What jobs did your Grandparents do?

[VioletBam]

And your Great Grandparents....AND what do you do? I'm just interested in the journeys...and I know this isn't really an AIBU but hey...there are more people here!

Here are mine....

Maternal Grandfather: Steelworker
Maternal Grandmother: Cleaner

Paternal Grandfather: Steelworker
Paternal Grandmother: Waitress

Great Maternal Grandfather: Boilermaker/Steelworker
Great Maternal Grandmother: Maid in a private house

Great Paternal Grandfather: Docker
Great Paternal Grandmother: Cleaner

Me: Actor and copywriter

I want to see other people's lists if possible...I find it fascinating that such a short time ago, some of my relatives couldn't write...a couple of those listed signed their marriage certificates with an X and beside that, the Registrar had written "Her mark".

It seems so strange...so few years have passed but so much social change has gone on. What will OUR great grandchildren see when they look at our records?

MGM - Mannequin
MGF - owned mines overseas

PGM - cotton mill worker
PGF - cotton mill woker

Yep my DDad is common as muck and my DM came from good stock.

Me - media

Maternal grandmother was in service and then later became an auxiliary nurse.
Maternal grandfather was a quarry worker
Great maternal grandad and grandmother were farmers

Paternal grandmother was a secretary
Paternal grandfather was a school janitor then a trade union official

I am an HR manager.

Maternal Grandfather: Managing Director of a steel company
Maternal Grandmother: Ballerina pre marriage, the SAHM

Paternal Grandfather: Hospital staff ( non medical)
Paternal Grandmother: Piano teacher

Mum: Reception teacher
Dad: Finance Director

Me: Charity fundraiser

PGgF Coal miner
PGgM dunno
PGM in service then housewife
PGF Ships cook in Merchant Navy
MGGF Channel pilot on the river usk
MGGm dont know
MG housewife for many years then dinner lady at local hospital
MGF haulage contractor
M housewife till i was 10 then a Nursing auxillary
D a secondary teacher
me a deputy Ht

Maternal grandfather: police officer
Maternal grandmother: housewife

Paternal Grandfather: office worker
Paternal grandmother: housewife

Father: Architect
Mother: Architect

Me: former lawyer, publishing

Maternal grandfather: teacher
Maternal grandmother: factory worker

Paternal Grandfather: bus driver
Paternal grandmother: civil servant

Father: Marketing director / CEO
Mother: Teacher

Me: scientific advisor

Maternal GM - Hairdresser then society lady (married well)
Maternal GF - Advertising/Music Promoter/Author
Maternal SGF - Owned a clothing manufacturing company

Paternal GM - No idea. Haven't seen her in 32 years
Paternal GF - See above

Just after end of WW 1 one of mother's aunts went into service at a big house in Leicestershire (now luxury apartments). She met an under gardener there.
His first job every morning was to go around all the rose beds picking up fallen petals and removing any imperfect rose heads before the lady of the house made her daily walk. This was because she never wanted to see an imperfect rose!
Part of me is always amazed at this, other part is horrified at the decadence.

The gardener caught scarlet fever and was sent home - presumably partly as there was no welfare state and Lord x would have had to stand medical costs as well as risk of little epidemic. Aunt discovered she was pregnant. Her family took her to his village and stayed until he agreed to marry her. She never returned to her home town.
Local lass not impressed as he's asked her to marry him
It is these stories I find so fascinating as they explain change.

In a similar vein to EastMids story my great great aunt was in service in a grand house in Cheshire. The (adult) son of the family in the house 'had a bit of a thing' for my g.g.aunt (we shall never know how consensual this was...) anyway, she fell pregnant. The man of the house bought my g.g.aunt's boyfriend out of the army so he could marry her and raise the child as his own. They went on to have another child biologically his this time.

Same g.g.aunt went on to drive a crane during WWII. She had quite a life!

Maternal grandfather, pre war merchant sailor, post war Customs officer.
Maternal grandmother, before marriage, cook in 'the big house.'

