Family Matters 2. Maternal Grandfather

Slipping back through the generations, my great grandfather on my mum's side (her father's father) was Russian. A Russian Jew to be in fact.

He came from a rather well to do family, one of two brothers living in a time of great upheaval and change. Somehow despite all of this, and perhaps even more strangely because of the distance involved he met the daughter of a merchant from Holland. We once thought it was a diamond merchant, but apparently this was not the case, although precious stone or otherwise, it was a successful business and she came from a pampered lifestyle.

Inevitably they fell in love.

Her father did not see anything romantic in the situation. Basically she was told of she married The Jew, she would be cut off.

She married him.

With the chaos of the latter years of Imperial Russia, and the rise of communism my great grandfather his wife and his brother up stakes and fled. Starting a new life with next to nothing in London, England.

They started a small business that really took off. They specialised in tobacco and related products (different times eh?) but it was successful. Very successful. They were not just one of the biggest traders in London, or even England. They were one of the biggest and most successful specialist shops in Europe. They apparently wanted for nothing living in a big house with servants and all the trappings.
However the brother began to suffer from severe homesickness, and despite the upheaval in Russia he headed back. He was never heard from again.

My great grandfather though continued with his success, investing his monies, and becoming a well respected business man in London, apparently even to the point of being well appointed within the Masons.

They had four children, three girls and a boy, my grandfather.

However... like so many others his money and wealth evaporated in the Wall Street Crash of the early 1930's. They went from having everything to nothing. At this point the father-in-law appeared on the scene, told his daughter that he would take her and the kids back, and all would be forgiven, but she would have to leave the Jew.

She went with love and stayed. She had had a life of luxury, and she gave it all up. My great aunt said that her mum did not even know how to boil an egg. But she learned.

Her father did not let up. He might have had problems with the son-in-law, but the grandchildren were a totally different prospect, especially the grandson.

My grandfather wanted for nothing, and was set to go to all the big schools/colleges/universities as he grew older. He started at Eton, went on a politically motivated rally - in favour of communism apparently, his grandfather found off and just like that he was cut off.

My mum says that she has few memories of her grandfather, just that he always called her 'Darlink' and was always dressed immaculately; her grandmother cooked technically perfect food, and did embroideries that were so intricate that they seemed impossible to do.
But these were just memories, and the truth was the family survived all that had been thrown at them.

Of the three daughters two eventually moved to Israel; the third stayed in London.

Whatever my grandfather's plans, they were thrown into the air by the outbreak of war; and his convictions got the better of him. He put himself forward as a conscientious objector, prepared to face prison rather than go to war. Fortunately he was offered the chance to join the services in a medical capacity, which he took.

This worked out rather well because it led to him meeting a particular nurse...