2024 Week 29: Automobiles #52Ancestorsin52Weeks

My husband Martin's dad Jan grew up on a farm in Poland in the 1920s and 30s and he might not even have seen an automobile (car) in his early years. However, after WW2, he found himself in Scotland and couldn't return to his native Poland as it was now occupied by Communists. Within the space of a few years, he opened his own business. This meant he had both the need for and the finance required to buy a car.

Over the next two decades his electrical retail business became increasingly prosperous. In 1972 he and his wife Teresa, decided they and some of their family would take a trip to Poland. They reasoned it would be better to go by car rather than fly. This would require two cars of course. Jan, now a successful businessman, was known for being a bit ostentatious, showing off his new found wealth, particularly in the form of cars. At this time he owned two Rolls Royces and a Triumph TR6 sports car. The car he chose to use to drive to Poland was his classic Silver Cloud Rolls Royce!! So they drove from Hamilton in Scotland all the way down to an English ferry port and from there across the continent.

In the early 1970s a Rolls Royce was a rare sight in the U.K. and Western Europe and people would stop and stare at it all the way along their route through France and West Germany. However, it was when they crossed from West Germany to communist East Germany and then to Poland that the Rolls Royce became a remarkable spectacle to the local people. This was Jan's intention. He wanted to show that a young farm boy, brought up in rural Poland, sent to a labour camp in Soviet Russia, was able to overcome these early life challenges and still make a success of his life. It was like making a rude gesture to the Communist regime.

Jan and his Rolls Royce

The holiday itself was very enjoyable and passed without incident, so they drove back through Europe the way they had come. However, on their arrival back in the UK on the ferry, Jan discovered to his embarrassment that the car had broken down! It had to be towed off the ferry, much to the amusement of the other passengers and the crew. Jan, unsurprisingly, was determined not to be put off - so he paid for a taxi to drive the family all the way back to Scotland, with the repaired Rolls Royce following him back later.

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