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- 02/19/2024
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
No going back - 31. The Glennister History
Did it really matter? Colin insisted that it didn't, but there was something in the way that Mhairi and I had been brought up that meant we could not quite shake it off. Some of the Glennister money came from arms manufacturing. Grandfather Donald's Father-in-law, Sir Benjamin Glennister had made a significant (and probably now unquantifiable) amount of his fortune from his various industrial plants that made components for weapons and such, contributing to the arms build-up in the 1930s and the 'war effort' in the 1940s. The firm that Mhairi and I knew, or rather had a hazy image of, was the result of Donald's mismanagement in the post-war period and the 1950s.
We had had a session with Jo and her partner Sandra, about everything that Sandra had found out about the family. I'd expected a sort of friendly gathering in a pub with a chat, perhaps a private room. That sort of thing.
Not a bit, Sandra taught at the college in Crewe and so had use of a room there. The college proved to be a rather whizzy, crescent shaped modern building, looking more like an office block than college. But it seemed attractive enough and thankfully the various students dashing around seemed to find us entirely uninteresting. Mhairi was being rather sharp, making comments about having to travel to Crewe, paying for parking, the college itself and all sorts of other matters. Joe, after one remonstrance to her, wisely kept silent. I sort of understood, she was a bit nervous about what we were going to find out and was worrying whether we should have simply kept quiet.
Oh, we knew that they'd been involved in the war effort, but there might be a lot more besides that we didn't really want to know. Then again, Donald was our grandfather, we were going to be benefitting from his money. But we both agreed, it put Dad in a slightly different light. He'd taken a principled stand that, for all his bloody-mindedness, was in many ways admirable, true to his principles whether it hurt him or not. But, as Mhairi had commented, that was bloody Dad all over.
We had to be signed in and all that palaver, but we had a small seminar room which came with a projector so that Sandra could show us things. She'd apologised that it wasn't a proper lecture, just a presentation of notes about what she'd found, but it far more impressive than we'd expected.
Sandra was like a chunkier version of Jo, but with glasses. She was business-like rather than chatty, and on reflection afterwards I think she might have been as nervous as we were, especially, as it turned out, she had an interest in taking the project forward.
The bad news was that virtually all the firm's records had disappeared, so that her information was coming mainly from newspapers, archives and such, though she emphasised that what she'd done so far was just a surface trawl and that proper research needed to be done.
There were two parallel stories. The rather less interesting one was the expansion of the firm in the 1920s and 1930s, the widening of the range of its output. It was clear that armaments were only ever part of the story, and the firm didn't so much make weapons or anything but make components for war machines like tanks, though this range was expanded, understandably during the 1940s. In the late 1940s, post-war and beyond it was a tale of decline.
The second story was the personal one, how Benjamin Glennister had emerged from the First World War with a small manufacturing business and a significant fortune earned by what were probably dubious means, but Sandra had emphasised that more research was needed here. During the 1920s and 1930s, Benjamin showed great flair and acumen in building up the company, expanding its base, and evidently great enthusiasm for arms manufacturing. Something that came to the fore during the Second World War, where again, he made a rather dubious increase in the family money.
There were hints, in the newspapers, about his pro-Nazi support during the 1930s but Sandra emphasised that this might simply reflect the level of Nazi support in the upper classes, generally. Benjamin seems to have been an engaging and charismatic character, well-liked by his workforce.
Grandfather Donald was an entirely different matter; a stiff and inflexible man, he seemed unable to have the creativity to steer the businesses during the post-war period and Glennisters remained stuck in the past. His inflexibility ran to labour relations too, and whereas Benjamin was strict but well-liked, Glennisters in the post-war period was characterised by a series of labour disputes which helped to seriously undermine the company.
She'd put together a USB drive with newspaper clippings, photographs and such, but there was something else. There was enough for a display at the library, and we were happy for that to happen, but there might be a bigger project and she wanted to put together a bid to get some grant money to do the research.
Mhairi's comment had been that all the information was out there anyway, we wouldn't achieve much by trying to hide it, so she was happy for Sandra to continue, as was I. Sandra wanted to interview both of us, and whilst neither thought we had any useful information for her, there was no reason not to.
