Tell me one interesting fact about one of your grandparents

[listsandbudgets]

Because I'm bored and nosey.

My nan could speak Italian but only in the imperative because she and my grand dad had Italian prisoners of war on their farm during world war 2

My grandad was an Italian prisoner of war on a farm during WW2, he had lived in the uk since he was 6months old but as he had an Italian passport was rounded up and placed on a farm in wales....my grandmother his wife was British born and bread was allowed to stay at their home, but because she married an Italian she was not allowed “after curfew” and wasn’t allowed a radio during his internment.

My grandfather was born in a sugar factory. He was 52 when he married my nana who was 19.

He was also a committed communist who refused to own property so my nana got a job in a hospital laundry and bought her own house.

He died on Christmas Eve when I was 5.

My mum has just told me that her mum was a Norland Nanny before she settled down and got married! I didn't know that! Apparently she nannied for lots of very rich people in London.

Both my grandfathers were twins (B/B and B/G). I have twins and two of my cousins have had twins.

My nan and grandad had 7 children together before getting married. This was on the 1920s/30s. They sometimes pretended to be married and my nan used various surnames on her children's birth certificates, her own, my grandad's and the maiden name of my grandad's first wife.

My Nanna was a nurse. She worked in hospitals in London during the Blitz. The rarely talked about it, but once told me she remembered assisting during surgery where supplies were so low the surgeon had to use a fish slice as an instrument in a skin graft.

During this time, she signed up to a scheme where nurses were encouraged to write to a soldier fighting in Europe, to help keep 'our boys' spirits up. The soldier she wrote to was then stationed in India. They exchanged letters as he moved North, overland and mostly on foot, through the Middle East, into North Africa and finally cross the Med to Italy. He was somewhere near Rome when peace broke out and he got shipped back home. He was my Grandad, my Nanna met him more or less off the boat and they married shortly afterwards. Yes, my grandparents had a romance that sounds like a film plot

My Grandad was the youngest ever Captain of an oil tanker during WW2. He was in convoy and the tanker ahead and the tanker behind were both torpedoed.

My grandad spent over three years in Japanese POW camps, he worked to build the lift shaft in a mine and along with everyone else had his front teeth knocked out by the guards.

When my gran ('mom') was a baby in Ireland, her mother was walking her up a hill in a pram when she came across a Black and Tan. She had to surrender/put her hands in the air immediately and my gran went careering down the very steep hill and crashed at the bottom. She was unscathed!

My entire family were told by my grandma that she was born in Lockerbie and adopted at birth. However, doing the family tree we found out she was born in a workhouse about 5 miles from where we live (and have always lived) and her adopted mother who she called "auntie" was actually her biological mother.. can't work that out.

My grandad served in Burma. Apparently they were given the chance to buy gem stones very cheap, but were worried about getting stopped at customs on their way home through India. In the event they were just waved through!
He was asked to be a sniper but refused abd became a medical orderly.

My grandma worked for the GPO as a telephonist. Possibly helping to transmit messages from Bletchley Park.

My Great Grandad was shot in the face during the Somme. He was shipped back to Scotland where he fully recovered and was general manager of the British Linen Bank which later became Barclays.

My Grandpa, 6 weeks out of medical school was deployed on DDay where he treated men on Sword beach. The american doctors couldn't treat anyone until they got off the beach as they had refused to carry their own bags of supplies and got separated from their bag carriers. He was later posted to Japan shortly after Hiroshima and spent 2 years there.

My gran's oldest brother was illegitimate. Great gran was a maid and had a baby by the local lord's son. Then she met my great grandad, married and they went on to have four more children. Great grandad always treated my great uncle as his own, but it was an open secret who his real father was.

DGM made so much milk when she had DM that she donated it to a very poorly baby. She kept this "terrible secret" until a few years ago when she told me I could never tell DM. She thought that DM would blame her for "giving her food away". This was the early 50s.

DGF has never had children of his own (DM's DSF) and didn't realise that babies moved in the womb. I was the only baby her ever felt kick and he was my best friend until the day he died.

My grandpa was a Quaker & was put in prison due to conscientious objection during WW2. Prior to that, he had been set to go to medical school. After coming out of prison, it took him years, (and only after a dean of one of the London medical schools pledged support), to be able to train to be a Dr. On a low level, he then always continued to challenge successive governments over their foreign policy (judging by the number of letter replies from ministers on the subject!) Sadly he suffered a stroke when I was young and died when I was in my teens so I could never ask him first hand. Saying that, I’m not sure he would have wanted to talk much about his experiences though..

My grandad sailed a “small ship” to Dunkirk several times to rescue men off the beaches.

Love this thread ❤️
But sad that I'm the last generation to have had GPs from Victorian days or either World War.

My German paternal GF brought his wife and tiny sons to London in the 30s to get away from Hitler. They were interned during the war but he was put on a ship to Canada that got torpedoed (accidentally??) off Ireland. Most onboard were Italian Internees who died because their berths were on lower decks. GF survived and went to interment camp with GM. Their daughter was born in camp in June 1945 and they were all released a few months later

My dad remembered those internee days really fondly (little boy, beaches, fishing, etc), he met his best man there, and they knew Tiny Rowland (who was older, and already a bit of a gangster 😀)

My grandad was in the Polish Free Army during WW2. He was captured but somehow escaped to The UK where he met my Nan. They married. They weren’t entitled to ANY state help, healthcare, housing etc because he wasn’t a British National. They both had several
Jobs and made a lovely life. He only saw his Polish family once before his early death.

My gran (DM’s DM) was a very good cricketer.

My grandfather (DF’s DF) made me a little wooden dining chair when I was three, and I still have it, 50+ years later. It’s a beautiful thing.

My maternal grandparents sent my mother to live with family during WW2. It was a weird reverse evacuation because they lived in rural Surrey but sent my mum to family in the much bombed Liverpool docks.

My paternal grandmother killed herself probably due to PND but her husband was a doctor and to save the family from shame he got the death certificate to state death was due to cancer. He then sent my father to boarding school aged 5.

My paternal grandmother was a dog show judge, among other things.

My grandfather had a wooden leg. He died before I was born and I am still trying to find out how he lost the leg, but I assume it was in WWI. I know that he was gassed then, too.

My grandfather was born on a ship returning his parents to the UK.
His dad had travelled to Australia to find and marry his sweetheart, who had gone there with her parents.

In his spare time, my grandfather used to give recitals, playing an unusual instrument called a phonofiddle

My Grandmother was in the Women's auxiliary airforce
My Chinese Grandfather had a concubine