When my mother was young, there was a young man who fell in love with her and wrote her a love letter, in which he declared (in French) :
Je suis un philosophe / I am a philosopher
Philo means to love
And I love Sophie
Therefore I am a philosopher.
We are all together here today because in various ways, all of us are philosophers – we all loved Sophie.
The next reflection that I would like to share with you on this special day is a Polish poem, which is written on the monument to the Warsaw uprising, in the Powazki cemetery. Before I read it in Polish, I will share with you our home-made English translation :
One doesn’t live in order to fight
No . . . one fights in order to live
And when life’s road comes to an end
Then look death in the eye, and go
Z pomnika powstancow na Powazkach :
Nie po to sie zyje, by walczyc
Lecz walczy sie po to, by zyc
A jesli ci zycia nie starczy
To smierci spojrz w oczy, i idz.
Pacierz / Prayer for the dead :
And finally, I would like to share with you a Polish prayer, which my mother would say every day after the death of my father, and which we will now say for her. This is the English translation.
Grant her everlasting rest, Lord,
And may eternal light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace for ever. Amen.
The prayer is written on the back of the Nekrolog, and if you are familiar with Polish, I invite you to say with me :
Wieczny odpoczynek racz Jej dac, Panie
A swiatlosc wiekoista niechaj Jej swieci
Niech odpoczywa w pokoju wiecznym. Amen.
************************
Reflections by Ania Abbott Grobicki at Cremation Service 8th September 2008
************************
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Reflections I
From “The Prophet” – Kahlil Gibran
How shall you find the secret of death
Unless you seek it in the heart of life?
For life and death are one, even as the rivers and the sea are one.
For what is it to die but to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then shall you begin to climb.
**********************
read by Eva Hart at the Cremation Service 8th September 2008
**********************
When my mother was young, there was a young man who fell in love with her and wrote her a love letter, in which he declared (in French) :
Je suis un philosophe / I am a philosopher
Philo means to love
And I love Sophie
Therefore I am a philosopher.
We are all together here today because in various ways, all of us are philosophers – we all loved Sophie.
The next reflection that I would like to share with you on this special day is a Polish poem, which is written on the monument to the Warsaw uprising, in the Powazki cemetery. Before I read it in Polish, I will share with you our home-made English translation :
One doesn’t live in order to fight
No . . . one fights in order to live
And when life’s road comes to an end
Then look death in the eye, and go
Z pomnika powstancow na Powazkach :
Nie po to sie zyje, by walczyc
Lecz walczy sie po to, by zyc
A jesli ci zycia nie starczy
To smierci spojrz w oczy, i idz.
Pacierz / Prayer for the dead :
And finally, I would like to share with you a Polish prayer, which my mother would say every day after the death of my father, and which we will now say for her. This is the English translation.
Grant her everlasting rest, Lord,
And may eternal light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace for ever. Amen.
The prayer is written on the back of the Nekrolog, and if you are familiar with Polish, I invite you to say with me :
Wieczny odpoczynek racz Jej dac, Panie
A swiatlosc wiekoista niechaj Jej swieci
Niech odpoczywa w pokoju wiecznym. Amen.
************************
Reflections by Ania Abbott Grobicki at Cremation Service 8th September 2008
************************
How shall you find the secret of death
Unless you seek it in the heart of life?
For life and death are one, even as the rivers and the sea are one.
For what is it to die but to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then shall you begin to climb.
**********************
read by Eva Hart at the Cremation Service 8th September 2008
**********************
When my mother was young, there was a young man who fell in love with her and wrote her a love letter, in which he declared (in French) :
Je suis un philosophe / I am a philosopher
Philo means to love
And I love Sophie
Therefore I am a philosopher.
We are all together here today because in various ways, all of us are philosophers – we all loved Sophie.
The next reflection that I would like to share with you on this special day is a Polish poem, which is written on the monument to the Warsaw uprising, in the Powazki cemetery. Before I read it in Polish, I will share with you our home-made English translation :
One doesn’t live in order to fight
No . . . one fights in order to live
And when life’s road comes to an end
Then look death in the eye, and go
Z pomnika powstancow na Powazkach :
Nie po to sie zyje, by walczyc
Lecz walczy sie po to, by zyc
A jesli ci zycia nie starczy
To smierci spojrz w oczy, i idz.
