- 13 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01this is the rogues gallery these are the two last plays i did and henry the fifth was the first
00:09thing
00:10i did when i joined the royal shakespeare company oh here's an aristocrat that i played this is
00:16joss errol the earl of errol it's based on a true story his roles in white mischief and hit tv
00:23series
00:24the jewel in the crown made charles dance a household name in the 1980s today he's won
00:32worldwide fame playing the baddie tywin lannister in fantasy epic game of thrones
00:40throughout his stellar career charles has often been cast as an aristocrat i did a film gosford
00:47park gosford park this was the forerunner of downton abbey that was very much upstairs and
00:55downstairs and i can remember saying i should be downstairs not upstairs there's nothing aristocratic
01:03about me at all my mother she was a servant from the age of 13 she was an under house
01:11parlor maid
01:13you can't get any lower than that but she continued to work either as a waitress or
01:19a housekeeper for the landed gentry she didn't talk much about her family at all
01:28as far as my father's concerned i kind of know even less
01:35but my father died when i was four i don't have an image of him in my mind
01:42i believe he was an engineer it is the case that i just know very very little why i don't
01:51know
01:52i have two children who are mature
02:00i also have another little girl who's four and a half
02:06i wouldn't like my children to get to the age that i am now
02:13and know so little about where they come from as i do
02:20so
02:24and
02:31and
02:48These are the two photographs I have of my mother.
02:51One photograph of my mother, later in life, with my stepfather.
02:58And then I have this family photograph of her when she was a child.
03:03What her mother's name was, what my grandfather's name, I have no idea.
03:08Would be good to know.
03:13I'm going to go and talk to my brother Michael.
03:16Hopefully my mother told him a little more than she was able to tell me.
03:22Yo, brother. Hey! You all right? Okay. Good to see you.
03:26Let's go in here. Come in. All right.
03:34Do you remember my arrival? Because you were ten years old when I was born.
03:38I do remember your arrival, yeah.
03:40Because you, we shared a room.
03:43And I can remember when you squalling when you were an infant.
03:48And because nothing happened, I picked you up and went and stood outside her door
03:52to make sure that she could hear you.
03:56Charles and Michael grew up believing they shared the same father, Walter Dance.
04:01But later in life, their mother revealed they had different dads.
04:06Right.
04:07So did she ever tell you who your father was?
04:11I mean, did you find out?
04:12No, no, I didn't ever find out.
04:14And no, she didn't tell me.
04:16No, she was pretty good at keeping secrets.
04:18She was.
04:19I have a feeling that that particular secret, there was an aspect that was dreadful shame.
04:26Single mothers.
04:27It must have been a pretty hard life, actually, that the family that she came from,
04:33being a single mother, going into service, working all the time.
04:38But she didn't tell either of us very much, really.
04:42I mean, what was her father's Christian name?
04:45He was James Perks.
04:47He was James Perks.
04:48And what was her mother's name?
04:50She was, I think it might have been Marion, I can't remember, but she was Gold.
04:55I was led to believe that they came from the East End of London.
04:59That's my understanding, and I'm sorry, I can't be any more helpful than that, really.
05:06Right.
05:06There wasn't discussion between parents and children, not in our family.
05:11It was very much the maximum children were certainly seen and not heard, if possible, not even seen.
05:27I feel I know a little more.
05:30I know the name of my maternal grandfather and maternal grandmother.
05:36Armed with that, pretty minimal information.
05:40I'd like to go off and see if I can build on that.
05:45Charles has come to the Bishopsgate Institute in East London,
05:48where he's arranged to meet historian Fern Riddell.
05:53Fern, what have you got to tell me?
05:55I've got lots to tell you.
05:56Have you?
05:57Yes.
05:57Oh, good, right.
06:00I have found you the marriage certificate of your grandparents.
06:05OK.
06:05James George Perks marrying Elizabeth Gold, a timber sawyer, and my mother was a waitress.
