What did your grandparents do work wise?

[JaceLancs]

Inspired by a previous thread - if you know that is
GM 1 deputy head of my old high school
GF 1 civil servant (fairly high up)
GM 2 bar maid
GF 2 chauffeur

PGF - alcoholic & gambler, occasional labourer and caretaker
PGM - housewife (as they were called then)

MGF - coal miner
MGM - housewife

Cleaner
Security guard/dreyman

Barmaid
Miner

Maternal GPs - GM sahm, GF manager at Singer Sewing Machines
Paternal GPs - GM worked 3 jobs cleaning because GF was an alcoholic and couldn't hold down a job. He was a male nurse and extremely clever from what I've been told

Mother’s side: engineer and draughtswoman. They met working for Scammell during the war.

Father’s side: history prof and librarian.

Gf: runner in stock exchange ( I think that’s the name) became builder GM: farmer, cook then nurse

Maternal: GM sahm, believe my GF was dodgy by all accounts Del Boy but a compete arsehole

1 grandmother - seamstress until married. Grandfather worked as an electrician in a power station.

1 grandmother, worked in a music shop until married. Grandfather self-employed as piano tuner.

GF - born 1912, lost a leg in 1931 so didn't go to WWII. Worked as mechanic and drove tour buses in the Scottish Highlands until he was 70. Visited Northern England a couple of times but otherwise never left Scotland until he died in 2005.

GM - Born 1917. Staff Nurse who had to return to nursing after having her first baby as it was wartime. Worked nightshifts until she was 65. Died in 1996.

Mums side - DGF was a farrier, DGM was a seamstress

Dads side - DGF was a wheelwright (alcoholic) and DGM was a baker, she had her own patisserie in Budapest, met my GF, and gave up. Though her cakes were amazing when we went to visit. I’m sure that’s all we ate there.

My paternal Grandmother played the piano in the local picture house during the silent movie era. Then she just popped out 12 children over a 20 year period.

Paternal Grandfather, local colliery until he died from a heart attack aged 52, probably the shock of having 12 children.

Maternal Grandmother, in service looking after wealthy children then a sahm.

Maternal Grandfather, electricity board climbing telegraph poles.

All living grandparents retired by the time I came along.

Mum’s side: apple picker, then fighter pilot during the war, then came back to the UK and became a fireman, rising high through the ranks until he retired. One example of the very bright but very poor young men for whom the war actually widened horizons.

A secretary, then housewife, then a nurse’s help once her children had left home.

Dad’s side:

Sign-writer.

Typist, then housewife.

Both grandfathers were in the RAF, one grandmother was a ballerina until she married, I don’t know what my other did - not sure she ever worked tbh.

GF1: primary school teacher
GM1: homemaker (5 kids!)

GF2: sports journalist and other newspaper jobs
GM2: worked for a newspaper then became homemaker

No I’m not trying to spot anyone!
Just interested in social history - I also enjoy genealogy as a hobby and find it fascinating what my ancestors did - where they lived etc
I’m quite enjoying back in time for tea at the moment as it covers much more than eating habits

My ancestor was a murderer, his motive was money and poison was his weapon

Gf1 - Barclays Bank in Africa
Gm2 - teacher and then secretary in the House of Commons
Gf2 - ambassador
Gm2 - ambassador's wife!

GF1 - doctor of physics later uni lecturer
GM1- studied botany but war broke out so did clerical work for homeoffice.
GF2 - farmer
GM2 - nurse and drove ambulance in Swansea when it was bombed during the war.

Isn’t it lovely how explicable and transparent job descriptions were once upon a time?

JaceLancs I was fascinated to discover via Ancestry.com that many of my forebears were carpenters - the earliest one I found was born 250 years ago.

My grandad was a factory worker and my nan was a chiropodist receptionist
My grandpa was a pharmacist and I think my grandma was a sahm

@DeadGood Ha ha! I was thinking that. No 'digital client onboarding managers' on this thread .

Teacher
Electrical Engineer
Farmer

Sahm
Electronics manufacturing

I find it fascinating too, how self explanatory they were but still wide ranging. From death certs, I know one ancestor was a head groundsman and lived in the gatehouse of a lunatic asylum (that's exactly what it says).

Mother's side: Station master and engineer (she didn't work after she was married though)
Father's side: Miner and factory worker.

one GF was a tailor
One GM took in washing
One GF was a haberdasher (different country to other GF
One GM was a "lady of leisure " with 6 children.
Pre WWII.

Both grandparents on both sides were farmers. Ditto great grandparents and so on.