Pacierz / Prayer for the dead :
And finally, I would like to share with you a Polish prayer, which my mother would say every day after the death of my father, and which we will now say for her. This is the English translation.
Grant her everlasting rest, Lord,
And may eternal light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace for ever. Amen.
The prayer is written on the back of the Nekrolog, and if you are familiar with Polish, I invite you to say with me :
Wieczny odpoczynek racz Jej dac, Panie
A swiatlosc wiekoista niechaj Jej swieci
Niech odpoczywa w pokoju wiecznym. Amen.
************************
Reflections by Ania Abbott Grobicki at Cremation Service 8th September 2008
************************
Tribute - 8 September
TRIBUTE TO SOPHIE MARY GROBICKI
8 September 2008
On behalf of the family, thank you to everyone here for drawing around us today as we gather to pay tribute to the life of our mother.
Sophie was born on 9 November 1922 in Zytno, Poland.
She enjoyed a stable, happy childhood with her parents Jacek and Ewa, and brothers Leonard, Stefan and Andrzej. Although born into a privileged environment on the family estate, she was brought up to be, and throughout her life always was, unfailingly kind, generous and courteous.
She was always respectful to anyone with whom she came into contact, and in turn was deeply loved and respected by all who got to know her.
Sophie had tremendous moral strength which came from within, but had been built on initial foundations gained from her formative years at home with her parents and siblings, and later at boarding school at the Siostry Niepokalanek, a convent at Szymanow.
Sophie always exhibited strong leadership qualities. These were recognised early by her peers and her teachers when she was elected to be head girl of the school for the academic year starting September 1939. Unfortunately she could not fulfil this role as Poland was overrun by Germany that autumn, which was the start of the Second World War.
The home at Zytno was immediately turned by our grandparents into a refuge for friends, relatives and strangers who had been dispossessed of their properties in other parts of Poland.
Her heroism and devotion to her country was exemplified in 1943 when Sophie left Zytno for Warsaw to join the Armija Krajowa (AK) as an underground freedom fighter. Together with other incredibly brave women of her generation, they ran hospitals, distributed much needed arms and supplies, and carried out many dangerous and heroic missions in the attempt to liberate their country, first from the Germans and later from the Russian occupiers. She narrowly avoided losing her life during ‘Powstanie’, the Warsaw Uprising, when, whilst on one of her missions a bomb landed nearby as she was descending through a manhole in the street. Unfortunately the resulting fall shattered her ankle, which could not be set properly in the situation of the time, and affected her throughout the rest of her life. Although she was often in pain from the injury, particularly as she got older, she never complained about it.
Her heroism was recognised in her recently being awarded the Polish Cross of Valour (Krzyz Waleczny), one of Poland’s highest military decorations.
In 1946, after the war, when her life was at risk from the secret police, she was smuggled out of Poland by the resistance forces. She then bravely hiked over the Italian mountain chains, ending up in Naples, where she immediately found work as a nurse in the Red Cross.
It was here that she met our father Jerzy, who at the time was an officer in the Polish Arm of the Allied Forces.
After a brief courtship, they married in London and moved to Africa, where she lived for the next 40 years. With their pioneering spirit, after many hardships, our parents built up from scratch a thriving and successful farm in the highlands of Kenya and raised a family of three happy children. Tragically, Jerzy died suddenly in 1963. She showed great fortitude in continuing to run a multifaceted farming business successfully, in Africa, as a widow with 3 young children.
After the sale of the farm, she showed her great depth of resourcefulness by reinventing herself and worked till her retirement as a successful accountant and office manager, thus being able single handedly to support and educate her children firstly in Nairobi and later in South Africa.
Sophie had an abiding love of culture, music, literature and history. As a mother we experienced her as gentle, loving and a wonderful story teller .......especially of the epic classics of Polish literature.
Throughout her life her strong Christian faith and devotion were very important pillars. She was not only a regular and enthusiastic participant at Mass, but she also provided great help to organs of the Church both in a material way with mission churches near our farm in Kenya, and later as an active worker with the Legion of Mary and other charitable church initiatives, such as visiting prisoners and the aged.