06:14My grandmother's father, George Gold, profession insurance agent.
06:22It's a bit of a step up from the servant class, isn't it?
06:24Well, it means he's very trustworthy.
06:28He would have been someone who had an education.
06:30So this is a very respectable, probably upper working class, lower middle class family.
06:38Hmm.
06:39This is your great-grandfather George Gold's birth certificate.
06:43Can you read that?
06:45I have a transcript.
06:46Oh, good.
06:46The date of this is 1848, and George, how do you say that?
06:52Footfoy.
06:52Footfoy.
06:53It's a name I've not heard before.
06:55It's his mother's maiden name.
06:57Emma Booth, formerly Footfoy.
07:00His father's listed.
07:02His father was George Booth.
07:04Why didn't George take father's name, then, as opposed to George Footfoy Gold?
07:11That's a very interesting question.
07:14To try and figure this out, I went and looked at the censuses, and we've moved now into 1861,
07:21in the London borough of Hackney, where we have the family of the Gold's son, George Gold.
07:29Right.
07:29Your great-grandfather.
07:31His father's name, George Gold Sr.
07:34The head of the household, and here, Emma Gold, wife, but on the birth certificate,
07:43for little George Gold, we have the father's name as George Booth.
07:48Yes.
07:50So, has George decided to change his name to Booth, or is George Booth somebody else?
07:57I think what these documents show us is a love affair.
08:02Who is having the love affair, George or Emma?
08:04They both are.
08:06With each other.
08:12What do you mean, with each other?
08:15Well, I've uncovered that both George and Emma were married to other people.
08:21Oh, oh, I see.
08:23Oh, right.
08:24Okay.
08:25George Gold Sr. had a wife called Hannah, who's down in Wiltshire.
08:30They had a wife called Hannah, who was living in Wiltshire.
08:32Emma.
08:33Emma.
08:34Yes.
08:35Had a husband called Abraham Booth.
08:37Emma was married to Abraham Booth.
08:40Yes.
08:41Which solves the mystery of why we have Booth on your great-grandfather, George Footvoy Gold's,
08:49birth certificate.
08:51Because when your great-grandfather was born, Emma would have been known as Mrs. Booth.
08:56As Mrs. Booth.
08:57Oh, of course.
08:58And here on the birth certificate, she's combined her lover's name with her husband's name,
09:03George Gold, with Abraham Booth, to make George Booth.
09:08I see.
09:12George Gold and Emma Footvoy were both married to other people, but that didn't stop them
09:17having a relationship and a son.
09:19Charles' great-grandfather, George Gold Jr., born in 1848.
09:27So, George?
09:28George Gold Sr.
09:29And Emma had little George.
09:32Yep.
09:34After wedlock.
09:35And they don't just have George.
09:37I have a transcript for you again.
09:39Oh, thank you.
09:40We have George Gold.
09:42Right.
09:42Your great-grandfather.
09:43And then...
09:45Oh, a daughter.
09:46Anne Gold.
09:48I see.
09:49You were right.
09:51Two years later.
09:51Yep.
09:52And a year before that, Edward Gold.
09:56And then...
09:57Oh, come on.
09:57Are you telling me these?
09:58No, no, no, no, no.
10:00George, Emily, John, Alfred, Charles, bless him.
10:04Seven children.
10:05Yep.
10:06But they would have wanted to keep the reality of their world a secret.
10:10Right.
10:11And make sure that no one could ever trace or find out that they had both had affairs and
10:17were not legally married.
10:19Blimey.
10:20I see.
10:21It's truth.
10:24Well, it's all very furtive and very secretive, isn't it?
10:27I mean, how do you live with a secret like that?
10:29Now, it's Emma here.
10:33Her place of birth is Mariborne.
10:36Mm-hmm.
10:36Then she ends up in Hackney.
10:38Yep.
10:39Backward and downward step, I would have thought.
10:43This is quite a complicated life.
10:45I mean, this must have had quite an effect on Emma.
