My Father's Family

[poliphilo]

My father with his parents, Cyril and Violet in 193?, captured by a street photographer.



Cyril and Violet (seated) celebrate their golden wedding anniversary at the Old Forge, Hallam, with my grandmother's sisters (l to r) Joan, Ethel and Kathleen, my father and- the gawky one in the middle- me.

Comments

[michaeljohngrist.com (from livejournal.com)]

Cyril absolutely looks like a bad-ass. Damn, and so does grandpa when young. What a dork you look in the picture though! But like Alice says- a sweet kind of dork. Actually you look a bit like Alice? Maybe...

[(Anonymous)]

I wish people wouldn't want to cross me in a business deal
Tom

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You just gotta make them an offer they can't refuse.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Cyril grew up in the slums of Erith- a rough-house riverside town. He was a real toughie.

I seem to remember you going in for the floppy-haired look once upon a time. :)

[(Anonymous)]

I wonder how he made the transition from slums to high flying business man, especially at a time when the class barriers were more distinct. Hard work and ambition I imagine. Was he in sales?
Tom

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I believe he was in sales. He certainly travelled quite a bit. Granny has photographs taken on a trip to South America in the 1920s. It was one of his boasts that he was a member of the first business delegation to be let into Russia after the 2nd World War.

He was always mysterious about his origins. I asked him once about his father and he told me that some things were best left in the dark. Your ma has done some research- and discovered that Cyril's mother was married to a man called Charles Grist who died shortly before or after Cyril was born. Was he Cyril's father? I suspect not. I went to Erith a couple of years ago to try to find the family home- but it's no longer there- and the site is occupied by a night club.

Cyril loved books and was very well read. I've no idea where or how he got his education.