She was unfailingly generous to all that she came into contact with. Even when her own financial situation was particularly difficult, Sophie continued to support her mother in law, who lived with us at home, as well as her parents and other relatives back in Poland.
Sophie returned to her roots in Europe in 1987 to be close to her friends and to her beloved Poland ……….and lived in London for the last 21 years of her life.
During this time, until her health started failing her, she regularly attended Ealing Abbey and participated enthusiastically in its activities.
Finally we would all like to recognize Ewa, Sophie’s eldest daughter, for her devotion and tender loving care which supported our mother during her fading years.
On behalf of her children and grandchildren, who all remember her love and tenderness and grieve our loss with sadness in our hearts, I bid farewell to our beloved mother, but rejoice for her in the knowledge that she will be reunited with all of those departed who were near and dear to her, and that now she will be able truly to rest in peace.
**********************
Tribute given by Ted Grobicki at the funeral mass at Ealing Abbey, London, UK on 8 September 2008.
**********************
Sunday, 7 September 2008
Life in South Africa
Memories from Mark and Laura Grobicki :
Sewing all the labels onto the grandchildren's school clothes. Lots of little kind things that add up to a big kindness. She was always the first to tackle the washing up ! She was very involved with visiting prisoners.
Walking up the mountain in Nature's Valley at the age of 70 with children and grandchildren, having a picnic at the top, looking across at the incredible view of the Indian Ocean, and the valleys clothed in indigenous forest.
***********come on everyone, let's have some more here*************
Sewing all the labels onto the grandchildren's school clothes. Lots of little kind things that add up to a big kindness. She was always the first to tackle the washing up ! She was very involved with visiting prisoners.
Walking up the mountain in Nature's Valley at the age of 70 with children and grandchildren, having a picnic at the top, looking across at the incredible view of the Indian Ocean, and the valleys clothed in indigenous forest.
***********come on everyone, let's have some more here*************
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Wedding Day
Wedding day : 11 October 1947
Zofia Siemienska and Jerzy Grobicki married at Islington Catholic Church, London.
Zofia Grobicka
ZOFIA MARIA GROBICKA (nee Siemienska)
Born 9 November 1922
Born in Zytno, Poland, eldest child of Jacek Siemienski (born 1888) and Ewa Wielowiejska (herba Polkozic, z Lubczy).
Zytno was a large estate with several hundred hectares under rye and wheat, a stud of thoroughbred horses, and 2000 hectares of forest. Not far from Radomsko, about 40 km from Czestochowa.
Three younger brothers, Leonard born 1925, Stefan born 1927, and Andrzej born 1929.
Her beloved pet dog Barry was a St Bernard.
Her father, Jacek Siemienski, became a member of the Sejm (Polish Parliament) in 1929, travelling regularly to Warsaw.
Sent to a girls’ boarding school in Szymanow, the convent of the Niepokalanek. Made many close friends, and at the end of her second-last year of school, in June 1939, she was voted to become head girl in her final year.
August 1939
German invasion of Poland. School did not reopen due to the danger. Zosia stayed at home and continued her studies at home with governess. Germans closed all schools and universities throughout Poland. Zosia’s mother Ewa opened the house to many refugees who fled to the area and were housed at Zytno. Underground school organised in Zytno with courses being taught by various qualified refugees. A number of British paratroopers who landed in the forest found refuge in Zytno after landing.
March 1942
Germans took over Zytno as local headquarters, officers billeted there while family was confined to certain rooms. Great-aunt continued to practise the pianos – one downstairs in the morning, the other upstairs in the afternoon.
Zosia went to Warsaw, studied at night in an illegal underground college in order to start underground university studies. Trained as a nurse and was inducted into the Resistance – the AK or Armja Krajowa (national army).
August 1944
Warsaw Uprising. Zosia worked at night as a nurse, and during the day acted as a courier, transferring messages and money between different units of the AK, operating in various parts of Warsaw, risking capture by the Germans at every step. Her fluent German and quick thinking frequently helped her to avoid this fate. The Germans were bombing and methodically destroying Warsaw with great ferocity. One night, coming off night shift with the other nurses, Zosia decided to attend early morning mass, rather than returning with them to their dormitory. On returning there after mass, she found that the building where they slept had been bombed, and all her companions sleeping there had been killed. She continued to fight. Escaping down into the sewers, a bomb exploded and knocked her off the ladder, breaking her leg. Coming out of the sewers, she had to drag herself with her broken leg across a cabbage field, and took shelter in a flat at the edge of the city.
