I'd like to thank the Japanese Invasion of Malaya...
2004-May-13, Thursday 17:41![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thorfinnNo, seriously. Without it, I probably wouldn't exist. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mordwen asked for stories of grandmothers...
This is slightly short version, but the upshot is that my maternal grandparents were married just prior to the Japanese rolling into Malaya during WWII. My maternal grandmother came from a very wealthy family, and my maternal grandfather did not. He was, in fact, a bicycle repairman. Well known around town as a very nice fellow, smart, generous, spoke about 12 dialects of Chinese, as well as Hindi, Malay and English. But poor.
So, as the story goes, my grandmother's father was worried. He'd heard that the Japanese were taking all unmarried women away as "comfort women" (don't look that up unless you're prepared to be saddened), so he needed to get his daughter married, and fast. Lacking anybody eligible of the upper classes in the area, he cast around, and my grandfather fit the bill. Thus they married.
My grandmother went from a rich man's daughter, waited on at every turn, to the wife of a poor bicycle repairman, with absolutely no servants at all. Still, my grandmother coped quite well, by all accounts. Soon afterwards, they moved to a position managing a rubber estate, and there are stories of my grandmother shooting snakes in the bath and other such adventures, along with bringing up six children. Savings was by virtue of her stuffing money into the pillows, so that grandfather couldn't over generously give it all away to those in need.
As a result of those savings eventually all six children were educated overseas. Most of them moved to Sydney in the early 1980s (the exceptions being one to London and one to Melbourne), bringing my grandparents with them. My grandmother brought up myself and most of my cousins, as each family passed through the same house before obtaining a house of their own.
These days, my grandmother spends her time bringing up her first great grandchild, watching TV, and generally presiding over family events. I don't see much of her, now I'm in Melbourne, but she still sends me a jar of chilli belacan (fermented shrimp paste), hotter than you would believe, on a regular basis. Those of you that know me in person probably are well familiar with my love of food. A lot of that love is thanks to my grandmother, who instilled it in her children and grandchildren. So, thanks grandma, for bravely marrying the poor, but up and coming young man around town.
mordwen asked for stories of grandmothers...
This is slightly short version, but the upshot is that my maternal grandparents were married just prior to the Japanese rolling into Malaya during WWII. My maternal grandmother came from a very wealthy family, and my maternal grandfather did not. He was, in fact, a bicycle repairman. Well known around town as a very nice fellow, smart, generous, spoke about 12 dialects of Chinese, as well as Hindi, Malay and English. But poor.
So, as the story goes, my grandmother's father was worried. He'd heard that the Japanese were taking all unmarried women away as "comfort women" (don't look that up unless you're prepared to be saddened), so he needed to get his daughter married, and fast. Lacking anybody eligible of the upper classes in the area, he cast around, and my grandfather fit the bill. Thus they married.
My grandmother went from a rich man's daughter, waited on at every turn, to the wife of a poor bicycle repairman, with absolutely no servants at all. Still, my grandmother coped quite well, by all accounts. Soon afterwards, they moved to a position managing a rubber estate, and there are stories of my grandmother shooting snakes in the bath and other such adventures, along with bringing up six children. Savings was by virtue of her stuffing money into the pillows, so that grandfather couldn't over generously give it all away to those in need.
As a result of those savings eventually all six children were educated overseas. Most of them moved to Sydney in the early 1980s (the exceptions being one to London and one to Melbourne), bringing my grandparents with them. My grandmother brought up myself and most of my cousins, as each family passed through the same house before obtaining a house of their own.
These days, my grandmother spends her time bringing up her first great grandchild, watching TV, and generally presiding over family events. I don't see much of her, now I'm in Melbourne, but she still sends me a jar of chilli belacan (fermented shrimp paste), hotter than you would believe, on a regular basis. Those of you that know me in person probably are well familiar with my love of food. A lot of that love is thanks to my grandmother, who instilled it in her children and grandchildren. So, thanks grandma, for bravely marrying the poor, but up and coming young man around town.
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-13 05:11 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-13 05:20 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-13 05:58 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-13 07:34 (UTC)I'm so pleased to hear these stories, they're so heart-warming, even the ones that have a sad tinge to them. Ones like yours are filled with strength and admiration.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-13 07:55 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-13 09:39 (UTC)