This is the only photograph I have of my maternal grandfather Major Stanislaw Lis. He was born in Lwow in 1903. He had two degrees from Warsaw University, one in Law and the other in Horticulture. He was interred in a Russian Gulag, and along with my Grandmother Helena, lost their two small sons. They made it to the UK in about 1941, I have no idea how. My mother was born in Hammersmith London in 1943, and left in a babies home by Helena until the end of the war, as my grandmother wished to continue to serve in the Polish Army. She never returned for her, and through difficult circumstances, was unable to trace her. My mother did trace both her parents in 1964, but sadly lost touch again soon after. War has long reaching effects and she never really came to terms with it. . She died in January of this year without knowing much at all about her roots, but since then I have found out more about Stanislaw in particular. He is buried in Gunnersbury Cemetary, London, and the words on his grave stone read.. POLITICAL REFUGEE. He never lived to see again his beloved country. That moved me so much. He was very active in the Polish community in the UK, serving as secretary of the SPK, helping his people up and down the country in matters of law and giving out service medals etc. I would LOVE to find out all I can about him. Until my mother traced him, he had no idea he had a daughter. I would also love to discover about my grandmothers life. She put a false maiden name on my mothers birth cert and made herself very hard to trace..maybe as she was Jewish? She suffered terribly and I am incredibly proud of my grandparents love for their country and perseverance under extreme persecution. If anyone can help me on this search, I would be very thankful !
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 10:03:47 +0000