Zosia’s beloved brother Stefan was killed fighting against Germans (tragically, hostilities between German patrols and Polish resistance were slowing significantly at the time, and ceased soon after). He was shot in the forest, near Krzepin, wearing a sheepskin coat. The first family member to identify him was ‘Didi’ Siemienska (later Sapieha).
Zosia returned to Zytno in November 1944. On arrival in Radomsko in the early morning, exhausted and with her leg badly set so having difficulty walking, she had no way to contact her parents and no way of reaching Zytno. She decided to attend early mass at the church. There she found her father, who was returning home and had decided to stop to attend mass there. This was another incident which contributed to her deep belief and faith in God's goodness. Whenever possible she attended mass daily throughout her life.
November 1945
As a consequence of the Land Reform Act, the local communist authorities gave the Siemienski family 48 hours to leave Zytno, with all their possessions on the back of a horse-drawn cart. They were directed to go to Wroclaw, where they were given a small flat from where a German family had recently been dispossessed. Zosia took a job to help support the family, and clandestinely joined the underground organisation “Wolnosc I Niepodleglosc” (Freedom and Independence) which continued the tradition of resistance, turning it against the Russian occupation of Poland and the communist authorities.
May? 1946
Escaped from Wroclaw in return load of empty crates, which had contained medical supplies transported into Poland by Red Cross truck. The refugees were a group of a 12 including a baby that wanted to cry at a checkpoint, crossing over into Austria.
May 1946
Arrived in Naples. Zosia got a nursing job with the Red Cross, on recommendation from General Anders (whose family had taken ‘refuge’ in Zytno for most of the war)
Met Jerzy Grobicki, a major in the Polish Arm of the British Army occupying Italy, and demobilising the Italian troops.
First date (trip) to the Isle of Capri and saw the Blue Grotto.
Went to Paris with Jerzy and got engaged. When they went up the Eiffel Tower together, Zosia experienced vertigo and did not want to get out of the lift! Jerzy wrote to Zosia’s father, who agreed to the engagement. Jerzy then bought a vehicle (together with Wladek Wincza) to drive to Poland to fetch his mother and brother (Wojtek) and bring them to the West. The vehicle turned out to be stolen, so when they were stopped at a checkpoint they were detained. He then waited for them at the German-Polish border.
In the meantime, Zosia had agreed to wait for Jerzy in Paris, in order to get married there. While waiting, she shared a flat with two kind girls. When Jerzy did not arrive, she left Paris for London, where she enrolled at a secretarial college to learn shorthand and typing, as well as studying English.
1947
Married Jerzy Grobicki in Islington, London (11 October 1947). They went to the Isle of Wight on honeymoon. Initially had some plans to emigrate to Algeria, in order to farm there.
1948
Emigrated to Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
20 August 1948 – Eva Theresa Maria born in Lushoto, Usumbara Highlands east of Arusha, Tanganyika
Godparents : Wladek Wincza and Bronka Brochwicz
30 September 1949 – Thaddeus Stephen Anthony born in Moshi, Tanganyika
Godparents :
Zosia started to work at the Tanganyika Coffee Growers’ Association.
1950 – Babcia arrived (Jozefa Grobicka, nee Ciechomska) from Canada, to live with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
Incident of the python – the family were seated at the dining table, in an alcove of the sitting room. A kitten was sleeping in one of the armchairs. Eva was pointing at the head of a snake, rising up above the chair, looking down at the kitten. Grown-ups finally realised the danger. Zosia grabbed Ted, Babcia grabbed Eva and they ran outside. Jerzy and the gardener attacked the snake with pangas, killed it and disposed of it.
1955
Moved to Kwetu Farm, Limuru, Kenya (212 acres, situated at about 7500 feet. Zosia described it as too high for coffee, too low for tea. On the edge of the Tribal Trust Land (TTL). The house was on a slope and Mount Kilimanjaro could be seen from the front verandah. Jerzy joined the Kenyan police reserve. Started with Friesland and Ayrshire cows, gradually built up a dairy herd of 120 Guernsey cows yielding high butter-fat milk. A champion Ayrshire cow was the highest yielding cow in Kenya of that breed. Some maize being grown. Also diversified into pig-farming : two hundred pigs, being bred for bacon and top graded pork. Then diversified into poultry, which became the mainstay of the farm. Chickens, eggs. Day-old ducklings were being imported and grown up for resale. Then flowers grown for export – amaryllis and gladiolis. Also mushrooms, being grown in the cellar underneath the house.
