What did your grandparents do during the war (or great grandparents)

[listsandbudgets]

Was thinking about my grandparents last night and how they were involved in the wars. they all did very different things

My grandfather was an older father to my dad (IYSWIM) and fought in the trenches in World War one. He was exposed to mustard gas and left with life long breathing difficulties but was involved with Air Raid Precaution during the World War 2.

My father's mum was a nurse at one of the big military hospitals and also a volunteer for the WRVS.

Both of my mother's parents were farmers so were in reserved (and necessary) occupations. They had Italian and German prisoners of war working on the farm as well as the Land Girls and my Nana had to learn Italian and sometimes did translation for the military - not bad for a girl who left a very rural Irish school at the age of 12 and worked on teh land ever after

I don;t really know about DP's grandparents but I do know his great uncle was a code breaker at Betchley Park (DP would probably have ended up in the same place I think)

My grandad was in the army and fought at Anzio and Monte Casino. My other grandad was too young during the war but was involved in the 'clean up' of Germany after the war. I'm not sure what either of my grandmothers did, one had a baby mid way through and the other night have worked in a factory. DH found out today his grandad fought at Dunkirk.

my paternal grandfather was in WWI as a private in the cavalry firstly in Egypt then in what is now Israel and Jordan, he was one of nine brothers all fought and survived
my paternal grandmother worked partly as a nurse and partly in a munitions factory
my maternal grandfather was in El alamein in North Africa then Italy in WWII he was left with a lot of shrapnel in his legs but lived until 91 he was always grumpy I thought he may have had shell shock but his younger brother said he was actually worse before WWII, his younger brother was in home guard as age 16 but not involved though was in army after doing National service
my maternal grandmother was an anxillary in a convalsence home for injured soldiers and that is where she met my grandfather

my father was in a reserved occupation in Electronics he was stationed with MOD within UK ( once 18 part way through the war) he says very little as signed official secrets act, he carried on working for MOD after the war and later at a private engineering company supplying the MOD as an electrical engineer up until the Ark Royal was launched in 1981 he was in the Home guard/ air raid warden in the evenings his sisters and my mother were too young to be involved in WWII

Grandad was a Sgt Major Farrier in the Hussars in WW1.
My mother ( his daughter) was a WReN ship radio operator in Ceylon (as it was then)
Her younger brother was a RN Boy Signaller and went missing when his ship was sunk. He was found and had a special sibling posting to be near my mother.
Father was a Major in the East Africa Rifles
Mother and father met three times where they were both stationed. Their 4th meeting was their wedding.
Mother was sent home, pregnant in1944.
Father came home in 1946
They stayed happily married until her death, 61 years later.
Parents were born in 1920.

Paternal GF - soldier
Paternal GM - mother to four young children
Maternal GF- trawler fisherman (reserved occupation and dangerous due to German U boats)

FIL- farmer
MIL- land army

My grandfather was in the navy in the first world war. I had 4 great uncles killed in that war, some of them at the Somme.
My h's stepmother was in the land army and was an actual GI bride. She returned to the uk when her husband died. She had some tales to tell!
My mother was a child, my father was in RAF training (18) when the war finished in 45. He did his 2 years then went to uni.
My great aunt was a hospital matron in India, where she met and married her doctor husband. They returned to the uk in 1945 and settled down in Worcester Park, Surrey.

my paternal grandfather used to tell stories about eating his first real orange in Jaffa in Israel he said he never again tasted oranges like that in his entire life before oranges were a once or twice a year experience at Christmas and the Sunday School annual outing
as a boy from a poor mining family and going to a baptist Sunday school he was amazed to see places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem etc, the pyramids Cairo Alexandria in Egypt though there were some hard bits for him I think his experience was not too bad; I think for some that were not in the Somme etc the war was a huge adventure an opportunity of a lifetime, my grandfather never left the UK again in his life but he found his time actually seeing stuff in Israel made his Bible come alive and I think influenced him to become a lay preacher later. He died when I was 12 but he was an amazing kind and gentle man with a lot of wisdom, it is a bit weird looking back and thinking I used to talk to a Victorian

Gran, nurse
Grandpa, was in Burma
Grandma, munitions worker
Grandad, never spoke about the war.
Im also a care assistant, one of my ladies was an evacuee, 1 was a landgirl, one of my gents was in the raf the other landed on Sword beach on d day.

Mother was a child. Initially evacuated but was miserable and came home. At fourteen she was on Ramsgate beach when the little boats returned from Dunkirk.She handed out hot drinks, sandwiches and clothing.
Two uncles died. One was serving on HMS Arethusa when it sunk off Malta. The other was lost when HMS Prince of Wales was hit in the South China Sea.
Third uncle was a Police Officer and remained in London.
Grandmother maintained a smallholding, did sewing and laundry.
Grandfather was an undertaker so pretty busy.
My father isn’t from UK.

One DGF was a captain in the air force - a pilot. The other was a Lieutenant in the army, specifically reconnaissance, in Italy mainly.

