What's the most interesting thing your family passed onto you?

Posted by Josh99_@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 17 comments

I'm quite into historical things and am deeply fascinated by WW2 stories. I've read many articles about people having grandparents that brought "souvenirs" from WW2 and it seems to be quite common. Ofcourse it doesn't have to be WW2 related, as long as it has some sort of a backstory. now to get to my question, has any of your family members kept something in the family for a long time that has a lot of historic value?

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17 Comments

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Missbhavin58@reddit

Not me but a lady I worked with. Her father was a steeplejack and he took pictures from every chimney he worked on. She had albums full of pictures taken from these chimneys over many years

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ComposerThen6483@reddit

My late dad joined the Royal Navy straight after naval boarding school at almost 16. He arrived on HMS Belfast in WWII which I am proud of. If you don't know, Belfast is moored opposite the tower of london

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lane_of_london@reddit

My grandad was in the first world war he was in flanders and was only 15 at the time he came home and became a successful football player and is still known in my area because he had a pub there and they still call it jack lanes

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Secretariat21@reddit

Mental health issues.

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wheres_my_beard_eh@reddit

My parents passed on a 1940s Utility chest of drawers, which is a really sturdy piece of furniture made of mismatched wood. It's a great to keep my mental health meds and leaflets on object permanance & attachment issues. I don't really think about it when I'm not at home, though.

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Agitated-Ad-2791@reddit

It's hard to decide which i find most interesting. Most of my inheritance in terms of family heirlooms came from my grandfather. He was a WW2 veteran and had written an extensive memoir, including details of the family tree. I made sure to get myself a copy. He was also a professor of chemistry, and I have his old microscope on my bookshelf. I keep meaning to get it repaired.

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ketamineandkebabs@reddit

High blood pressure

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Parking-Tip1685@reddit

Got a really, really cool photo album from ww2. My Grandad was in the Royal Navy before and during ww2 serving on a cruiser called [HMS Penelope.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Penelope_(97)) He took photos and made a brilliant album of his time on her. It's got photos from the Mediterranean during the Spanish civil war, plus never published photos of Hitler my grandad took (they were invited to a rally just before the war started). Penelope was a brilliant boat, the fastest ship to be torpedoed in the war. It's the boat Penny Mordaunt's named after. Was considering trying the repair shop TV programme, a few pictures have fallen out and I'm not sure which ones, got a separate bag of about 10 photos. Plus I'd like it to last as long as possible. It's totally unique, easily my most prized possession.

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myexistentialcrisis0@reddit

A blood disorder

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warrenjt@reddit

Predisposition to heart disease, diabetes, and various cancers.

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IGNOREMETEST@reddit

Poverty

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anabsentfriend@reddit

His absence

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Schplargledoink@reddit

A concise diary, letters and photographs from WW1, pretty amazing find in my dad's possessions, he never once mentioned it to me. I've been trying to trace a link to a relative but no luck yet. Fascinating to read though.

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Recent_Strawberry456@reddit

Huntingtons Chorea.

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cloche_du_fromage@reddit

A large Russian orthodox icon that was removed from a monastery which is now a unesco world heritage site.

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purrfekto@reddit

Generational Trauma

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SpuffJob@reddit

My grandad was Chief Yeoman of Signals on HMS Formidable. Received an MBE from HM The Queen in 1971. He left us a box containing hundreds of photographs he'd taken throughout his career, including many in Egypt of locals male and female, and the Sphinx and pyramids of Giza in 1934. Along with his many medals there were ship certificates he received after crossing the equator (several times) and a typed memoir of major landmarks in his service, such as being required to lead Lord Mountbatten to the bridge when he came aboard. He wasn't sure of the way, and in his words 'just winged it' and kept Lord Mountbatten talking so he wouldn't notice. I just knew him as grandad who grew raspberries, but it shows you what a hugely interesting life he'd led - and you tell the respect his crew had from him from the photos. It's my favourite thing in the world.