Zosia started working in Nairobi as book-keeper and office manager for Stirling Astaldi. (a joint venture between a British firm, Stirling, and an Italian firm, Astaldi – consulting engineers and contractors, building roads, bridges and dams). Drove 15 miles into Nairobi every morning with Eva and Ted, dropped them at school (Parklands Primary), did some farm deliveries, and then went to work. On this 30 minute trip, the road dropped 2000 feet between Limuru and Nairobi along a seriously winding road, and to stop the children getting carsick, she told Ted and Eva the whole narrative of Siekiewicz trilogy (Ogniem I Mieczem, Potop, Pan Wolodyjowski). Although children needed to be picked up by 5.15 pm, she often worked later and the children were taken to the police station to wait for her. Babcia ran the house, grew vegetables and organised meals.
The farm produce delivered included double thick cream (to the New Stanley Hotel), vegetables, strawberries, plums, eggs, ducklings and chickens, also geese and turkeys (primarily for the Christmas market).
April 1960 – Anna Maria Wanda born in Nairobi, Kenya
Godparents : Adam Pettifer and Eva Grobicki
Zosia stopped working in Nairobi before Ania’s birth, and stayed on the farm.
January 1961 – Eva started boarding school at Kenya Girls High School in Nairobi.
January 1962 – Ted started boarding school at Prince of Wales High School (designed by Herbert Baker) in Nairobi
1962 – Jerzy bought a 48-acre farm (Fairview Farm) in Beaconhurst, just outside East London, South Africa
May 1963 – Jerzy Grobicki died of a sudden heart attack, on the road from Nairobi to Limuru. Buried in Nairobi at Karen Cemetary.
Zosia had to sell the dairy herd and wind up the farm business.
Early 1964 – moved from Kwetu Farm to a house on the Ngong Road
Zosia started work at Shell as a book-keeper, and in an administrative position. When they heard that she was planning the move to South Africa, they offered her a transfer to Shell head office in London. A letter written by Jerzy specifically stated that in the event of his death, he wished the family to move to South Africa.
December 1964 – sailed from Mombasa to East London
In East London, Ania had to climb through the bathroom window to get into the farmhouse at Fairview, as the keys were not available (she was the only one small enough to get through).
In 1965 Zosia took a job as a bookkeeper at Malcomess Motors, while Ted went to boarding school in King William's Town, at Dale College. Eva went into her final year of school at Cambridge High School, where she earned the nickname "the wild woman from Kenya" because she rode to school on a 50cc motorbike. Ania started school at the Sacred Heart Convent. Babcia kept house on the farm, and planted a large vegetable garden. There were already many fruit trees, including guavas, pawpaw trees and a large loquat tree.
**********
See Life in South Africa
Born 9 November 1922
Born in Zytno, Poland, eldest child of Jacek Siemienski (born 1888) and Ewa Wielowiejska (herba Polkozic, z Lubczy).
Zytno was a large estate with several hundred hectares under rye and wheat, a stud of thoroughbred horses, and 2000 hectares of forest. Not far from Radomsko, about 40 km from Czestochowa.
Three younger brothers, Leonard born 1925, Stefan born 1927, and Andrzej born 1929.
Her beloved pet dog Barry was a St Bernard.
Her father, Jacek Siemienski, became a member of the Sejm (Polish Parliament) in 1929, travelling regularly to Warsaw.
Sent to a girls’ boarding school in Szymanow, the convent of the Niepokalanek. Made many close friends, and at the end of her second-last year of school, in June 1939, she was voted to become head girl in her final year.
August 1939
German invasion of Poland. School did not reopen due to the danger. Zosia stayed at home and continued her studies at home with governess. Germans closed all schools and universities throughout Poland. Zosia’s mother Ewa opened the house to many refugees who fled to the area and were housed at Zytno. Underground school organised in Zytno with courses being taught by various qualified refugees. A number of British paratroopers who landed in the forest found refuge in Zytno after landing.
