Lives of your great-grandfathers


Haha not on your own mate.
Just nice to know these people are remembered.
My Nana was 4'10"" tall, and about the same width.😅
If ever an angel was put on this earth, it was her. She gave the best cuddles to a little lad when his Mam or Dad had told him off.🙂
I have one B&W photo of her when she was 21. It is mounted, pride of place among the family photos.
So important we remember these people.
 
fathers side great grandad was a tin miner in cornwell died in 1938
mothers side didnt have a grandad as her dad was a bastard, his mother was a Native American Indian who came to England as part of buffalo bills wild west show, and got pregnant.
my grandads both died in the war, mams was a fisherman in Torquay whos boat was bombed in the little ships rescue from Dunkirk.
dads dad died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in jan 1943, and is buried in Yokohama war cemetery ( just south of Tokyo ) and i hope to visit his grave one day.
my parents moved from Torquay to Sunderland when my dad left the navy in 1957…
 
fathers side great grandad was a tin miner in cornwell died in 1938
mothers side didnt have a grandad as her dad was a bastard, his mother was a Native American Indian who came to England as part of buffalo bills wild west show, and got pregnant.
my grandads both died in the war, mams was a fisherman in Torquay whos boat was bombed in the little ships rescue from Dunkirk.
dads dad died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in jan 1943, and is buried in Yokohama war cemetery ( just south of Tokyo ) and i hope to visit his grave one day.
my parents moved from Torquay to Sunderland when my dad left the navy in 1957…
Wow.
Just nice to know these people are remembered.
My Nana was 4'10"" tall, and about the same width.😅
If ever an angel was put on this earth, it was her. She gave the best cuddles to a little lad when his Mam or Dad had told him off.🙂
I have one B&W photo of her when she was 21. It is mounted, pride of place among the family photos.
So important we remember these people.
Ah bless she sounds class what was the Sunday dinners like, I think everyone bases there Sunday dinners off there grandma's.
 
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GD/GM 1 - Ran a hotel just outside Scarborough, there’s photo album which my uncle has with makes of photos of them and their guests and them on the beach dating back to 1920ish.
GD/GM 2 - Ran two pubs in Scarborough, one being The Turk’s Head.

GD/GM 3 - GD3 was a conscientious objector in WW2 so got the role of driving a food truck to supply the soldiers. I never knew him but he apparently used to give food to the refugees on the side of the roads as he was passing by. Apparently, at one point the Yanks opened fire on a group of refugees, wiping them out…he was also at Dunkirk, where he bumped into his BiL. With the Germans closing in BiL’s first words were “when do you think we’ll get leave?”…
I knew my GM, lived until 2006. She was a cook and made some great food.
GD/GM 4 - don’t know anything about them really.

The most interesting one (to me anyway) is my great uncle, a footballer who was capped for England and played for Bristol City in their 1909 FA Cup final loss to Man UTD. I have some medals from these games which have been passed down to me. He also played for Doncaster I believe. Went to fight in WW1 and don’t think he came home.
 
Dad’s Dad’s Dad - Alfred: Born in Brancepeth in 1865. 1881 (aged 16) - Coal Miner, Esh Village. 1890 (aged 25) married Jane Wall. 1911 (aged 45) - coal miner, Esh Village. 1921 (aged 55) Death. Children: two girls, three boys.

Dad’s Mam’s Dad - George: Born in East Middleton in 1854. 1871 (aged 17 - coal miner, Crook. 1875 (aged 20) married Margaret Moses. 1881 (aged 27) - coal miner, Crook. 1883 (aged 29) death of wife. 1887 (aged 33) married Mary Ellen Buckler. 1901 (aged 47) coal miner, Lanchester. 1926 (aged 72) death (Lanchester). Three sons (first wife). Three sons and five daughters (second wife).

Mam’s Dad’s Dad - Thomas: Born in Low Fell in 1889. 1901 (aged 12) Wallsend. 1910 (aged 20) married Mary Ann Langlands in Thornley. 1914 (aged 24) Private, Yorkshire Regiment. 1952 (aged 62) Death (Thornley). One son, three daughters (second wife)

Mam’s Mam’s Dad - William Stephen: Born in Wingate in 1886. 1901 (aged 15) pit pony driver, Wingate. 1906 (aged 20) married Mary Alice Martin (Wheatley Hill). 1911 (aged 25) coal miner, Wheatley Hill. 1919 (aged 33) death of Mary Alice Martin. 1920 (aged 34) married Margaret Paramor (Wheatley Hill). 1935 (aged 49) death of Margaret Paramor (Wheatley Hill). 1939 (aged 53) married Mary Elizabeth Hutchinson (Wheatley Hill). 1970 (aged 84) death (Wheatley Hill). Three daughters (first wife).
 
Mine was fighting in the WW1 trenches on his 21st birthday.

He never ever spoke of any of it on his return to Newcastle.

He was later known as a great character. I loved his nickname for The Crow’s Nest pub in Newcastle (“The Shit and Twigs”)
 
Dad’s Dad’s Dad - Alfred: Born in Brancepeth in 1865. 1881 (aged 16) - Coal Miner, Esh Village. 1890 (aged 25) married Jane Wall. 1911 (aged 45) - coal miner, Esh Village. 1921 (aged 55) Death. Children: two girls, three boys.

Dad’s Mam’s Dad - George: Born in East Middleton in 1854. 1871 (aged 17 - coal miner, Crook. 1875 (aged 20) married Margaret Moses. 1881 (aged 27) - coal miner, Crook. 1883 (aged 29) death of wife. 1887 (aged 33) married Mary Ellen Buckler. 1901 (aged 47) coal miner, Lanchester. 1926 (aged 72) death (Lanchester). Three sons (first wife). Three sons and five daughters (second wife).

