Did your grandparents ever mention unexpectedly famous people they had known?

[2catsandhappy]

As a young girl, whenever the WW2 came on tv, my late Nan would tell us that she knew Violette Szabo from when Violette was in London.
It meant nothing to me then, only in later years did the name mean anything.
No idea if Violette was a child or an adult. I presume adult as Nan was an adult in London. I have the vaguest idea they were sometime neighbours.
Anybody else had an unexpected name crop up in conversation with grandparents?

My parents knew Ted Heath and Jack Warner (Dixon of Dock Greene), who lived in the same area. (I know it’s not grandparents but I reckon that they were the same generation as most people's grandparents)

I can't resist this story from an old friend, who used to assist on a Scottish shoot, talking about one of the guns. “A nice quiet chap, a good shot. Said he was a musician… Eric something.”
It was Eric Clapton.

I think with the Official Secrets Act you cannot talk about it for life.

We only discovered a few weeks ago that late FIL took part in the D-Day landings, which was not what he told the family he was doing on that day at all.

No, neither my father or I had any idea that she had worked there! It wasn't until the relaxation of the Official Secrets Act, in the 80s, I think, that she told us and even then it was not something she talked much about. I think it was about the time that the book 'Station X' came out. I wish I had asked so many questions. It's nice to see her name on the BP Roll of Honour though!

Since it's now become a "my uncles cat was fed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu" kind of thread my pants contribution is my headmaster friend used to coordinate his school's annual float in the Pimlico festival & me and a friend would help look after the kids. A fellow helper, a rather nice but slightly nerdy young lad, was highly amused by me and my Gothic friend and our silly banter & whacky dress sense. Found out years later he was the young Jacob Rees Moggs who's mum or stepmum thought it was good for him to do good work within the community.

my uncles cat was fed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu
What's wrong with that

They married in secret. It all ended rather badly though 🤣🤷‍♀️. Forbidden fruit and rebellion springs to mind.

For some reason when I first read that, I visualised Des O’Conner!!

It’s been a long day!

I am absolutely loving it all.
Keep thinking, if Great Aunt Pearl once mentioned she saw Vivien Leigh or your Godfather Jack cranked the car of a somebody, I want to know all about it.
Any costume makers or tailors or shoe makers ever mention a famous client. Come and share here.

My mum and I once saw Sir Peter Ustinov on the London Underground.

<sounds of barrel-scraping, sorry>

Remembered my mum’s date, t’was Collin. Welland …. Not well known !

Interesting to see a mention of the Krays. My ex-boyfriend's parents grew up near the Krays in the East End of London and knew them well.

🤣 Aww kudos to Tibbles and Des! I actually saw Desmond Tutu on the Tube once in full magenta robes! He was smiling benevolently and looked like a nice chap. Nobody believed me, but it's true.

There is a picture of Desmond Tutu with all my old uni dept faculty (plus one classmate who was a megabrain and on the staff by then) long after I graduated.

It was a most bizarre sight, especially as he was standing next to a (totally lovely) guy who I knew was max 5 foot 7, who TOWERED over DT.

They all looked really happy, it was lovely to see and he indeed had a great smile.

My grandma used to be a dressmaker to high class escorts in London in the 1940s/50s. She mentioned seeing Max Wall (younger readers might wish to Google) in a waiting area and was terribly affronted because he called her ‘love’ and because of this - and not where he was when he said it - never had a good word to say about him

He was a class act. I think anyone's cat would have loved him.

I had an English teacher who had been taught by Tolkien. Not impressed as a 13 year old but I am now