Grandad...

... I never knew him - he died before I was born.

Today, I got his army records which run to several pages. He suffered from trench foot in WW1, got into trouble for ignoring an order and an inappropriate reply to a commanding officer... oops!

He also got a medal for his service in France during the fighting.

Before he was called up he was a 'tinsmith' in Manchester, possibly working on the production of gas mantles before electric lighting became widespread.

His mother's surname changes so what happened to my Great-grandfather...?

Sorry, fascinating stuff!

UPDATE: Got 21 days free on www.ancestry.co.uk but probably will pay the £85 for the year because there's just so much info on there!!