What do you know about your Granddad.

[hughnique]

When this internet first reared it's head there were promises of being able to look through all sorts of records, even the search for free access starts of free then they want to bang you for god knows how much to have a look and possibly you still draw a blank. It is a fascinating subject and interesting to know what your ancestors got up to in life. I sometimes catch a bit of that Heir Hunters, thought it was a German program, Must cost them a fortune being able to access all those records, and you never find out what they charge for their services, always seems a bit vague to me how they sign up these people.

[Blaze]

@hughnique The Mormon records have always been free :
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/United_Kingdom
Other sites like Ancestry, Find My Past etc have to be paid for.
I don't know how much the GRO charge for BMD certificates today, the last time I used them it was £10 though for most of my past research it was cheaper than that. It's certainly worthwhile sending off for the odd certificate if you get to a brick wall in your researches.
If you know your grandparents' names, a marriage certificate would tell you who their fathers were. You can also find this out from one of the genealogy sites : a subscription may seem expensive, but it could save you the expense of GRO certificates.

[hughnique]

I've tried that Mormon one before, I don't seem to be able to get anything other than OOPS, put my name, fathers name grandfathers name all OOPS

[Blaze]

I've tried that Mormon one before, I don't seem to be able to get anything other than OOPS, put my name, fathers name grandfathers name all OOPS

Those names are possibly too recent, you may have to go back further before finding them on that site. That's the advantage of sites like Ancestry : you can find current info as well as past.

[Sparkle]

@Blaze Blaze please don't take offence but I just wanted to add to your reply above that you can look at other people's trees on Ancestry and email them via the site any questions you may have. I have done that and been sent back some lovely photos and information that I was on the right track but as you say getting birth & marriage certs - I paid £11 each last year for a couple.

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

Also check out Parish Clerks - (for anyone wanting info in this area Henry Mantell, Downe and Farnborough Online Parish Clerk) he emailed me a mass of information.

[Blaze]

@Sparkle Yes, other people's family trees can be very useful, particularly if they've got the info from certificates !!

[basquesteve]

@basquesteve Not my grandfather, but my great-great grandfather .... a foot soldier from Selkirk who travelled with his regiment to Canada, the West Indies and fought in the Peninsular wars. I remember thinking of him when watching the Sharpe series ....
[/quoteI I am very interested in the Napoleonic period near by are many battle sites I am sure both armies past by my garden for the battle of Orthez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Orthez

[Grangela]

Sadly, I didn’t know my paternal grandfather, who died in a motorbike crash when I was only three. He and my grandma were Lithuanian immigrants. It’s very difficult to find out much about them. He was a master tailor.
My maternal grandfather was a master carpenter and cabinet maker. I spent many a happy hour under his bench ‘making’ things from wood shavings and sawdust. He used to take me to auction rooms in Eastbourne; they had their own odour of old wood and elbow grease. One of his skills was repairing antique furniture. He was a quiet man and I loved him.