after all only 5) Sitting on mum’s lap as we drove through the night – having a night watchman looking after the car – a bit of a rarity in Poland at the time – a private car – the Trams and the Ice Creams.