Author Topic: Germans in London  (Read 1202 times)

Offline Siely

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Germans in London
« on: Tuesday 04 February 25 20:28 GMT (UK) »
I have found a number of German surnames in London from mid 19th century to 1920s/30s. I found it surprising but maybe due to Queen Victoria cultural influence ?

Online KGarrad

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 20:32 GMT (UK) »
Sugar bakers and confectioners.

https://sixinthecity.co.uk/news/2022/02/sugar-bakers-of-london/

Following the ascension to the throne of George I in 1714, German bankers, artists and merchants followed the king’s household to England, including German and Dutch sugar bakers who set up sugar houses in partnership with the English. The word ‘sugar baker’ is actually a direct translation of the German word ‘Zukerbäcker’ and many German migrants came to Britain to work, particularly from the area around Hamburg, as German sugar boilers were considered the best.

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans_in_the_United_Kingdom
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)

Offline alan o

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 21:18 GMT (UK) »
Pre war London was well known for its numbers of German waiters who came to the UK for work.

Online KGarrad

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #3 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 21:37 GMT (UK) »
Also check the Special Interest Groups Database in the RC Reference Library.
http://surname.rootschat.com/lexicon/dbsig/index.php?dbsig_num=2

Especially the German Pork Butchers ;)
Garrad (Suffolk, Essex, Somerset), Crocker (Somerset), Vanstone (Devon, Jersey), Sims (Wiltshire), Bridger (Kent)


Offline DianaCanada

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #4 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 21:43 GMT (UK) »
Pre war London was well known for its numbers of German waiters who came to the UK for work.
[/quote

I just found one who married a distant relative.

Online CaroleW

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #5 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 22:57 GMT (UK) »
The 1921 English census has 19,615 entries for people b Germany  but 99,353 in 1911 - pre WW1

Wales  384    1911 = 1568

Channel Islands - 63     1911 = 99

Isle of Man  - 36   1911 = 115


 
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Offline Jackiemh

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #6 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 23:06 GMT (UK) »
My gg grandfather was born in Germany and came over sometime in the early 1850's and settled in the Poplar/Whitechapel area of London. There seems to have been quite a number of Germans in that area - I know that a couple of them were involved in running pubs.
They anglicised their surname before WW1.
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Offline Rena

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #7 on: Tuesday 04 February 25 23:32 GMT (UK) »
Mainland Europe used to consist of small Princedoms, Duchies and Kingdoms.  One such kingdom was The Kingdom of Hanover which was gifted to a Scottish King when he arranged for his grand daughter Sophia  to marry a Germanic Prince.   There are many places in the UK with place names eminating from Hannover = such as Brunswick Square, the Hannover placename being Braunschweig  (Braunschweig or Brunswick is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker).    The army raised in The Kingdom of Hanover was known as the Hessian Army and I believe it was sometimes stationed in the south of England.  If the soldiers finished their army service in England, they often stayed in England.

Prussia and Austria tried to pursuade the Kingdom of Hanover to join them in a Germanic state, Hannover refused and was invaded by Prussia.  Apparently, the Prussian army was brutal  Many Hanovarians managed to secretly escape to other countries.
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Offline Siely

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Re: Germans in London
« Reply #8 on: Wednesday 05 February 25 07:22 GMT (UK) »
Alan O, KGarrad, DianaCanada, CaroleW, Jackiemh, Rena

Thank you very much indeed for your help. This subject has really surprised me , I came across it by accident, eg German sugar merchants buying very significant property.

I had no idea of German waiters , I always associated that with Italians.

Just shows the enormous challenge faced by the ordinary family history hobbyist (like me)