how many of us knew our great grandparents?

[Nimbostratus100]

following on from @waggytailswetnoses thread, which piqued my interest, but turned out to be sadly disappointing, here is the thread I was hoping for! Did you know your great grandparents? Or further back? WHat were they like?

My great grandmother was a shy, plump lady who loved animals and the only thing I ever saw make her angry was animal neglect or cruelty - she was so soft hearted. Amazing really, as a survivor of the Russian revolution and two world wars, she was as tough as old boots. She dies when I was about 15

My great grandad fought in both world wars, and was killed in a racist attack in London, aged 99, at a time when it wasnt murder if you were still technically breathing a week after the attack, (or maybe it was two weeks - cant remember what the law was then), but anyway, there were willing witnesses, but perpetrators were never found. He was an amazing man, spoke around 8 languages, worked until well into his 80s, excellent cook, too!

I knew two of my great-grandmothers (I was born in the early 1960s), but I have photos of a set of great -great-grandparents taken in the first decade of the twentieth century.

I met one of my great grandmothers once in her nursing home when I was tiny. I have only a very fleeting memory of it.

I knew my great grandmother on my dad's side. She died when I was 11. She was a nice, tall, thin woman who always gave us fivers when we went to visit her. She also had an aviary in her garden so we would go to look at the birds.

All the rest had sadly died before I was born.

My DD is 16 and she met 4 of her great grandparents (one died last year). She will remember 3 of them. My DS is 10 and he met 2 of them and will remember them both.

I didnt know any of my grandparents, let along greatgrand parents.

Your great grandparents sound amazing. So sorry he had such a dreadful end .

I met my great grandfather but he died when I was about 8.
My 4 children aged between 12 and 4 are lucky enough to have their paternal great grandmother and a full set of maternal great grandparents alive and still relatively young- they're in their 60s and 70s

No, but I did meet great aunts and uncles. I was very small and they were very old and my great aunt still wore her hair in plaits wound into a spiral and pinned to the sides of her head. They cooked over an open fire range and had a scullery.

My great-grandmother died when I was 8 in her late 90s. She was a tiny but formidable ginger Geordie.

My grandmother is still alive as is DH’s so DS has two great grandmothers alive. He’s 6 and they are both in their 90s.

That is so upsetting to read, your amazing great grandfather dying like that, I am so sorry.

As you know, I didn’t meet my great grandparents. Just an amazing GP 😆

However, I have an amazing elderly relative story.

in 1979, aged 1 I sat on my great, great aunt Selina’s knee. She told my dad that, aged one she also sat on her great, great ( maybe another great) uncle’s knee, who lost the other knee in the Battle of Waterloo. Turns out he was born in 1798 and they both lived to a great age (Selina to 102).

I knew four of them, and three great uncles too.

I very vaguely remember my great grandmother, who died when I was 5.

DD has a great grandmother, but she lives on another continent, doesn’t do any sort of tech and can’t speak English, so they’ll never have a relationship. That’s sad, but I don’t think we can fix it.

On my mum's side all my great-grandparents were murdered in the Holocaust. On my dad's side the generations are too stretched for ggps: ddad was nearly 40 when I was born, and I was 40 when my youngest was born.

But my dc1&2 met their great-grandfather (my mum's father) when they were little, and dc1 remembers him.

i met my great grandmother (actually step mom to my grandmother who's mom had died and father remarried) born in 1870. all in classic victorian black! i was maybe 3-4 years old.
she did not like children, did not like her own children and indeed has a very very dark history of parenting style...

I only knew one great grandmother. There's a four generation photograph taken at my christening in the mid-60s. She died when I was about three so I don't really remember her. My eldest son remembers her daughter, his great grandmother, quite well.

My Great Nan is 99 - 100 in May. She's a legend.

I knew one set of great grandparents well enough to remember them and attend their funerals (aged about 5, they died in quick succession.)

My kids have met 3 of their great grandparents. DH's side died a long time ago. My grandad died this week in his mid 80s. My maternal granny (83ish) is a wonderful, modern woman who we see weekly and holiday with too. They'll definitely remember her well and be devastated when she dies. She is fully tech literate, great with kids and we have WhatsApp video chats with her when we can't visit.

Two of my great grandparents are still alive and I'm in my 40's. My great great grandparents died when I was in my late teens and my great great great grandad lived until I was 11.

@WaggyTailsWetNoses that's an amazing story.

I knew 4 of my maternal grandparents who would have been born pre 1900. I should find out the dates really.

My children know two great grandparents. My son born in 2013 know his great grandfather born in 1929. If my son loves to be the same age )94) when he's 94 in 2109 he will be able to say be remembers someone born in 1929 which I think will feel as remote as the battle of Waterloo to us.

My maternal great grandmother died 18 months after I was born but I have no memory of her. Her husband had died in the first world war.

I met my paternal great grandfather when I was about 9. I think he must have been in his late 90s at the time and it was the only time I met him in my dad's home country. I remember him being a quite scary man who bellowed orders from his room.

I never met my maternal grandfather (died before I was born) or paternal grandmother either. She died when my dad was quite young.

thank you- they were! I anmed my daughter after my Great Grandmother, but my Great Grandfathers names didnt really travel to the 21 st century, sadly! (his name was Energy 😃) but he lives on in us in other ways

I know a woman in her mid 70s who is a great-great grandmother! I think that must be lovely to see so many generations of your family being born.

wow

I meet both my great grandparents on my mum's side of the family. I don't really remember my great grandad cause he passed away when I was around 3. I have 1 memory of him and that was him sitting at the table playing dominoes with other family members.
My great grandmother was loving and kind she passed away when I was 12 I used to spend weekends at her house when I was little.
I have a few great Aunt's and Uncles that are still alive today not got much to say about them cause I've not really had a relationship with them they have always distanced themselves from the family I know they are still alive because I speak to their children.