Dark family secrets
Discussion
When I was a child and my grandad was alive I was always led to believe that he was a WW2 soldier and a bit of a hero.
At his funeral in 1978 I got chatting to his sister who had come over from Chicago for the service etc.
Anyway to cut a long story short it turns out he was a war hero but for the Germans!
He had dual citizenship as dad German, mom English and although he had lived most of his life in England he was visiting relatives in 1939 and was conscripted into the German army at the outbreak of war. He mainly served on the Eastern front as a tank engineer. However during the battle of Stalingrad he was moved up to the front line and was awarded the Iron cross for bravery in the face of the enemy. Not exactly sure what he did.
After the war he moved back to England and resumed his life as a design engineer with Austin
It was never spoken about before or after his funeral. My dad just completely blanked the subject.
So there you go, our families dirty little secret. What’s yours?
At his funeral in 1978 I got chatting to his sister who had come over from Chicago for the service etc.
Anyway to cut a long story short it turns out he was a war hero but for the Germans!
He had dual citizenship as dad German, mom English and although he had lived most of his life in England he was visiting relatives in 1939 and was conscripted into the German army at the outbreak of war. He mainly served on the Eastern front as a tank engineer. However during the battle of Stalingrad he was moved up to the front line and was awarded the Iron cross for bravery in the face of the enemy. Not exactly sure what he did.
After the war he moved back to England and resumed his life as a design engineer with Austin
It was never spoken about before or after his funeral. My dad just completely blanked the subject.
So there you go, our families dirty little secret. What’s yours?
When my Uncle was younger he joined the Army, specifically some sort of intelligence unit.
After a couple of months he was booted out.
Turns out that their security checks, which I guess took a lot longer in those days, revealed that his Father, my Grandfather (who died long before I was born) has some communist tendencies.
Doesn't seem to have affected me, my brother and I both have SC clearances, my sister is in the police and my other brother has just retired from 33 year in the army.
After a couple of months he was booted out.
Turns out that their security checks, which I guess took a lot longer in those days, revealed that his Father, my Grandfather (who died long before I was born) has some communist tendencies.
Doesn't seem to have affected me, my brother and I both have SC clearances, my sister is in the police and my other brother has just retired from 33 year in the army.
My uncle use to work away from home during the week, then it drifted into staying weekends as well. It all came crashing down and it was discovered that he owed Inland Revenue thousands, and also had a secret other family in London, including a 6 year old daughter. He was a contractor and never set up a limited company so the family house was now at risk because of his debts, so his brother who was pretty wealthy had to buy it for my aunt
Our polite family fiction is that my great-grandfather died in WW1 and dear old great-granny remarried. What actually happened is that she shacked up with somebody else whilst he was away and told him to bugger off when he came home, but never actually divorced. So she was a bigamist and all the younger kids are technically illegitimate. But we don't talk about that.
My Grandad was born about 1911, due to a bit of ‘nooky’ between the Chambermaid & the chief groom.
Their employer was a big landowner / gentry, so this was a class system ‘no no’.
The maid was despatched to London ‘to visit her Aunt’ as it was called, and returned to her place of work after she gave birth.
My Grandad was bought up by her Sister... but he was told that she was his Mother... it was only later in life, when he was 15 & went back to work on the land... & all was revealed.
Later in life, he met my Grandmother.
(Who worked in service @ Downton Abbey).
Apparently, he had his Mother’s surname, but she was related to a local ‘Traveller’s family’. My Grandad was told that she wouldn’t marry him with that surname... so, he just changed it to please her & took his Fathers.
We knew the first part of the story, but only found out about the name change a few years ago, after some relatives in NZ looked into the family tree.
So... really, all these years & descendants ( lots of em), should have a completely different Surname.
We have a unusual Surname as it is... But we should all have been ROSE’s.
Their employer was a big landowner / gentry, so this was a class system ‘no no’.
The maid was despatched to London ‘to visit her Aunt’ as it was called, and returned to her place of work after she gave birth.
My Grandad was bought up by her Sister... but he was told that she was his Mother... it was only later in life, when he was 15 & went back to work on the land... & all was revealed.
Later in life, he met my Grandmother.
(Who worked in service @ Downton Abbey).
Apparently, he had his Mother’s surname, but she was related to a local ‘Traveller’s family’. My Grandad was told that she wouldn’t marry him with that surname... so, he just changed it to please her & took his Fathers.
We knew the first part of the story, but only found out about the name change a few years ago, after some relatives in NZ looked into the family tree.