March 1942
Germans took over Zytno as local headquarters, officers billeted there while family was confined to certain rooms. Great-aunt continued to practise the pianos – one downstairs in the morning, the other upstairs in the afternoon.
Zosia went to Warsaw, studied at night in an illegal underground college in order to start underground university studies. Trained as a nurse and was inducted into the Resistance – the AK or Armja Krajowa (national army).
August 1944
Warsaw Uprising. Zosia worked at night as a nurse, and during the day acted as a courier, transferring messages and money between different units of the AK, operating in various parts of Warsaw, risking capture by the Germans at every step. Her fluent German and quick thinking frequently helped her to avoid this fate. The Germans were bombing and methodically destroying Warsaw with great ferocity. One night, coming off night shift with the other nurses, Zosia decided to attend early morning mass, rather than returning with them to their dormitory. On returning there after mass, she found that the building where they slept had been bombed, and all her companions sleeping there had been killed. She continued to fight. Escaping down into the sewers, a bomb exploded and knocked her off the ladder, breaking her leg. Coming out of the sewers, she had to drag herself with her broken leg across a cabbage field, and took shelter in a flat at the edge of the city.
Zosia’s beloved brother Stefan was killed fighting against Germans (tragically, hostilities between German patrols and Polish resistance were slowing significantly at the time, and ceased soon after). He was shot in the forest, near Krzepin, wearing a sheepskin coat. The first family member to identify him was ‘Didi’ Siemienska (later Sapieha).
Zosia returned to Zytno in November 1944. On arrival in Radomsko in the early morning, exhausted and with her leg badly set so having difficulty walking, she had no way to contact her parents and no way of reaching Zytno. She decided to attend early mass at the church. There she found her father, who was returning home and had decided to stop to attend mass there. This was another incident which contributed to her deep belief and faith in God's goodness. Whenever possible she attended mass daily throughout her life.
November 1945
As a consequence of the Land Reform Act, the local communist authorities gave the Siemienski family 48 hours to leave Zytno, with all their possessions on the back of a horse-drawn cart. They were directed to go to Wroclaw, where they were given a small flat from where a German family had recently been dispossessed. Zosia took a job to help support the family, and clandestinely joined the underground organisation “Wolnosc I Niepodleglosc” (Freedom and Independence) which continued the tradition of resistance, turning it against the Russian occupation of Poland and the communist authorities.
May? 1946
Escaped from Wroclaw in return load of empty crates, which had contained medical supplies transported into Poland by Red Cross truck. The refugees were a group of a 12 including a baby that wanted to cry at a checkpoint, crossing over into Austria.
May 1946
Arrived in Naples. Zosia got a nursing job with the Red Cross, on recommendation from General Anders (whose family had taken ‘refuge’ in Zytno for most of the war)
Met Jerzy Grobicki, a major in the Polish Arm of the British Army occupying Italy, and demobilising the Italian troops.
First date (trip) to the Isle of Capri and saw the Blue Grotto.
Went to Paris with Jerzy and got engaged. When they went up the Eiffel Tower together, Zosia experienced vertigo and did not want to get out of the lift! Jerzy wrote to Zosia’s father, who agreed to the engagement. Jerzy then bought a vehicle (together with Wladek Wincza) to drive to Poland to fetch his mother and brother (Wojtek) and bring them to the West. The vehicle turned out to be stolen, so when they were stopped at a checkpoint they were detained. He then waited for them at the German-Polish border.
In the meantime, Zosia had agreed to wait for Jerzy in Paris, in order to get married there. While waiting, she shared a flat with two kind girls. When Jerzy did not arrive, she left Paris for London, where she enrolled at a secretarial college to learn shorthand and typing, as well as studying English.
1947
Married Jerzy Grobicki in Islington, London (11 October 1947). They went to the Isle of Wight on honeymoon. Initially had some plans to emigrate to Algeria, in order to farm there.
1948
Emigrated to Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
20 August 1948 – Eva Theresa Maria born in Lushoto, Usumbara Highlands east of Arusha, Tanganyika
Godparents : Wladek Wincza and Bronka Brochwicz
30 September 1949 – Thaddeus Stephen Anthony born in Moshi, Tanganyika
Godparents :
Zosia started to work at the Tanganyika Coffee Growers’ Association.
