My grandad was a polish immigrant born in 1921, legend has it he came to this country with nothing but a suitcase and no plan. I say legend has it because he was the most captivating man and expertly weaved his life stories – he had such a gift of bringing experiences to life. By the time I was old enough to appreciate and marvel at this, he was already in his 70s and I suspect he may have slightly re-written his own narrative a little by then.
An extremely hard worker, long shifts plus regular overtime the norm, a true grafter. Coming to the UK alone aged around 19 with little to no English he started with manual jobs, then he joined an industrial plant where he steadily worked his way up to supervisor. He would often mediate for his native Scottish colleagues who were unable to read. As an immigrant with English as a second language and only a basic school education from post-war Poland this was quite remarkable. He thought so too of course and loved to re-tell such stories, many times!
A self taught saver and investor with frequent talk of savings, bonds, ISAs and pensions, I saw the security it brought him in retirement. Having come to the UK with no reserves, striving for every penny for many years and having to work it all out by trial and error, he viewed money as a means to finally achieve security and status.
Sadly I didn’t get the chance to meet my maternal granny but I suspect she was a special lady to have kept my grandad on track and to have kept things straight at home.
On the other side was my granny who lived to be 103 and a half, we sadly lost from our lives in 2023.
For a 1920’s girl, growing up in a post war era before childhood vaccinations were introduced and sharing a small tenement flat with her brothers and sisters, she could never have dreamt of living such a long life.
A school leaver at the age of 14, like many of her generation, work called as her parents expected a contribution to the household purse. She had a few jobs throughout the 1930s and 1940s, before marrying and then giving up work to focus on raising a family. One of those being a bookkeeper in a busy office and carried that discipline for years to come.
Even in her mid nineties I was amused that she insisted on keeping ‘a ledger’ to track her outgoings from all of her spending and trips out such as a wee coffee treat with one of the family. After living through rationing and enduring many years of being thrifty she finally allowed herself a few pleasures in later years.
Such wonderful, strong characters, who led hard yet interesting lives both with their own head for finances in different ways. I’ve no doubt I carry a piece of them and their wisdom with me every, single, day.
On the days where my self belief and resolve begins to waiver, I look back to my grandparents’ generation and reflect. I remind myself with determination, focus and patience in spite of setbacks and unexpected obstacles, much can be achieved.
What wonderful strengths, skills and wisdom lies in your family’s past generations? Do these align with your own skills and strengths or are these in complete contrast?
Can you use this to step forward into greatness or lean on when times get tough?
🌹 As always, I’d love to hear from your own personal experiences on this topic if you want to share, do get in touch here
