Geoffrey's Father

My father was an extraordinary man. He came to England in 1916; born in Poland from a very orthodox Jewish family in Warsaw. He once told me his story and it goes like this.

"My family, who were very orthodox, were very angry with me because I refused to go to Synagogue and was totally agnostic. Consequently I was beaten up many times, which only tended to make me more of an unbeliever."

"At that time Poland belonged to Russia and when I reached 21 years of age, I was conscripted into the Russian Army. I soon found out that anti-Semitism was rife. I was placed in the Pioneer Regiment, working all day and most nights digging trenches and being abused or insulted by all the non-commissioned soldiers. The main cause of my unpopularity was, of course, my religion."

He told me that a particularly odious tormentor was a Sergeant-Major who used all the words that Hitler used to vent his hatred on him.

"One day after suffering twelve hours of non-stop trench construction, I was again verbally abused in a very violent manner. So I lashed out at him with my spade which was as sharp as a finely honed sword." He continued, "I know he was severely injured; possibly even killed. So I flung away my spade and deserted from the Polish Army. Finally, I managed to get on a boat to England and was allowed to immigrate. I then travelled to London, where I met your mother and settled down."

I must confess that my father had a very difficult time when he arrived. However, even though he could not speak a word of English and had very little starting capital, he was a great entrepreneur. He was always connected with some business and often made quite a lot of money.

Upon arrival in England, his first priority was a wife and all the comforts that go with her. After a meeting with the matchmaker he found my mother, who was an absolute darling. She quickly produced four children in five years. In fact there is only eleven months separating me from my brother.

Without going on to describe his life in detail, I can state that he was a very volatile man, an inveterate gambler with a ready temper for anyone courageous enough to oppose him. But on the positive side, he always worked hard to give us a decent standard of living and for this, all our family must appreciate him.

There is one story about my father that I feel I must mention which will explain his character. After the war, I had opened antique shops in Torquay and Bournemouth with my sister Rene and her husband, Donald. My Father who was ageing rapidly was still running his antique shop in Paignton, even though I was sure that he was losing more at the 'dogs' than he was taking in at the shop.

I received a desperate message from him telling me that the Inland Revenue were about to make him bankrupt. When I asked him for the details, he told me that about eighteen months ago he had received a letter from the Inland Revenue demanding books and information about his antiques business. If he did not give them the necessary information he would be fined £50.

My father never believed in keeping books. Through his twenty years of trading, he had never sent any information, returns or records of any sort to the Inland Revenue. So, in the end he decided to pay the £50 to get them off his back. Six months later he received another letter from the Inland Revenue asking him to send in the account books for the business or pay £500 penalty. Although business had been quite poor he managed to scrape up the money, hoping this time they would let him alone. Six months later, two well dressed men came into his shop and 'purchased' nearly all of his stock. When it came to paying the bill, he was informed that they were from the Inland Revenue and the goods were to be frozen and possibly seized.

My father sounded pretty desperate and my mother was also quite ill. So I told him to remain calm, as I had an excellent accountant and friend in Torquay who also had some contact with the local commissioner of the Inland Revenue. I would consult him about the affair and I was sure he would help. He calmed down and thanked me.

My friend was John Wright a young and capable accountant who was much too bright for a small town like Torquay. I gave him the details and he promised to help. I also told him that he should not expect any gratitude from my Dad and that I would pay any money owing for his services.

John promised me that he would contact the Commissioner and plead my Dad's case.

John rang me up a week later, he told me that although my father had no books what so ever, he had compiled a set of accounts from the bank statements.

He then informed the Inland Revenue commissioner that my father was a frail old man that could not really understand the English way of business. The commissioner then asked John to come into his private office.

He pointed at the concrete wall at the back of his chair and said, "Do you see that hole in the concrete just above my chair?" Yes, there was a fair sized hole in the wall, "that poor, old feeble man you are telling me about came into my office to complain and when I told him we wanted to see his books, he called me a bloodsucker. His face was contorted with rage and he aimed his metal rimmed cane at me. Luckily I was nimble and ducked and only the wall suffered. I am now keeping the hole as a souvenir to let people know how dangerous my job really is."

Two weeks later John rang me up to tell me that the Inland Revenue had agreed to accept his books and not only would they rescind the order about freezing the stock, but they would give back the £500 my Father had previously paid. They sent the refund on to the accountant.

I was of course delighted when he told me, but I asked the accountant to take his fees out of the £500 as I guessed that my father would be reluctant to be grateful in a financial manner. He therefore took £150 off the money for the arduous work he had done and sent £350 to my Father who afterwards complained to me bitterly that he had been charged so much from the accountant!

Reference material on Jews in Poland at the turn of the 20th century from Wikipedia and Answers.com