Paternal grandfather, pre war farm labourer, post war bricklayer.
Maternal grandmother, maid in a big house, knocked up by 'the young master,' sent away from Cornwall to North Wales and met and married my grandfather.

My DF was a BBC cameraman and lighting director.
My DM left school at 14 and was a maid, baker, nurse, live in nanny, dentist's receptionist before she married, then a housewife.

I was a quality engineer.

Hi folks, we're going to shimmy this over to History Club so that it doesn't get lost - it's such a fab thread.

Great thread.

Thinking about it, all my Great grand fathers and both Grandfathers worked in factories. Very Victorian way of life, living in terraces around the factory, working shifts, living very close to other family members.

My parents both rejected that way of life. Mum learned to type and became a secretary, Dad got an apprenticeship and became a mechanic. Both good options for working class kids in the 50's.

I was the first of our family to go to University, ended up working in HR.

Maternal grandfather: owned a knicker and stocking factory
Paternal grandfather : engineer at KP peanuts
Maternal great grandfather : owned shoe factory
Paternal great grandfather: watchmaker
Maternal great great grandfather: explorer
Aunt has done family tree on mother's side. Mainly ships captains or master tailors.
Women in family don't appear to have done much on either side.
Me - food scientist

Great thread!

Paternal grandfather: art collector and dealer
Paternal grandmother: lady of leisure / socialite

Maternal grandmother: maths guru / academic / teacher
Maternal grandfather: secondary school teacher

Funnily enough my father was very creative and artsy and my mother was very academic. Go figure!

Paternal gf: fire master died 98
Paternal gm: kilt maker died 103
Maternal gf: a manager if some sorts, died in his 50s
Maternal gm: didn't work died in her 50s
Work in healthcare

Maternal GM : worked in an insurance office...I think.
Maternal GF : worked as a driver, and then on the telephone exchange.

One GGM : ran a grocery shop in Glasgow. Previously worked selling lace in a Glasgow department store.
No idea about other Great grand parents.

Paternal GM worked as a cleaner in a hospital and a supermarket cashier.
Paternal GF worked as an electrician.

I'm a retail manager - always thought this was a random choice as my parents are university educated professional types!

Maternal great grandparents :.- solicitor and housewife on one side
"Dealt in cat gut" () & stamps (?) and housewife

other side

Paternal great grandparents:- soldier retired due to going blind (gassed), then unemployed and
prob whatever she could to bring up 11 kids on one side
Tobacconist and housewife other side

Maternal grandparents:- solicitor and housewife

Paternal grandparents :- compositor and messenger girl - running through London to deliver messages aged about 13, then became a salesperson in women's fashion in various big London stores.

Me:- me sahm and teacher of efl.

Maternal GF - furniture removal man/taxi driver/teaboy. Bit of a odd jobber.

Maternal GM - housewife, though too ill to work and died at 36.

Paternal GM - housewife, worked in a munitions factory during the war.

Paternal GF - worked on the docks.

Don't know about the Greats. They were all in the 19th Century, so lost in the mists of time.

Me: English teacher/Bookseller

Pat gf - soldier and farm labourer
pat gm - minded the children

mat gf - Dr
mat gm - hotelier

Pat great grandparents - farmers

Mat great grandfather - station master in Bundoran train station

My grandad was a fitter and turner
My grandma worked in a toffee factory

On this side my Ggc was the manager of Bury corporation tramways
My ggf was an electrician which was quite rare in the early 1910s
My gggf was a currier which means he worked in a leather tannery

My Dadcu was a fitter and turner
My Gran worked in a shoe shop
On this side my ggf played rugby for wales and worked in a steelworks
My other ggf was on the great western railway.

My gggm on my dads side was a "one eyed cook from Doncaster"

Gf 1 Stone mason GM 1 domestic maid

Gf 2 Docker Gm 2 Shopworker

My paternal GF was born in 1885 and was a fisherman
My paternal GM helped on her parents farm and had many children

My maternal GF was born in 1890 and was a tea buyer. He died young leaving 3 small children.
My GM rented out rooms and took in laundry.