10:49Footfoy.
10:51Footfoy.
10:52I've never heard Footfoy before.
10:53What do you know about Footfoy?
10:55Is it a name you're familiar with?
10:56I know that the Footfoy family descendants have done a lot of research into their family
11:01history.
11:02Right.
11:02And there's an archive up in Lee Mills in Derbyshire.
11:07So they might be able to tell me more about Footfoy?
11:10I think so.
11:16I certainly want to find out about Emma Footfoy, this peculiar name that I'd never heard of before.
11:24And her family.
11:27Now, I do know that she hailed from Mariborne.
11:32But before that, who knows?
11:39Charles is on his way to visit an archive held at the John Smedley Mill in Derbyshire,
11:43which is set up by other descendants of the Footfoys.
11:51He's meeting archivist Jane Middleton-Smith, who's been looking into the Footfoy family tree.
11:58Jane?
11:58Hello, yes.
11:59Hello, I'm Charles Darnes.
12:00Nice to meet you.
12:01So, you're going to show me something exciting.
12:03I am.
12:05Wow.
12:05Look at all these Footfoys.
12:07Before we go on, where does the name come from?
12:10Well, from Belgium.
12:12Belgium.
12:12It's originally from Belgium.
12:14Do we know where, in particular?
12:16They came from Spa.
12:17Well, this is all extraordinary, because I thought we'd be heading further east,
12:21down into the east end of London.
12:22You see, and here we are in Belgium.
12:24So the Footfoy came over, as you can see.
12:26Came to England in 1791.
12:30Where, where on here is my great-great-grandmother, Emma?
12:35Here she is.
12:36Great-great-grandmother, Emma, along with her, one, two, three, four, five, six, three, nine,
12:42eleven siblings.
12:44Yes, she's part of a very large family.
12:46Brother George.
12:48I can't quite read that.
12:49What does that say?
12:50Deputy Minister of...
12:51Militia in Canada.
12:53Emma's brother, Frederick, had an emporium in Regent Street.
12:57Edward was a solicitor.
12:58The girls were all working as governesses or as teachers of music.
13:04They're a well-educated family.
13:06Quite an impressive bunch, really.
13:08What more can you tell about her?
13:09Well, I can tell you a little bit more about her parents.
13:12Charles-Francois and Sarah Cook, Emma's parents.
13:17He was an artist.
13:19What kind of artist was Charles-Francois?
13:22I mean, was he a fine artist, portrait painter, landscape painter?
13:26I don't know, so that would be something interesting to find out.
13:30Do we have any other information about Charles-Francois, artist?
13:34Well, I do, actually.
13:35You do?
13:35I've got something that I could show you.
13:37Yes.
13:37Ooh.
13:44This is your three-times great-grandfather.
13:48Is it?
13:49Charles-Francois.
13:50This is Charles-Francois' foot fork?
13:52Yes.
13:53Good Lord.
13:58I see absolutely no resemblance whatsoever.
14:04I've kind of cornered the market in playing rather austere, villainous characters.
14:08There's nothing villainous about him.
14:10He looks quite jovial and jolly.
14:12I think he looks a very kindly kind of person.
14:16Yes, I guess he does.
14:18Yes.
14:18Something else to show you.
14:23And this is your three-times great-grandmother, Sarah Cook.
14:34Well, there's more of a resemblance to me.
14:37Yes, there is.
14:40I think so.
14:41Oh, yeah.
14:42I mean, look, shadows under the eyes.
14:45Quite heavy-lidded.
14:47Long nose.
14:50Well, I think he did quite well for himself, really.
14:54So that's great-great-great-grandfather.
14:57And great-great-great-grandmother.
15:00Yes.
15:01Well, they're both pretty well turned out.
15:03They're comfortably off.
15:04They're people of consequence.
15:05Yes.
15:06Yes.
15:07That's amazing.
15:09It really is.
15:10It'd be intriguing if she was painted by him, wouldn't it?