We said goodbye to Sandra and Jo, and Sandra said that she'd be in contact. There was plenty for her to be in contact about, the potential exhibition, the interviews and the projected grant applications. Not to mention the larger project, if she got the money. By common consent we delayed any discussion until we got back home. We retired to Mhairi's, where the four of us, Mhairi, Joe, Colin and I, sat down with a drink.
Mhairi sighed, "That was a lot harder than I expected."
"You knew what she was going to find, Mum, we'd already found a bit for my project."
Mhairi laughed, "But having some local history lecturer stand up and give a presentation about how my grandfather and his Father made money from arms manufacturing…"
"It was a long time ago, Mum. And they were making stuff for the British Army."
I smiled, "Are you sure? I don't think either Donald or Benjamin came over as particularly noble or sincere."
"If you don't mind me saying, they both sounded well dodgy. Was it me or was Sandra suggesting that both made money on the black market during both wars."
Mhairi nodded, "I think you're right, Colin. Like Father, like son."
Joe grinned, "It'd make a good book, if she can find out more."
"Is that likely", I shrugged, "I bet any records were safely disposed of years ago. Shame really."
"You want it to come out?", Mhairi stared at me.
"I think so. Rather than have it fester away. It's been mentioned."
"The genie's out of the bottle."
"We all think it, so why not get to the bottom of it."
Mhairi was silent for a moment, "But what do we do about the money?"
"Mum. You can't!"
She shrugged, "There's part of me that starts to understand Dad."
"I know what you mean, you have to admire his firmness of conscience, turning his back on his Father and all that money."
"All that dirty money; that’s what he thought, I'd imagine."
"Why do think he didn't take it and give it away."
Colin frowned, then looked at Mhairi and I, "What if there was never the possibility of him getting it. If his Father was as strong-minded as him, perhaps your Father always knew the money wouldn't be his. And you said that your grandmother started her trust once Mhairi was born. That’s long-term planning."
"I wonder when Father joined the Brethren. You any idea Mhairi?"
"Not the slightest, you know, it's strange. I don't think they ever talked about it, so you may be right. But back to the important point, Owain. What about the money?"
"You mean, what to do with it?"
"Mum!!!", almost a wail from Joe, "You can't, it was ages and ages ago."
"I know love, but it feels wrong."
"If you don't mind my butting in Mhairi", Colin was somewhat apologetic, "we don't know how much of the business was arms, certainly there were other aspects too. At least that's that Sandra seemed to suggest."
"It's up to you Mhairi, but I think I'd rather a tithe and perhaps the odd directed lump sum, rather than giving it all to someone else to spend."
"Yeah, maybe you're right. A tithe."
"Mum, what's a tithe?"
"You commit to spending a percentage of your income on charity, 10% or something. What Owain says makes sense. Frankly, I've no idea who or what I'd give it to. Spend 10% a year on causes and think about something bigger."
"Set up a charitable trust", Joe looked suddenly brighter.
"I beg your pardon, where did you get all knowledgeable suddenly?", but Mhairi was smiling at him.
"We did stuff at school about someone setting up a charitable trust to funnel money to good causes, and it's tax efficient and stuff."
"My son!"
We talked around it a bit more, including the possibility that there might be more money if the solicitors in Manchester came up with anything. But that was really as far as we got, and we were all hungry, so the evening descended into a mad mayhem of take aways.
---
"Would you consider giving all the money away?"
We were in bed together, in my house. It wasn't that late, but it felt as if the day had been ages long.
"Not in a lump sum. There's too much. I want to be in charge of where it goes. I like the tithe idea, committing something regularly to different groups. But also, something capital."
"Capital?"
"Major spending, funding a building or something. I don't know. I need to do research. We need to."
"We?"
I rubbed Colin's belly, it was always a lovely feel, I leaned over and kissed him, "Yes. We. We're partners aren't we. I'd like you to be involved."
"I'd like that", he had a smile in his voice. But it might be because my hand had gone well below his belly.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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