Genealogy has become 68% more popular over the past five years and new research reveals that the majority of us would most like to discover a naval war hero in our family history (29.8%) or an inventor (21%). 45% of young people turn to their grandparents to enquire about old family stories and 37% of under 35s treasure the funny, brave and exciting stories our grandfathers told us.

The research shows that people in their twenties and thirties revere and respect grandparents with 70% saying their grandfather was a hero. This compares to just over a half of those aged over 65. 27% regret not having a better relationship with their grandfather or not knowing more about his early life (64%) but 53% of us determined not to make the same mistake with our own grandchildren, pledging to see them as often as possible.

Whilst 20% of us were named after a grandparent, this is an increasing trend as more than half of us (56%) will consider naming our children after our grandparents, with almost a quarter (23%) of us feeling that this is an important way to keep family history alive.