15:15It should make that a self-portrait.
15:17It's...
15:18I'd love to know more.
15:20I really would.
15:21There is a work that's attributed to him at the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge.
15:26All right.
15:26Wonderful.
15:32I could see so many features in her face that reminded me of my face.
15:41In fact, she looked a bit like me in drag.
15:45And I could also see a resemblance to my mother, too.
15:52Something tells me that possibly these two paintings might have been painted by him.
16:00I mean, it's fascinating, because I'm now going in a completely different direction, geographically-wise, and also, dare I say,
16:10class-wise.
16:12I want to know about Charles Francois.
16:16I want to know how good an artist he was, how well-known he was.
16:22Charles is visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.
16:25Hello, Charles.
16:26I'm Sally Woodcock.
16:27Welcome to the Fitzwilliam Museum.
16:29Do you come in?
16:32He's arranged to see an original work by his three-times great-grandfather.
16:36What do you do here?
16:38So, Charles, this is the Fitzwilliam Museum's footboy.
16:42So, what do you think?
16:44Footboy?
16:46I don't know what to think.
16:49I shall peer more closely about it.
16:51Yes, absolutely.
16:52Three little Chinese people flying a kite.
16:55I would have said it was a design for a plate.
16:58It's possibly a woodcut.
17:00Intricate foliage, flowers, leaves, and so on, swirling around the outside.
17:06How do you know it's by Charles Francois footfoy?
17:09Well, fortunately, if you look at the back, it gives a very good indication.
17:16Oh, there it's a footfoy.
17:18I see.
17:20Footfoy.
17:2183 High Street, Marylebone.
17:23Well, we kind of know about the Marylebone connection from earlier documents that we've seen.
17:28So, what was he actually up to, Sally?
17:31I mean, you know, this is not a man who's being commissioned to paint portraits.
17:36This is something else.
17:37He was not a conventional painter, as far as we can tell.
17:40No.
17:41No.
17:41We have come across another reference to footboy, which I think you'll find interesting.
17:47This is the account book of Charles Robeson.
17:50He was an artist supplier to pretty much everyone from Queen Victoria, Royal Academy, to Charles
17:57Footfoy, because he actually was one of Robeson's customers.
18:01This is a page of his purchases.
18:05He has two gross, four dozen pencils, 18 duck sable brushes.
18:12Yeah.
18:13I mean, this is good stuff.
18:14And quite large quantities.
18:16I mean, you know, three gross brushes.
18:19That's 60.
18:20The day before, he's bought two gross and four dozen.
18:23So, getting on for a hundred brushes in two days, which is quite a lot.
18:27I mean, it's almost as if he's running a factory.
18:30Hmm.
18:31Yeah.
18:31I want a clearer picture of this man working.
18:35So, where can I go to get those answers, do you think?
18:38Who's going to tell me that?
18:39I think your next bet is a specialist, art his summer in this period, but particularly
18:46in this sort of world of decorative art.
18:49Okay.
18:50Well, isn't that amazing?
18:52I assumed, because he just described as an artist, that actually he might have painted
18:59those two paintings.
19:00I have a feeling not.
19:02No.
19:14To solve the mystery of what his three-times great-grandfather was up to, Charles has come
19:19to Claydon House in Buckinghamshire, where he's meeting art historian Alexandra Losk.
19:25Hello.
19:26Hello.
19:27Charles, I'm Alexandra.
19:29How do you do?
19:29How do you do?
19:30Let me show you Claydon House.
19:32Please.
19:33Oh, wow.
19:37What an extraordinary room.
19:39Oh, I say.
19:43I feel as if I've woken up in the middle of some extraordinary dream about, I don't know,
19:49China, by the look of it.
19:53This is one of the best examples of chinoiserie style in this country.
19:59Chinoiserie style.
20:00And it was effectively a vision of the East.
20:04Certainly is.
20:07Yes.
20:08But all, of course, made by Europeans who had probably never visited the Far East.
