So why India???

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the celt

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Well lads n ladies heres the wee story....
This Photo of a young lady and her two daughters..

Is a photograph of my Grandmother, my aunt in arms and my mother standing,
It was taking in Quetta (now in Pakistan) in 1944.

My Gran was born in India in a place called Trichinopoly,
as a young woman she became a nurse during the second world war, she met and fell in love with and married an Irish solider. My Gran's mother and step father who where British land owners did not approve of the wedding. The young married couple had two daughters in India my mother and aunt, as WW2 drew to a close my Grandmother left India for Ireland this was the first time she had ever left her home shores of India. My Gran and grandfather set up home in Belfast and had another child a son, but unfortunately the marriage did not last and my grandmother was left to bring up three small children in a country she did not know.

I know that my Gran had a sister and a step brother but again ties where cut after her marriage, so this is my quest to find out as much as possible about my Gran's life in India, where my mum and aunt where born and also what happened to her mother,father, sister and step brother, I have old photos and birth certs and the like. this is why i am keeping a video diary of my journey so that i can give my family a record of where mum, Gran and my aunt came from.

God willing I will be the first member of my family to return to India.
My Gran is now aged 86, but unfortunately she had a stoke last year and is unable to talk or communicate but she can still hear, her 87th birthday is on the 13th Dec and it is a great wish of mine to phone her on this date to wish her a happy birthday from the country she was born in, and believe me with the love of God I will do it.

So lads n ladies thats is why India, because of my love of motorcycling, me love of travel and most importantly me love of my family.

on the road
sure ya ave to
joe
 

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I too intend to visit the land of my forefathers. Being born in the UK, I never meet my maternal grandmother who sadly died in 1997. Problem being they came from the second most desolate inhabited island in the world, the first being the Island of Tristan Da Cunha. Good reason the Brits exiled Napoleon Bonaparte on my ancestral home, same reason I have never visited...
 
Sounds like a great trip, remember watching a programme on the charity ride through India on Enfields, looked fantastic if slightly suicidal.
Look forward to pics and reports on your trip. :thumb2
 
As good a reason for a spin on the moto as there is Joe.

Go n-éirí do bóthar leat.
 
Good man yourself!! Somewhat similar story...

My Dad worked for Dunlop in Cork (where he was from) and when an opportunity to work in India came up he took it. The family moved out in 1952 and stayed until early 1956, where I appeared on the scene in 1955 at the Elgin Nursing Home in Calcutta.

Four years ago, my brother, two sisters and myself got an opportunity to go back, not just to India, but to the place where I was born and we all lived. Including finding the entry of my baptism in the local church. If there's one thing the Indians are good at, it's paperwork!

Well, one of the most extraordinary trips of my life. Didn't get a chance to ride a bike there, but enjoyed the contrast between the utter, utter madness of Calcutta and the serenity of the countryside. Wonderful people, amazing experiece, very emotional time.

A suggestion - bring a small notebook and every day (maybe more than once a day), make sure you write down ALL that you have seen. A month back in Europe and much will seem forgotten - only to come flooding back on re-reading your notes. Lots of videotapes, memory cards and an open mind.

Good luck Joe!
 
A fascinating story Joe, I wish you luck with your trip. The TV series "Who do you think you are?" has certainly stirred up a great deal of interest in family history. I researched my own family about thirty years ago and got back along a long line of Devonian peasant farmers to about 1650. Two brothers sailed to America shortly after the Pilgrim Fathers, one became a ship's captain and was arrested on suspicion of piracy (but found 'Not Guilty').
I agree with Banjaxed about keeping a diary. I spent three months in the US last year and bought myself a MOLESKINE diary - good booksellers sell them - and wrote in it each and every evening. I also glued postcards, pieces cut out of newspapersleaflets, bits of maps, so it became a journal/scrapbook. Every once in a while, I browse through it and it brings back happy memories.:clap
 
I'm envious Joe, sounds like an amazing time. By the way, there's a new ROSPA tester in Dublin so it should happen soon! Keep the texts coming. Look after yourself, Finn
 
Happy Birthday... Joe's Granny...


:hogroast:hogroast:wave:wave:drums
Well lads n ladies heres the wee story....
This Photo of a young lady and her two daughters..

Is a photograph of my Grandmother, my aunt in arms and my mother standing,
It was taking in Quetta (now in Pakistan) in 1944.

My Gran was born in India in a place called Trichinopoly,
as a young woman she became a nurse during the second world war, she met and fell in love with and married an Irish solider. My Gran's mother and step father who where British land owners did not approve of the wedding. The young married couple had two daughters in India my mother and aunt, as WW2 drew to a close my Grandmother left India for Ireland this was the first time she had ever left her home shores of India. My Gran and grandfather set up home in Belfast and had another child a son, but unfortunately the marriage did not last and my grandmother was left to bring up three small children in a country she did not know.

I know that my Gran had a sister and a step brother but again ties where cut after her marriage, so this is my quest to find out as much as possible about my Gran's life in India, where my mum and aunt where born and also what happened to her mother,father, sister and step brother, I have old photos and birth certs and the like. this is why i am keeping a video diary of my journey so that i can give my family a record of where mum, Gran and my aunt came from.

God willing I will be the first member of my family to return to India.
My Gran is now aged 86, but unfortunately she had a stoke last year and is unable to talk or communicate but she can still hear, her 87th birthday is on the 13th Dec and it is a great wish of mine to phone her on this date to wish her a happy birthday from the country she was born in, and believe me with the love of God I will do it.

So lads n ladies thats is why India, because of my love of motorcycling, me love of travel and most importantly me love of my family.

on the road
sure ya ave to
joe
 
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