Birmingham family get-together in 1962
Three generations met at the grandparents’ home.
The collage picture shows Franz and Franziska Mykura and their three adult children, Walter seated in front, Eleanor seated on the right, and Helmut standing next to his father Franz. Standing at the back were Helmut’s wife and Walter’s wife. Six grandchildren were present, though more grandchildren came along later. In all, ten grandchildren were descendants of Franz and Franziska.
Walter Mykura’s geology research
This required nine consecutive years of summer fieldwork from 1961 in Shetland and Orkney, Scotland.
Walter is (centre) with his wife (left) and Walter’s sister-in-law (right), also children of both families. They are shown in Bixter, Shetland in 1962. Photo by Helmut Mykura. Walter and his wife and children generously invited their relatives to make summer visits to their remote cottages in Shetland and elsewhere in Scotland.
Josef Mykura, Franz Mykura’s youngest sibling
The 1962 post-card from Bad Neuheim in Germany to Birmingham UK is from Sepp (Josef Mykura).
Josef Mykura first appears in the Mykura UK Archive with the 1916 (estimate) post card from Franz to his younger brother Josef in Czechoslovakia. WW1.
The two surviving Mykura brothers Josef (Sepp) on the left and Franz (right) also met in Germany, date unknown, possibly in the 1950s or 1960s.
Post-card from Franziska Mykura
Amongst about 100 post cards in the archive, this is the only one written by Franziska
She writes after a visit to Scotland:
“Thank you for the nice send-off you gave us.’ We have settled down again. Love from Mother and Father.”
This was a few months before she died. The image below shows Franz and Franziska seated at a table, possibly on a Scottish pleasure steamer.
Sudden death of Franziska Mykura in 1965.
Frau Mykura Gestorben. (The death of Mrs Mykura )
Born 1st May 1905, Schmiedeberg, Bohemia. Died 12th October 1965, Birmingham, UK.
Translation:
“Fanny Mykura, formerly of Falkenau on the river Eger, lately of Birmingham England has been suddenly taken from our community. Fanny was not only the wife of our friend and leading comrade, Franz Mykura, but she was also in her own right a leading activist. She was, until the dissolution of our organisation in 1938, our Women’s District Chairwoman and as such she was also the leader of the Falkenau women’s group. In addition she served as treasurer and was allocated other tasks which she carried out most conscientiously.
Fanny Mykura was not only a kind-hearted person; her diligence was complemented by her capacity to keep abreast of the new. She gave life-long nurturing care to her spouse and children. She was an exemplary mother. She was held in high esteem for the intelligence and cooperation she brought to our organisation.
We offer our condolences to Franz Mykura and his children who have lost an excellent, devoted wife and mother. All who knew Fanny know that she will be remembered as one of the best in our Sudeten German Workers’ Movement.”
Obituary from Die Brücke, the newsletter of the Seliger Gemeinde, the post-war successor organisation of Franz and Franziska’s political party in pre-war Czechoslovakia. Die Brücke 6.11.65 45 7 Frau Mykura.
Death of Franz Mykura in 1966
Franz Mykura ist nicht mehr. (Death of Franz Mykura)
Born 9th September 1896 Trnovan, Bohemia. Died 4th March 1966 Glasgow, UK. This was five months after the death of his wife.
Translation:
“A key figure in the West Bohemian Workers’ Sports movement, Franz Mykura emigrated to England in 1938. He was celebrated in ATUS for his training courses for gymnasts. Anyone who had met him knew he was an upstanding man.
It was not so long ago that we heard the report of the sudden death of his wife. The impact of losing so suddenly his partner for life, on whom he relied, was unexpected. Franz barely recovered after a stroke.
Franz Mykura lived with his son in Glasgow, Scotland after the death of Fanny. We have learnt that he died on the 4th March at the age of 69.
As a skilled engine fitter he became in 1928 the secretary of the West Bohemian district of ATUS until 1938. He considered this not only as a job, but also a part of his political conviction, combining politics with sport. He demonstrated with energy and commitment his significant service to young people in the west Bohemian workers’ movement. His sphere of influence went further as evidenced by his participation in SASI, the Sports International organization at which he represented ATUS with its headquarters in Aussig.
He dedicated himself from 1925-1930 to the district committee in Falkenau an der Eger especially the training side, together with his wife Fanni, who was herself a keen colleague in ATUS and a supporter of the women’s organization.
Although in England he was a skilled metal worker and life was less dangerous than before emigration, there were still difficulties starting up. His tough stance, his specialist expertise and his authoritative humanity meant that eventually he was respected by his English colleagues, becoming a foreman. It was not easy to have both sons and his English-born daughter studying. He made this possible.
In consolation to his children, we say they are entitled to be proud of their father who is mourned by numerous gymnastics colleagues and many friends from his homeland.”
Obituary from Die Brücke, 19th March 1966 11 7., the newsletter of the Seliger Gemeinde, the post-war successor organisation of Franz and Franziska’s political party in pre-war Czechoslovakia.
Helmut Mykura in the USA, then England.
Helmut lived with his wife and family in Pittsburg, USA, in 1964.
Helmut worked at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh for one year. He moved to Warwick University, England in 1966, where he worked at the time of publication of his 1966 physics text ‘Solid Surfaces and Interfaces.’ It was one of a series on ‘Solid-State Physics,’ for UK students of Materials Science, looking at atoms and interatomic forces.
1968 Czechoslovakia invaded by Russia
Walter Mykura was in Prague at the same time as Russia and its allies invaded Czechoslovakia.
Siblings Walter, Helmut and Eleanor Mykura each visited relatives in Germany during the 1960s, but had not yet visited Czechoslovakia. With unfortunate timing, Walter Mykura visited a Prague geology conference in August 1968 at the same time as the Russian invasion. This was thirty years after Walter’s last time in Prague, also in a period of crisis after the 1938 Munich Agreement.
The postcard tells the story with its combination of Walter’s date on the card, 20th August (1968) being the date when the invasion started, the postmark Prague being the location, and the commemorative postage stamp advertising the International Geological Congress which Walter was attending. The content of the card shows Walter, like everyone else, was unaware of what was about to happen later that day. Walter wrote, ‘I am now in Prague and enjoy seeing it all again.’ The date when the post-card was franked was 22nd August 1968.
The 23rd International Geological Congress in Prague opened on 19th August 1968. The prime minister of Czechoslovakia and the mayor of Prague were both present. Late in the evening of the 20th August the invasion started and by morning the Russians were in Prague. The Geology Congress collapsed. It is not known on which date Walter returned home to Edinburgh, Scotland, but he is reported to have left Prague hastily.
Walter had arrived in Prague before the start of the conference, to meet relatives and to visit the town of Sokolov (formerly Falkenau) where Walter was born and went to school. On 16th August 1968 Walter had sent a card from Czechoslovakia to his brother Helmut in the UK describing his visit to their former home town. That card described their old house in Sokolov (now Falkenau) still being in the street called Lobsweg. This was about 100 miles from Prague.
Helmut Mykura visits relatives in Germany
Maria Eret nee Bartl , third on the left, was the sister of Helmut’s mother Franziska Mykura nee Bartl.
Helmut stands next to his uncle, the husband of Helmut’s aunt Maria Eret. Also present is Helmut’s wife at second left and two of Helmut’s children. The photo is by another of Helmut’s children. The date is likely to be 1969 or 1970. The location is not known.