So... really, all these years & descendants ( lots of em), should have a completely different Surname.
We have a unusual Surname as it is... But we should all have been ROSE’s.
Edited by Milkyway63 on Thursday 16th September 11:33
My dad was arrested trying to smuggle drugs into Saudi Arabia in the 70's. Was prisoner exchanged to get back to the UK.
Whole family kept it a secret. Only found out when i went through "developed vetting" in the forces for the submarine service. The guy at the security interview ended up spilling the beans after asking me loads of questions about my dad which i did not have answers to as i hadnt met him.
Whole family kept it a secret. Only found out when i went through "developed vetting" in the forces for the submarine service. The guy at the security interview ended up spilling the beans after asking me loads of questions about my dad which i did not have answers to as i hadnt met him.
Psycho Warren said:
My dad was arrested trying to smuggle drugs into Saudi Arabia in the 70's. Was prisoner exchanged to get back to the UK.
Whole family kept it a secret. Only found out when i went through "developed vetting" in the forces for the submarine service. The guy at the security interview ended up spilling the beans after asking me loads of questions about my dad which i did not have answers to as i hadnt met him.
My dad wasn't arrested but used to bring reels of porn strapped to his body from Amsterdam. Probably explains my porn habits.Whole family kept it a secret. Only found out when i went through "developed vetting" in the forces for the submarine service. The guy at the security interview ended up spilling the beans after asking me loads of questions about my dad which i did not have answers to as i hadnt met him.
The more people do the DNA stuff through Ancestry, My Heritage, 23 & me, etc, the more is going to come out that ‘parentage’ (over how many generations ago) isn’t necessarily what people believe it to be.
Having recently done mine it seems either my mum or dad have a half-sister (from a WW2 ‘one nighter’). Actually leaves me in quandary as I don’t know whether to tell them, or not. From what I know of my grandfathers war involvement I have a pretty good idea whose half-sister this person is.
Having recently done mine it seems either my mum or dad have a half-sister (from a WW2 ‘one nighter’). Actually leaves me in quandary as I don’t know whether to tell them, or not. From what I know of my grandfathers war involvement I have a pretty good idea whose half-sister this person is.
The Spruce Goose said:
While my Grandad was away in Burma in WW2, my nan had an affair with a USA GI, got pregnant. Kid was given away never to be spoken off.
My nan never told me only found out after death, only my mum and Auntie knew. Granddad stuck by her.
Something similar - Aunt had an affair whilst Uncle was away in the navy. On his return, it was a case of the baby goes or she goes (already 2 other kids) so the baby went.My nan never told me only found out after death, only my mum and Auntie knew. Granddad stuck by her.
Happier ending this time - the half-sister managed to track down her siblings about 50 years later and they are now best of friends
CambsBill said:
The Spruce Goose said:
While my Grandad was away in Burma in WW2, my nan had an affair with a USA GI, got pregnant. Kid was given away never to be spoken off.
My nan never told me only found out after death, only my mum and Auntie knew. Granddad stuck by her.
Something similar - Aunt had an affair whilst Uncle was away in the navy. On his return, it was a case of the baby goes or she goes (already 2 other kids) so the baby went.My nan never told me only found out after death, only my mum and Auntie knew. Granddad stuck by her.
Happier ending this time - the half-sister managed to track down her siblings about 50 years later and they are now best of friends
Her cousin was born... but his Dad was a ‘Jaffa’
( Well know it was a Italian POW. who was the culprit... ‘roll in the hay’, so to speak.)
My grandad never spoke about his family to my father but just maintained said his sister was the black sheep of the family.
At his funeral we found out he was Jewish (non practising but explains being tight
) later confirmed on his birth certificate and met his sister who turned out to be black (he was white) . She then explained that he was in fact the black sheep of the family and a result of an affair.
At his funeral we found out he was Jewish (non practising but explains being tight
) later confirmed on his birth certificate and met his sister who turned out to be black (he was white) . She then explained that he was in fact the black sheep of the family and a result of an affair.My G-something grandfather died mid-1800s (I think - no record), his wife promptly remarried, leaving two young daughters from the previous marriage to be raised by their maternal grandparents, had more children and then emigrated to the US with her new family. Not very dark I'll grant you, but pretty odd.
My Grandad went a bit rogue in the early stages of being married to my Grandmother. Had an affair, and a few kids. Grandkids (me) didn't really know anything about it until one day a family moved into one of the houses next door to where my cousin lives. Not sure the odds on this, but it was his estranged family. They told us all about it and it all came out in the wash. It had been swept under a rug.
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