Recalling Two Wonderful Relatives

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My late grandparents on my pater's side lived in King's Road, Slough. I liked them very much, and I do not think I ever had a cross word with them at all. They were a happy couple. They moved from Sudborne Road in Brixton London in the early 1960s if I  recall correctly.


My grandmother (Helene) was a lover of classical music, and enjoyed playing cards, and other homely entertainments such as Majong, Bagatelle, and Monopoly. She was directly related to a once powerful family known as Ritterhsausen meaning the House of the Knight which has its own coat-of-arms plus a latin motto...Voluntas Ferrea, or Iron Will. Her pater was Baron Von Rittershausen, and he like her was an Austrian. Due possibly to the rise of Communism (he originally had a huge mansion notably in East Berlin) he and his family fled to England loosing their huge wealth. He  was possibly the Rittershausen who was  once the head of the Austrian Railways. He was among other things a world chess champion, and the authorities at one point "hauled him" in for questioning on suspicion of being a spy. The reason being that apart from being an "alien" he was often sending, and receiving chess moves (or secret codes to the enemy?) to various people around the world via the mail. The internet ofcourse did not exist in those days. Anyway, nothing untowards came of it. Tragically though, he had an accident in London with a tram in which he lost both of his legs. Because of this he did not appear in public as he was ashamed of being in a wheelchair. This is the story I heard from my grandmother.



My grandfather George Searle was a true Londoner, and a commercial artist. Later on he became a policeman and guide to the Houses of Parliament, and met number of famous politicians such as Edward Heath, and Harold Wilson. Once he saw Churchill who was talking "backwards" as he was annoyed that the lift in the House was not working

 Behind his home in King's Road in Slough, he had a workshop where he had any number of interesting things connected with art, and craftsmanship. He was clearly gifted, and could have gone far. He always loved to tinker with things. He was even suspected of forging painting......as he was that good!! We found this amusing.


During the London Blitz he was an air raid warden, but had to be hospitalised for shell shock, a most unpleasant experience. He later became a policeman as mentioned just before, and after the War he was instrumental  in overpowering with other officers, and arresting an armed man who murdered a copper like himself. This was big news in those days. The police then were treated with the highest respect, and murder of one their kind was one of the very worst offences possible. Anyway, George Searle was awarded a highly esteemed Kings Police Medal or KPM for bravery, and his picture, or rather pictures of him appeared in national newspapers of the time. One of them shows him in uniform directing children crossing a road. He had numerous interests too, one of which was Esperanto! He was also a stamp collector for a time, and once showed me his Penny Black. 


Every time  I visited my grandfather he was always smoking his pipe in the corner of the dinning room. He hardly talked at all unless approached. Sadly, he died at home from stomach cancer probably due to his smoking. My grandmother lived to 97 or thereabouts until she was struck by two successive strokes. What was so amazing about her is that she used to eat all the wrong sorts of  food which often or not had contained  too much sugar, too much salt, too much fat, and yet lived to such an advanced age. Admitedly, she did have angina now, and again, and was fairly big.


Anyway, she is in a better world than this one along with my grandfather. They were the "perfect"couple. This also reminds me of a rather touching story. After he died she woke up in the night, and found him "alive" next to her bed, but as a young man. He kissed her gently and uttered the words "I love you" and as that happened she felt incredible peace....




Brief two sentence citation for  George Charles Searle 1949 in connection with his award of the KPM..    


 " ..Identified the whereabouts of the armed killer of PC Nathanael Edgar in Stockwell. Three other officers then burst in on and arrested him."
 




Public bench dedicated George Charles Searle, KPM  This is at the Houses of Parliament  and I recall my pater emptying his father's ashes into the Thames. 








































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