Chaim/Hyman Levene		Hamburg-Amerika Ticket to London Click for Larger Image		Roubles purchased in London sent to Bialystok Click for Larger Image

My grandfather, Chaim (Hyman) LEWIN (LEVENE), was born in 1882 probably in Korycin. He left Bialystok in 1900 and went to England when he was 18 years old to escape the secret police in Russia who had him down as a left wing activist. He used his brother's passport to get out of the country.  From 1900 to 1914 he sent money back to his family in Bialystok and paid for his father to come to England in 1913.

He was one of seven children, four girls and three boys. Two of his brothers were in the Russian army, one of them, Itzel, was a POW in Germany and eventually made his way to the USA. We do not know what happened to the other brother. One of his sisters was killed in a pogrom and another came to England with his father in 1913. His mother was not well enough to travel at that time and was supposed to follow on, but she died a couple of months later from cancer.

The different spelling of his family name is typical of many who left Poland/Russia at that time. We have documents with LEVINE, LEWIN, and LEVENE. His brother Itzel kept the name LEWIN.

He went into the clothing trade and very soon became factory manager. We have his souvenir of King George V and Queen Mary's visit there in 1918.  He made suits for both the England football and cricket teams and Fred Perry and Primo Carnera amongst others. He was elected a member of the Exelcior Philanthropic Society in 1930. In 1939  the Patent Office accepted his invention for self supporting and self adjusting trousers and skirts at the waist line.  He died in 1964.