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Posted: 03-10-2013 09:23 Post subject: My Grandad

Apropos of the Milliband furore, I thought I should declare an interest.

My mum's dad went through WW1 and was a sort of proto-communist, although maybe nowadays we'd call him a left wing libertarian, and the Milliband debate brought him very much to mind.

As a result of his experiences in the early part of WW1 he refused to be promoted, as he believed no human being had a right to order another human being - to die, I suppose, given the circumstances. As a result, he was kept in the trenches throughout the war except when actually injured (Gassed once, buried alive twice).

The only other survivor of the group he joined up with in 1914 he always maintained ended up as a staff officer.

Through the rest of his life he would never accept a job which involved supervising anyone else, although I believe he was also against unions and combinations of any sort - I suppose he believed in self-reliance.

I remember him as a small, dignified man, always smart, still wearing clothes that would have looked right in the 20's, highly polished boots and dark waistcoat over collarless shirt. As it happens I spent 6 months or so living with him and my Gran after my brother was born - Mum was very ill - and he is no doubt responsible for some of my attitudes.

I can remember sitting with him in his shed on rainy days while he explained what his tools were for, while he taught me rudimentary carpentry and the like, and at the same time telling me things like always stand up for what you believe in whatever others think. I won't wast time telling anecdotes about him, there would be half-a-dozen at least before I even got into my stride.

Fortunate as I was in my mother and father, a lot of my character is down to that dignified, active, neat, brave, stubborn little man. He never had any education or degrees or books published - he was an East End barrow boy before the war. But I reckon he knew every bit as much about life and politics as any university don. The first time I can remember real crushing sadness and grief is when he died.

Posted: 03-10-2013 17:58 Post subject:

Thank you for that Cochise - beautiful stuff!

Posted: 03-10-2013 18:58 Post subject:

Yep he sounds like somebody i would be very happy to meet

Posted: 03-10-2013 20:34 Post subject:

The Miliband thing made me think of my Great Grandfather, my father's mother's father. He was a journalist for the Daily Mail and a supporter and admirer of Mosley and Hitler. Thankfully he did the world a favour and stuck his head in a gas oven.

Posted: 04-10-2013 07:38 Post subject:

MarionXXX's post I suppose reminds me of another aspect of my makeup - I do sometimes find myself feeling I'm in the wrong time, a sort of late-born Victorian (or more probably Edwardian). She is talking her great-grandfather being active when my father was in his late 20's. And I'm not even that old yet ! Very Happy

Posted: 04-10-2013 09:08 Post subject:

I like this thread. My Grandfather, my mother's father, was an ex-miner, from a small mining village in South West Scotland. He was a very smart chap. A staunch socialist and convinced Christian, I used to have discussions and arguments with him from when I was very young, indeed.

I only wish I could tell stories like he could. He was from an ancient tradition of story telling that TV, Radio and the internet are now wiping out. Sadly missed. Unfortunately, Although I have warm memories of my other Grandfather, who even took me out on one or the other, of his boats a couple of times, he died when I was five. That was a very long time ago.

Both sadly missed.

Posted: 04-10-2013 10:45 Post subject:

Oddly enough, I had a reminder of my grandfather this week. I'd sent my uncle, who'd worked at RAE Farnborough, and still lives in the district, an email:

Posted: 05-10-2013 10:23 Post subject: