William John Carr was a lighterman
I had never heard anything about my grandfather until I obtained my father's birth certificate (after my father died). All my mother had known was that he had died when my father was very young. My father was William George Carr born in 1917 in Lambeth. My grandfather William John Carr also lived in Lambeth, was married to someone else, and was a lighterman.
Through Docklands Family History site, I discovered that William John Carr was apprenticed in 1891 and completed his apprenticeship in 1898. I am now awaiting the details of his Apprenticeship Affidavit from the DFS. This will give me his date and place of birth and his parents names. Then I can search the census.
The occupation of lighterman seems to run in families, so hopefully I will be able to go back further.