Journeyman years

[AlfredJames]

Just came across this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journeyman_years

my great great grandfather, who was born in Germany and moved to England  during the second part of the 19th century, is listed as a journeyman on his wife's death certificate. Was it common for Germans to visit England as part of their 'journeyman years', and if so, why did they choose to visit England?

I assume journeyman should be seen in a German context here (journeyman years)? as he travelled to England to work as a journeyman and travelled back to Germany after having worked in England for a couple of years.

[Jebber]

Journeyman simply means one who has completed his apprenticeship, he is then free to work for anyone else, often employed by the day.


Jebber

[AlfredJames]

Thanks Jebber.

I was specifically referring to the tradition of the travelling journeyman, (link posted) which is still common in Germany. I believe that's was my great grandfather meant by journeyman and the reason his father eventually moved to Britain. It is also still common amongst culinary occupations such as pastry chefs who visit Switzerland or France to perfect their skills.

[davidft]

deleted - I may have misinterpreted the opening post

[Jebber]

I think I must have misread your post, I thought you were referring to an entry on on English death certificate, if that was the case my reply would be correct, that would be a British Registrars meaning of the word.   I cannot say about an entry on a German death certificate.

[AlfredJames]

Not many people are familiar with the term 'journeyman years', but supposedly this is one of the reasons immigrants ended up moving to other countries such as the UK and US, to perfect their skills and to gain work experience, as can be seen in the following article: http://www.struckmeyer-family.com/histories/gustav_zimmer.htm

I was wondering why so many bakers chose to travel to Britain? I'm assuming Britain was, and still is famous for its pastries and cakes?

-Alfred

[youngtug]

Three years and a day.

[Skoosh]

Lots of Germans worked in Britain pre the Great War.

Skoosh.

[AlfredJames]

In response to Jebbers previoust post: the concept of journeyman in Britain and Germany are in a way similar. a journeyman would have to gain experience and capital in order to become a master and set up his own bakery shop. He would have to work in different bakeries to gain experience to master his trade, the only difference being that during the Industrial Period the guild system had disappeared in Britain as well as the rules and regulations that went with it,  which required that individuals made a journeyman trip, among other things,  and delivered a final 'master piece' in order for them to be accepted as masters. Remnants of the guild system lasted well into 19th and early 20th century in Germany.