20:14Never been to China.
20:15Never been to China.
20:18Chinoiserie was an early form of interior decoration, inspired by British trade with Asia.
20:28Wallpapers, fabric, ornaments and furniture were all adorned in this exotic new style.
20:37This is a great example of copying something oriental.
20:42Here we have the European version of lacquering, which is often referred to as japanning.
20:47Japanning.
20:48Japanning.
20:48You see all these oriental motifs on here.
20:53And Charles food for you.
20:54Yes.
20:55He had a lot to do with this fashionable style.
20:57In fact, that was his stock and trade.
21:00Was it now?
21:01Really?
21:01I found quite a few materials that tell us what he did and how he was involved.
21:06Oh, excellent.
21:06So, would you like to see some of the materials we found?
21:09I mean, this has blown me away, this place.
21:13Should we sit down?
21:13Are we going to sit on here?
21:14I think we can sit on here, yes.
21:16Oh, okay.
21:19So, here's a copy of a paper from 1829.
21:24And here is Charles Footvoyer.
21:28Mr. Footvoyer begs leave to acquaint the nobility and gentry
21:31that he continues to give instruction in the art of painting
21:35in imitations of old India, Japan, marble, inlaid ebony and ivory.
21:41Specimens of the above arts may be seen at Mr. F's repository,
21:46number 83, High Street, Maribor,
21:49where every material requisite for drawing may be had.
21:54Ha, ha, ha!
21:55So, a good businessman and hugely skilled as well.
21:59He knows how to imitate oriental lacquer.
22:02But he was actually teaching people
22:04and he was providing all the materials.
22:07So, what kind of people were Charles' clientele?
22:09It was reasonably wealthy people.
22:12It was considered an accomplishment suitable for ladies, of course.
22:17I see.
22:18Japaning things.
22:19An alternative to needlepoint.
22:21Yes, absolutely.
22:23Charles Footvoyer's repository would have been quite similar.
22:25This is the kind of thing, too.
22:27This is the kind of thing he would have run.
22:29So, this little print that you saw in Cambridge,
22:32that is just a wonderful example
22:34of something that he would have sold in his shop
22:36and that ladies would have bought
22:39and transferred to maybe a little wooden box,
22:44varnished it,
22:45and then at the end,
22:46it would have looked like a piece of oriental lacquer work.
22:49I see.
22:49You can buy the box at his shop, too.
22:51And you can buy the box as well.
22:53How fantastic.
23:00Here I am in Leafy, Malibu.
23:03I know this neck of the woods quite well.
23:05No, it's not far from where I live in North London.
23:09And this is where Charles-Francois Footvoyer
23:13had his repository.
23:15God knows what's happening
23:16at number 83 Malibu High Street now,
23:18but hopefully we're going to find out.
23:25Oh, heavens above.
23:27This is 83.
23:39This picture that Alexandra gave me,
23:42it would have been very like this,
23:44especially the skylight up there.
23:47I can see racks and racks of kind of paintbrushes,
23:51inks, paints,
23:53materials for lacquer work,
23:55stuff like that.
23:57You can smell it, you know?
24:00All the materials needed
24:02for the Daughters of Gentlefolk
24:03to pursue their new hobby of oriental art.
24:07It's fascinating.
24:09It really is.
24:14I still don't know
24:16why the Footboys
24:19came from Belgium,
24:21this is town of Spa,
24:23to London.
24:26Charles knows that his three-times-great-grandfather
24:29left Spa with his parents
24:31and came to London in 1791
24:33to discover why
24:35he's meeting historian William O'Reilly.
24:39So, Spa was this pearl of Europe
24:41and tourists,
24:43particularly wealthy aristocrats and nobles,
24:46teamed into what was the prize
24:49Spa town and holiday destination
24:51for people at that time.
24:52Really?
24:52Gambling,
24:54dancing,
24:55listening to music,
24:56carousing.
24:57Sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah.
