More of Mummy's memoirs

Oooh, I haven't put any of this for ages (December) and I so I have decided to type up a bit more.  Another instalment to come shortly. 

Hope you all enjoy.  Hugs, Tells x

 

Gradually I became aware that we were going to move again. To England. Everyone seemed jealous.

Father had been on a contract to Austria for three years with the Krup Group and the three years were nearly up.

From England we received pamphlets with houses printed on them, Bay windowed house as we had never seen with round porches around the front door and a strip of garden. Three other families were to come with us. The Mendrys’, Rudolphs and Szymatowice’s. The Mendrys’ still only had Peppy, the Rudolph’s had a boy, Anton whom they called Danshell and the Szymatowice’shad Maria. Maria was 14 years old and Danshell was 14, Peppy was 2.

I was very upset having to leave Gise. We promised to write. I gave her my most treasured possession as a keepsake. A cardboard clock with moving hands by which I had taught myself to tell the time.

We were to go first. Mother and Father wanted to stop in Poland to see their friends, then we would meet somewhere in Germany.

Back in Poland we stayed with the people upstairs where we had lived. The parents of Marynka who had trodden the cabbage with Father.

Marynka had married and had a baby. The baby had died. There was a little photo of her on the wall under a little altar.

While we were there Father had to return to Vienna for something was not in order with the travel documents. He did not return the time he was expected. Mother threw herself into a panic. Everything happened to Father. He had been arrested at the frontier! He had been met with an accident. There must have been a train accident that had not been announced. All sorts of things had happened.

I got quite panicky with her. I could not imagine life without Father.

He turned up though with some vague explanation that did not satisfy Mother. She carried on and on and after a few stormy days came to the conclusion he’d been carrying on with the young stage artist whom we had stayed with in Vienna.

England

We somewhere met the rest of the party on the way because I remember travelling with them. Whether it was in England or still on the Continent I don’t know, although we did have a stop in Holland.

In Holland Father had his sister Marynia. She was married to a Dutchman of Polish descent. They had three children, Maria about 17, Stefan about 14 and Agnieska 8.

They lived in a little box house. My Grandfather from Germany joined us there. He was very much like Father to look at, quite plump though with big white whiskers. He always smoked long thick cigars. He had silver money done up in a long paper tube. He gave me a big silver Mark.

The children all seemed to have bicycles which had license plates on them.

I played and slept with Agnieska. She was my own age and although she spoke Dutch we could understand each other very well with my German.

Soon we were on our way again.