Saying 'W' instead of 'V'

I'm still trying to track down my wife's grandfather, a very mysterious
character on whom we have very little data ...

One thing his children remember clearly, is him substituting 'W' for 'V'
("Eat your Wegetables").

Ron Bass writ backwards...

Is it possible that your wife's grandfather was from London or the
South-East of England. Charles Dickens, a very perceptive student of
19th century English usage, has the character Sam Weller in Pickwick
Papers routinely make just the substitutions that you describe.

Sam Weller quotes showing this include:

". . . out vith it, as the father said to the child, wen he swallowed
a farden."

"He wants you particklar; no one else'll do, as the Devil's private
secretary said ven he fetched avay Doctor Faustus."

"Proud o' the title, as the Living Skellinton said, ven they show'd
him."

"If you walley my precious life don't upset me, as the gentl'm'n said
to the driver when they was a carryin' him to Tyburn."

". . . I think he's the wictim o' connubiality, as Blue Beard's
domestic chaplain said, with a tear of pity, ven he buried him."

"Werry glad to see you, indeed, and hope our acquaintance may be a
long 'un, as the gen'l'm'n said to the fi' pun' note."

1) Do y'all agree with me, that he is either not born in the USA, or his
parents were not born in the USA? I can't imagine a second-generation
immigrant still having that kind of accent. I should say here, I'm talking
95% probability. Obviously there are other situations that could explain
it - speech impediment, being raised by other family, etc. I'm looking for
a likelihood so I know where to focus my research ...

2) What does this tell me about his parents? In other words, in what part
of the world do they not have a hard 'V' sound? Austria? Eastern Germany?

Steve Hayes...

I remember hearing someone from East Germany (the former DDR) speaking about
having a "wigil" (vigil).

Robert Stonehouse...

I remember a joint exercise with Hamburg office, when our
lead person was called Vic and the principal file was the
Vendor Master. These always came out in conversation as Wick
and the Wendor Master.

Alternatively, think of Sam Weller (Pickwick Papers) who
pronounced his name Veller. In the famous case of Bardell v.
Pickwick he was required to state and spell his name (since
the judge knew what confusion Cockney pronunciation could
cause) and his father shouted from the public gallery 'Put
it down a wee, My Lord, put it down a wee!' Of course, he
had it wrong - we have the author's word for that.

Kurt...

In the Scandinavian countries (at least Sweden) we doesn´t really
differ in the pronounciation between W or V.
Names that today normally is spelled with a "V" was before 1900
normally spelled with a "W".

Kurt F

Allen...

I knew one person of Czech descent, but at least third-generation
American, who had that same trait. We worked with a woman named LaVern,
who at one time was having trouble with her television set. One morning
he asked "LaWern, have you gotten your teewee fixed yet?"
Allen

Dick Stephens...

We had a neighbor who was of Czech heritage, and she spoke that way with the
first "V" sound of a word. She said "wegetables" and called one of her
neighbors "Wivian".

Dick Stephens