Our Grandparents' Stories
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I’ve never had the chance to meet up grandparents from my mother’s side. They perished on WWII as their house were bombed. My mother was a young girl then. The whole house was bombed, just left the huge empty land. Her sister then married a widower. He took the land, build a new house over it. My mother then moved in with the elder sister to help raise her 12 children. Despite the land taken over by his brother in law, helping out with house chores & looking after their children, my mother was never given any basic education. Zilch.
I’ve only known one grandmother which was from my father’s side. We got along very well. She’s from a well to do family. Never attended school before but instead a private tutor will come over to her place to teach. Has a driver to send her to places and privileged enough to learn how to play piano. But the wealth all gone even before the WWII hit. Her brother squander it on high stakes gambling. She’s got married with a good looking man (I saw the picture & my grand uncle). Several kids and even gotten an identical twin. Unfortunately, due to malnutrition during WWII, she lost both of her twin. Grandfather died because of asthma (not sure if it is during WWII) at a very young age of 30. -
What an interesting thread!
Maternal grandma was a young teenaged girl, and together with a couple of young relatives, took to hiding among the mangrove trees during the day. Every morning before dawn, an uncle will take them to the mangrove swamps where they would hide away from the Jap soldiers. After nightfall, someone will fetch them and bring them back home. She soon married grandpa and they had a hard life as farmers and raised 10 kids together until he died suddenly of heart attack one day. Life was hard and my mother still shudders at memories of her childhood.
Paternal grandma was from a rich Peranakan family, but wealth was lost during the war. Married grandpa who was from mainland China when she was only 15. Grandpa was twice her age, but had managed to make good from a labourer to foreman to owning his own sawmill and life was good after the war except for a year when she was held hostage by in-laws in China when she went back to show them their grandson. She had to bribe someone to help her and her toddler escape and took a boat back to Singapore. I think she gave grandpa a big scolding after she returned and she never ever went back to China until her last day. The mere mention of the country repulsed her and she swore she would never treat her future daughters-in-law badly. (My mum adores her.) They had a good life until grandpa suddenly died of heart attack and money was swindled by business partner and the family’s wealth was lost. That, according to my father, was when he had to "wake up" from his irresponsible life of partying and sports cars, and find a job to feed his younger brothers. -
Not many forummers are here to share their stories; :? perhaps loss of family, surname, fortune, dignity...are best kept private.
Sometimes I wonder, if grandpa wasn't rounded up, dad would still be living in KL which meant that he wouldnt have met mum and there wouldn't be me....mathsparks! :roll: -
Mathsparks,
perhaps if you change your thread to ‘Our Grandparents’ Stories’, it can include history of how, many of our immigrant parents came to SG and their success stories or lessons.
JMHO. -
Good idea, jedamum. Done! But sound a bit like llls stories how?
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mathsparks:
:?llls stories how?
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You never hear before har? when people say dont tell grandparents’ story they also mean get to the point. dont lo-li-lor-so.
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Paternal granddad was a rich man's son in China. He had 2 wives (my family is descended from the younger wife) and he spent his life smoking opium, betting on fighting crickets and rearing songbirds. His estate was so large, he had to travel around on a horse.
Communism put an end to his life in China, and he came to SG as a poor man. He worked as a barber, but he never supported the family. His money was spent on booze and chicken for himself, while the rest of the family ate plain rice LOL. Everyone survived because my grandmother worked as a construction worker to support them, and also because my clan is all tough folks
That said, there was no hatred towards my granddad, even by his own children. He was always described as a loving dad. They understood he couldn't change his lousy ways, from being brought up as a rich man's son. Very strange, whenever i tell this to people lol -
lovekidsverymuch:
love them but \"His money was spent on booze and chicken for himself, while the rest of the family ate plain rice\"?skunk:
They understood he couldn't change his lousy ways, from being brought up as a rich man's son. Very strange, whenever i tell this to people lol
Not strange leh, maybe the kids know that even though dad is spoilt he still love them :?
i cannot understand the rationale.
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jedamum:
yes, i also cannot understand LOL. But he really loved kids, well, or at least he loved to cuddle them LOL. I still have pics of him cuddling me as an infant.
love them but \"His money was spent on booze and chicken for himself, while the rest of the family ate plain rice\"?
i cannot understand the rationale.
Or maybe he loved his family, but loved himself even more? hehe.
Anyway, i won't wanna pass too harsh a judgement on my own granddad, as he had been R.I.P for almost 20 years already.
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