A very special lady

[dizzojay]

Today was my Grandma's birthday.  If she were still with us, she would have been 95.  As it was, she passed away in on February 6th 2003.   She was my Dad's Mum, and I was very close to my Grandparents on that side of the family; I was their only grandchild, after all!

My Grandma, Lillian (although she rarely ever used her name, her nearest and dearest knew her as Beau), was a remarkable lady.    She was born in South London in 1922, and her mother is where my family gets its Jewish heritage.  She lived in London throughout the Second World War, and seemingly loved every minute of it! In 1938, she met my Grandad, they married in 1942 in St George the Martyr Church at the Borough.  62 years later, I was bridesmaid for my long-standing friend, Jane, in that very same church.

It's a family joke that my Grandma's Dad was a bit of a wheeler dealer; the King of the Local Black Market if you like, and my Grandad's Mum was the landlady of the local boozer where a lot of his shady deals took place.  It's been said within the family that theirs was as near to an arranged marriage as you can get in our culture!!!

Grandma was a truly remarkable lady.  She started her working life as a 'clippie' (a female conductor) on the London Buses, and later transferred into the admin section of London transport where she rose from being a Payroll Clerk to a Payroll Manager over a number of years.  Bearing in mind this was in the sixties and seventies, an era when women weren't expected to progress in the workplace, and in many ways, they were actively discouraged from doing so, this was no small achievement.  I guess you could say she was a forerunner to today's modern 'career women'.

Although her work wasn't a conscious factor in my own career choices, here I am, forty/fifty years later - a Payroll Manager.  I like to think that would make her proud!

When my Grandad passed away in 2009, while my Mum, Dad and I were sorting out their house, we came across these beautiful old photos from my Grandma's family which none of us had ever seen before, I can't remember if I've ever shared them here or not, but regardless, this seems like an ideal time to do it ...



This is my beautiful Grandma with my Dad.  He was born in 1944, so assuming he's about one here, that would make her around 23.



This was My Grandma's Mum, Amelia (who I knew as Nanny Mill), with my Grandma wearing the bow that gave her her adult nickname, Beau.
Assuming Grandma was about two here, that would date this photo at about 1924.



This is Katherine, or as I knew her, 'Aunt Kit'.  She passed away in her nineties when I was in my teens.  She was Nanny Mill's sister in Law.  I can't be exact, but I think this photo was taken between 1910 and 1920.



None of us know who this lady was, but she was obviously someone who my Grandparents cared about because they kept this photo. Looking at the dress, this looks like it was taken around the turn of the century.



This is a lady I know as Aunt Gin. She died in her late eighties when I was about four. Her name was, in fact, Jane, and I'm named after her. I'm guessing this picture would have been taken somewhen between 1910/20



The little girl in this photo was Aunt Kit, and judging by her age here, we think this photo was taken some time around 1890/1900..

Comments

[stir-of-echoes.livejournal.com]

What beautiful pictures and lovely memories, thank you for sharing them with us.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

They are beautiful pictures - I'm glad you like them :)

[jdl71.livejournal.com]

Very touching. Thank you for sharing. My grandmother (father's mom) past last March & I was very close to her. She was 95 when she passed. I would call her every week & we would visit with her once a month. I miss her.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

So sorry to hhear about your loss. Even when someone is old, it doesn't make losing them any easier. Older people have so many amazing stories to tell. I used to love listening to my Grandma when she told me about living in London during the blitz, and my Grandad when he told me aboout his time stationed in Egypt during WWII.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

Great set of old photos! We've got one or two from my Mum's side but virtually none from my Dad's because my Granddad didn't believe in saving photos - such a shame! Even when you no longer know who people are, they are still awesome.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

That's a strange outlook, and such a shame because you lose track of your ancestors. These are all from my Dad's Mum's family. I have virtually nno photos from any other branch of the family!

[be-my-precious.livejournal.com]

wow! it's great that you have all those pictures.. and the memories!

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

They are precious memories of precious people!

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

What beautiful old photos! Thank you for sharing them with us! *LOVES old photos*

Happy bday to your Granny!I think it's awesome she was a career woman at a time when most women stayed home & raised families. Thanks to women like her, we know it's possible to have a career and a family! :D

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

Yes, she was an inspirational lady, and she was fortunate in that my Grandad was supportive, he was happy tor her to have a career.

[kiramaru7.livejournal.com]

*nods* Wow! She definitely was & very lucky! Your grandpa was inspirational too in that he gave her his full support! :D

[kattrip033.livejournal.com]

Those photos were a great find. Thank you for sharing them with us and the lovely memories.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

You're welcome - glad you liked them x

[julchen11.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for sharing your memories with us, my dear. The photos are amazing, all the ladies were tres chic... if only photos could tell...

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

My Grandma and her Mum were both very beautiful ladies in their youth.
I love looking back at these old photos of them :)

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

What amazing beautiful pictures. I love the wheeler dealer types, they're closer to my lineage than most because I'm original Gypsy, and the things about us being pikey, rubbish, but we wheeled and dealed with the best of them! ♥ My love and thoughts on your Grandma's birthday honey ♥

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

It's one of the few regrets of my life that my Great Grandfather, Fred, didn't live long enough for me to meet him. He was a costermonger in Covent Garden so was out at all hours and in all weathers, and unfortunately died of emphysemia in 1958 (aged 54), a victim of the London smogs like so many thousands of other people.

He sounded like such a colourful, fascinating character; a bit of a rogue, but in his eyes, family came first. You looked after your own, and if you had to bend a few rules in the process, so be it!

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

Great photos! You're right, the picture of Aunt Katherine is from between 1910-1920. I'm guessing on the earlier to middle of the decade. Aunt Kit's mother looks astonishingly contemporary--probably because of her facial expression.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, I think Kit's outfit is more Edwardian than '20's.
Kit's mother does look modern, doesn't she? I don't know why, but I know exactly what you mean!

[sillie]

Those pictures are great, thanks for sharing. <3

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, I'm glad you like them!

[jj1564.livejournal.com]

These photos are lovely, your Grandma looks to glamorous in the one with your dad. Thanks for sharing your memories, too, she was a remarkable lady with a very interesting life.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

My Grandma was a very elegant lady. She was tiny and petite, but knew how to dress and present herself flawlessly! I'm fascinated by her career-orientated outlook, it was so unusual for the time, and she must have been something special to have been promoted into a management position - that was virtually unheard of for women in the 60's and 70's.

[loki-dip.livejournal.com]

These are lovely, it shows us how important it is to keep photos like this to remind us of our history.

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I totally agree.
I only remember my Nanny Mill as an old lady, and my Grandma as a middle-aged lady who got older as I grew up. To see them in these photos as beautiful, elegant young women is so special.
x

[casey28.livejournal.com]

It's wonderful to hear the story of your grandmother, and to see all these beautiful vintage photos. And I have a Jewish heritage, too. I wish I knew more about my grandparents and their "story".

Thanks so much for sharing!♥