On one side:
Gran was seconded from university to work at Bletchley park
Grandad: Was also at bletchley (where they met)- he was a chemist doing research/teaching at oxford before the war

Other side:
Gran was a child
Grandfather was in teens
G Gran was housewife
G Grandfather was in the police and continued that - he died when i was 8, only thing i remember was him tslking about enforcing the blackout

Only know about my DGD on my mum's side. He was a paratrooper and became a POW at the age of 18. He was taken prisoner in Africa and sent to a camp in the US, then a few years later he got transferred to the North of England. He was the only prisoner they had, for whatever reason, and he got dressed up in a British military uniform and taken out to the cinema. He's always been very fond of both the US and the UK. He used to call DH "the Tommy".
He returned to Germany after the war and worked as a locksmith in a mine, while also looking after a small farm.
My nan was born in 1934, so still quite little.

My mum was a nurse (kept on nights for months because the matrons room was over the baby nursery and " no one can comfort a baby like little nurse viques mum")

One aunt was a plane engineer. She was at the airport when Hess was flown to the UK, she said he had cold eyes like a fish.

Two more aunts were land girls. They used to have to go ratting, they had to cut the rats tails off to show how many they had caught.

In WW1 my granny worked in a munitions factory. Dangerous work, they worked with very unstable explosives, no metal allowed in the factory because of the danger of sparks setting off an explosion , which actually happened, luckily not when she was on shift.

So proud of the women in my family.

WW1: my grandmother worked in a munitions factory, whilst my grandfather went to Mesopotamia [now consisting of Iraq, part of Iran, part of Syria, part of Turkey] in the army. It was before they met.

WW2: my father apparently used to pick up aircraft which had crashed in the UK and transport them to depots so the metal could be used making more aircraft and weapons etc.

Dad's dad worked in a power station.
Mam's dad was in the paratroopers, he was a medic. He was at Arnhem, and spent several weeks under the floor of a Dutch farmhouse hiding from the Nazis.
Mam's mam worked in the munitions factory, she was an "Aycliffe Angel"
DH's dad was at Dunkirk, he was rescued by one of the little ships.

My nanna was a WRVS leader.

My grandad was blind in one eye so was an army cook at a training camp

My grandad tried to join the navy, but because he had such a bad stutter they told him by the time he shouted overboard the man would be dead 😂

My parents...my dad was in the Army and spent a lot of time in India., He helped to repatriate POWs from Japanese camps.

My mum was in the Land Army and after being invalided out worked in a munitions factory.

Both were very young and both were greatly changed by their experiences.

Mothers side

DGD was in the USAF but he never talked about what he did.

DGM worked in a factory

Dads side

They were in America working as a housekeeper (DGM) and driver (DGF). They moved there just before war was declared as DGM was German. She told people she was Austrian but when the writing was on the wall, they knew she would be found out and either interred somewhere or deported so they left.

Grandad was a PT instructor
My Nana worked on the buses and was learning to drive a bus, then the war ended

My step-great-grandfather was a Pole who came to UK after WWII after being released from gulags. I don't know anything else.

Maternal Grandad was in WW1.He was a second lieutenant at the start of the battle of the Somme,and pretty much everyone directly senior to him in his regiment ( now I type that it seems unlikely - company,maybe? ) was killed on the first day.Then he was in the Machine Gun Corps. In WW2 he was too old,he was a teacher and continued to teach. Mum said he never forgot or really got over the war,he was a kind loving father.He died when I was 4, so I never knew him.
Maternal grandmother was teacher and continued to teach.
Paternal grandad was in the Merchant Navy before WW2,he was a signals officer,and was ? seconded to the RN.Trained at Bletchley Park,and was sunk,missing presumed drowned on his way to N Africa.My Dad was 14 at the time.
Paternal grandmother was a Red Cross nurse in WW1,and continued to work in the family business in WW2.
DH's dad was an ARP warden - he was disabled due to polio.His Mum built planes.My parents were a bit younger and were still at school.Dad was evacuated from his school in East Anglia ( not safe...) to the Midlands ( still not safe ) .Mum was evacuated with Grandad's school from East London to West London....for a short time,only.
Our piano has chips out of it caused by flying glass from the blitz.

Fascinating to hear the stories. Strange that these will begin to be lost a time goes by.

MGF - in the army teaching others how to drive tanks. Stationed in north wales for the whole war as far as i know.

MGM - had my mum (b 1939) and elderly mother to care for so a SAHM. They had evacuees with them for parts of the war. My mum's stories of carrying gas masks to school and air raid shelters in the garden seem so hard to picture now.

PGF - reserved occupation (builder i think)
PGM - dad and uncles were small so again a SAHM

Sorry for your loss missyB1

My great grandad was a deserter, he took on someone else’s name from his regiment, came home and married my great grandma, he had a whole other family elsewhere that we never knew about.
When he lost 2 sons in ww2 he forbade my great grandmother to speak their names or cry for them.

My grandad on the other side lost his mum 2 years before the war started so his dad was home guard. He slept alone in the air raid shelter some nights at 6 years old and then spent 2 years in hospital with polio. When he came out, his father had remarried and his step mother was pure evil.

Both grandfathers were in the army in Ww1, n staffs regiment and other was a gunner in the royal artillery
Both survived and I have their medals

Both grandmothers were in service

In Ww11..my mum was only 11 and dad 13 when the war started and 17 and and 19 when it ended
Dad didn’t see active service as he worked on the railway ...a protected profession.
Mum worked in a solicitors office in the typing pool.