1950 – Babcia arrived (Jozefa Grobicka, nee Ciechomska) from Canada, to live with her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren.
Incident of the python – the family were seated at the dining table, in an alcove of the sitting room. A kitten was sleeping in one of the armchairs. Eva was pointing at the head of a snake, rising up above the chair, looking down at the kitten. Grown-ups finally realised the danger. Zosia grabbed Ted, Babcia grabbed Eva and they ran outside. Jerzy and the gardener attacked the snake with pangas, killed it and disposed of it.
1955
Moved to Kwetu Farm, Limuru, Kenya (212 acres, situated at about 7500 feet. Zosia described it as too high for coffee, too low for tea. On the edge of the Tribal Trust Land (TTL). The house was on a slope and Mount Kilimanjaro could be seen from the front verandah. Jerzy joined the Kenyan police reserve. Started with Friesland and Ayrshire cows, gradually built up a dairy herd of 120 Guernsey cows yielding high butter-fat milk. A champion Ayrshire cow was the highest yielding cow in Kenya of that breed. Some maize being grown. Also diversified into pig-farming : two hundred pigs, being bred for bacon and top graded pork. Then diversified into poultry, which became the mainstay of the farm. Chickens, eggs. Day-old ducklings were being imported and grown up for resale. Then flowers grown for export – amaryllis and gladiolis. Also mushrooms, being grown in the cellar underneath the house.
Zosia started working in Nairobi as book-keeper and office manager for Stirling Astaldi. (a joint venture between a British firm, Stirling, and an Italian firm, Astaldi – consulting engineers and contractors, building roads, bridges and dams). Drove 15 miles into Nairobi every morning with Eva and Ted, dropped them at school (Parklands Primary), did some farm deliveries, and then went to work. On this 30 minute trip, the road dropped 2000 feet between Limuru and Nairobi along a seriously winding road, and to stop the children getting carsick, she told Ted and Eva the whole narrative of Siekiewicz trilogy (Ogniem I Mieczem, Potop, Pan Wolodyjowski). Although children needed to be picked up by 5.15 pm, she often worked later and the children were taken to the police station to wait for her. Babcia ran the house, grew vegetables and organised meals.
The farm produce delivered included double thick cream (to the New Stanley Hotel), vegetables, strawberries, plums, eggs, ducklings and chickens, also geese and turkeys (primarily for the Christmas market).
April 1960 – Anna Maria Wanda born in Nairobi, Kenya
Godparents : Adam Pettifer and Eva Grobicki
Zosia stopped working in Nairobi before Ania’s birth, and stayed on the farm.
January 1961 – Eva started boarding school at Kenya Girls High School in Nairobi.
January 1962 – Ted started boarding school at Prince of Wales High School (designed by Herbert Baker) in Nairobi
1962 – Jerzy bought a 48-acre farm (Fairview Farm) in Beaconhurst, just outside East London, South Africa
May 1963 – Jerzy Grobicki died of a sudden heart attack, on the road from Nairobi to Limuru. Buried in Nairobi at Karen Cemetary.
Zosia had to sell the dairy herd and wind up the farm business.
Early 1964 – moved from Kwetu Farm to a house on the Ngong Road
Zosia started work at Shell as a book-keeper, and in an administrative position. When they heard that she was planning the move to South Africa, they offered her a transfer to Shell head office in London. A letter written by Jerzy specifically stated that in the event of his death, he wished the family to move to South Africa.
December 1964 – sailed from Mombasa to East London
In East London, Ania had to climb through the bathroom window to get into the farmhouse at Fairview, as the keys were not available (she was the only one small enough to get through).
In 1965 Zosia took a job as a bookkeeper at Malcomess Motors, while Ted went to boarding school in King William's Town, at Dale College. Eva went into her final year of school at Cambridge High School, where she earned the nickname "the wild woman from Kenya" because she rode to school on a 50cc motorbike. Ania started school at the Sacred Heart Convent. Babcia kept house on the farm, and planted a large vegetable garden. There were already many fruit trees, including guavas, pawpaw trees and a large loquat tree.
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See Life in South Africa
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