Mam’s Dad’s Dad - Thomas: Born in Low Fell in 1889. 1901 (aged 12) Wallsend. 1910 (aged 20) married Mary Ann Langlands in Thornley. 1914 (aged 24) Private, Yorkshire Regiment. 1952 (aged 62) Death (Thornley). One son, three daughters (second wife)

Mam’s Mam’s Dad - William Stephen: Born in Wingate in 1886. 1901 (aged 15) pit pony driver, Wingate. 1906 (aged 20) married Mary Alice Martin (Wheatley Hill). 1911 (aged 25) coal miner, Wheatley Hill. 1919 (aged 33) death of Mary Alice Martin. 1920 (aged 34) married Margaret Paramor (Wheatley Hill). 1935 (aged 49) death of Margaret Paramor (Wheatley Hill). 1939 (aged 53) married Mary Elizabeth Hutchinson (Wheatley Hill). 1970 (aged 84) death (Wheatley Hill). Three daughters (first wife).

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William Stephen: My Nanna never had a good word for her father, from what I understand he never let her attend school, from a very young age, she was forced to be a runner with repaired pit boots. He stopped her from being able to read and write and she never learnt to do this properly until a woman she was working with as cleaners at Durham Castle in her early 20s Helped her with basic reading and numbers.
 
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My gran has a picture of her dad in her house. My dad, his grandson, is the spit of him. I thought it was a picture of my dad at first. I don't know anything about him but he's in an army uniform in the picture.

My granda on that side never knew his dad and didn't get on with the fella his mam married. I don't know much about either story there.

Just a few weeks ago my nana was telling us about her dad. He'd joined the army and left his wife with seven kids. He never went back, instead he made himself a new life with a Spanish lass he'd met. One of my nana's sisters had kept in touch with him and went to visit some B&B he was running down south. He let her stay but made it pretty clear he didn't want to see her or any of his other kids again.

My mam's dad was one of 12 kids so his dad must have kept himself busy. I don't know a lot about him, but apparently he only had one lung and died after catching TB.

My grandparents were born in the late 30s and 40s, wouldn't be a stretch to say their parents were born this side of 1900.
 
All of them died at least 30 years before I was born. They were all born between 1865 and 1873.

Love using Ancestry. Don't know a lot about them apart from one who was a monumental mason who made a lot of the gravestones in the rural villages near here. Amazing to still see some of his work standing today.
 
As predicted a fascinating thread, tremendous stuff. One of my great regrets is I didn't get on record either of my Grans memories. Very tough times and contemporary insight is gold dust.
 
Last name would make me a Border Reiver back in the day so pleased to imagine cattle thieving flows in my veins. My great granda was a Wear River Pilot, which also fits my fantasy. Displaced Reivers supposedly gravitated south to work on or around the rivers, eventually respectable ones.
Some of them went to America and became Presidents, one even gravitated to the moon even though there's hardly any gravity there!
 
My Great Grandfather was the Landlord of The Braes pub in Consett. I think my Great-Great Grandfather was a Stonemason.

There are stories of the family on my paternal grandmother’s side being landowners from Blanchland.

My mother’s side of the family were Irish and of them, I know nowt. I only learnt last year that they originally came from Derry.

No idea of any of the involvement in War or anything. My maternal grandfather was a coalminer and my paternal grandfather was a steelworker - so I assume reserved occupations during WWII
 
My great-great aunty is still alive, she hasn’t been well for a few years though so not been able to see her since well before covid. She is my maternal great grandmas sister, so she will no doubt have a lot of stories to tell about that side of the family. Fortunately she still has all her marbles. I’d love my son to meet his great-great-great aunty. Her maiden name is Taylor, I’m not sure if she was born in Seaham or not but I know she spent her childhood and a lot of her adult life in Cleadon. She married my “uncle” George, who sadly had an accident down the pit in Seaham quite young and spent most his life in a wheel chair. They fostered many children over the years.
 
1 born in Bedlington 1875 coal miner
2 born Barnard Castle 1875 plate layer,
Both ended up in Spennymoor, which is where my mother’s parents met.
3 born in Ushaw Moor 1890 coal miner, one of 15 children
4 born in Brandon 1875 coal miner, lived till he was 80.
 
Only thing I know about mine was that he was a messenger in the First World War and was killed at Arras in France in 2015.

My great grandmother was pregnant when he left to go to war and she never saw him again. She named her son, my grandpa, Arras.

My mam and dad took him to Arras in the early 90s to find his dads grave. They went to the town hall for information about where he might be and when they learned his name and the reason behind it, they practically shoed my mam and dad out of the door and looked after my grandpa for the rest of the day.
Sad way to finally go out, but at least he had a good innings.
 
Did a family tree a few years ago, Patenal side emanated from Ireland to Scotland then Cumberland before Tyneside 1700s [G/Father worked shipbuiding/repair], Maternal side the same: Ireland, Scotland, Cumberland (Barrow/Whitehaven) and both died very young before his children ended up living next door to my Paternal Grandparents on Tyneside, where my parents met & married).

All great grand parents had died before I was born.

I have birth cert download copies with addresses for both sides and have visited various addreses that still exist where they lived
 
Dad's side ggd1 born southwick 1864 died 1900 of tb
Ggd2 born Crook 1870 died in Sunderland 1954
Mams side ggd1 born sunderland 1878 don't know when he died
Ggd2 born sunderland 1884 and died in 1968 can just remember him..
 
For anyone doing their family history, once you have a bit of information I'd recommend trying the British Newspaper Archive - best at the moment for pre WW2, but not exclusively - I've found myself in The Journal c1981. It's an option in Find My Past subscriptions too but worth checking to see if your local library service or archive has access. I have found a couple of reports of one great grandad, a letter to a paper by another and other references to family.
 

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