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Thursday, July 5, 2012

Grandparents. What's in a name?

While researching my Grandparents it's been interesting just to note what names they preferred to be called.


My Nanna and Granddad (May Wright and Ernest Hilton) were always called Nanna and Granddad and always in that order for some reason. Even now it just seems to roll off the tongue with a Nanna first, then a Granddad.

This is a photograph taken of them on their Wedding Day, April 22nd 1944.



Below is a photograph taken sometime in the 90's for their Ruby Wedding Anniversary. I remember when this was taken as I was there. I was due to sing a solo at the celebration and that week I had a five a side indoor football (soccer) tournament. While attempting to head the ball it hit me in the nose and scraped off my skin. So I had to sing with a nose that had half its skin gone.



While I never met my Grandparents on my Dad's side he always calls them Grampy and Grammie Davies. I'm probably butchering those spellings because I've never written them down before. Below is a picture of my Grandparents with two dogs, Tanya and Meghan. I'm still hunting around to see if any surviving relatives have a Wedding photograph of these two love birds. Or rather, my relatives are hunting around for me, while I do the pestering!



It made me think. I wonder if what we called them has something to do with a culture we have now forgotten? I'm sure if I do a little investigation I might identify a geographic or cultural region that resulted in these names. Dad's parents were Welsh, do any of the Welsh side of my family know if Welsh grandparents were always referred to in this way? It will be interesting to find out!

Grampy and Grammie I wish I could have met you! Nanna and Granddad, I always will miss you! To all of you, I am looking forward to the day when we will all meet again:)

If any family members are reading this and would like a copy of these photographs please let me know!

4 comments:

  1. Lovely photos! The photo of your grandparents' wedding picture is especially cool with him dressed in his uniform.

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    1. Jana, thanks for your comment:) Sorry it took me a while to get back to you but I'm new to blogspot and only just figured out how:) I really like the wedding picture as well. I'm hoping to find out more about his military life from my Uncle. One day I will get around to blog about it!

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  2. Mike, in my family I think the names are just decided to make it easier on the kids to know who is who. To my sister's kids, my Mom was "Nana" and their other grandmother was "Grandma". My Dad was "Grampy" since he was the only living grandfather. Now that my sister is a grandmother herself, the same names are used for her and my brother in law. Our own grandmothers were Nanny (my Mom's mom) and Grandma as well.

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  3. I guess we will never know where the differing names originated! Great Aunt Ruth told me her grandparents were always Granddad and Nanna so it blows the cultural theory right out the window :)

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