24:58Having a wonderful time.
25:00Good Lord.
25:01Spa was famous across Europe
25:03for the health-giving properties
25:05of its natural spring waters.
25:07All other spas
25:08are named after it.
25:10There were many artists
25:11and artisans in Spa
25:13attracted by the popularity
25:15of the town
25:15and the Footboys
25:16were one of these families.
25:18They were involved,
25:19as you know already,
25:20in Japaning.
25:21So, a particular form
25:24of elite upper class,
25:26if you like,
25:27souvenir making,
25:27which Spa became very famous for.
25:29So, they were already doing that.
25:31I mean,
25:32they were doing that
25:32back in Belgium as well
25:34before any of them
25:35ever came here.
25:36And very successfully.
25:37They had a thriving trade.
25:39Which sounds like
25:39a pretty lively place,
25:41kind of Vegas of Europe.
25:42Why did they leave?
25:43They had to, I'm afraid,
25:44for political reasons.
25:48The Footboys were caught up
25:50in a violent uprising
25:51in Belgium in 1789.
25:55It was part of the same
25:56revolutionary wave
25:57that would topple the monarchy
25:59in neighbouring France.
26:02With the aristocratic way of life
26:04on which they depended
26:05under threat,
26:06the Footboys family fled Belgium.
26:09They set up shop in London.
26:13So, when the Footboys came to London,
26:16which is a pretty big place,
26:18why did they come to Maribone,
26:20especially?
26:21Is there a particular reason?
26:23The well-heeled migrants
26:25from across Europe
26:25had begun to move
26:27to better areas in London,
26:29including here in Maribone.
26:30Your family, the Footboys,
26:32already a comfortable amount of money
26:34that allowed them to settle
26:35into the neighbourhood
26:36quite quickly.
26:37And, in fact,
26:38I found something
26:39in one newspaper
26:41from the very early 19th century
26:42that sets out
26:43some of that family history
26:44in a little more detail.
26:46Right.
26:46From the London Morning Post
26:48from June 1814,
26:50is a small ad placed
26:52by the widow
26:53of your fourth great-grandfather.
26:57Right.
26:58Matthew.
26:58Charles Francois' father.
26:59Exactly.
27:00Charles Francois' father,
27:01Matthew Footboy.
27:04A. Footboy,
27:05widow over the late
27:06Mr. Footboy Senior,
27:08imitator of Japan Chinese work
27:11and teacher to the royal family,
27:13excuse me,
27:15well, I knew they were teaching
27:16kind of daughters of gentlefolk,
27:18but the royal family,
27:20almost by royal appointment.
27:23They fled turbulent Belgium,
27:25but here they are
27:26in rather a smart part of London,
27:28running a very successful business
27:30and being patronised
27:32by the royal family.
27:33Not bad, is it, really?
27:35It's an incredible story
27:37of success.
27:39Wow.
27:46We've come a long, long way
27:48from where I thought
27:49we would be going
27:51to find out about my mother.
27:53We've been talking principally
27:55about Charles Francois,
27:56which is my three times
27:57great-grandfather,
27:59an enterprising,
28:01artistic, cultured man
28:03and his family
28:06miles away
28:07from the east end
28:08of London
28:09and the kind of world
28:10that I assumed
28:12my mother had come from,
28:14especially as, you know,
28:16my mother started life
28:17as a servant
28:17and spent her life
28:18mostly as a waitress
28:19or working as a housekeeper
28:21in smarter people's houses.
28:24I suspect she had
28:26absolutely no idea
28:27that her ancestors
28:29were living
28:29a totally different
28:31kind of life
28:33and it's all come
28:35as quite a surprise
28:36to me
28:36and a very pleasant surprise.
28:46Now I need to know
28:48about my father
28:49because I know, well,
28:51possibly even less
28:52about my father
28:53than I knew
28:53about my mother.
28:56Charles' father,
28:57Walter Dance,
28:58died in 1949.
29:02All I know
29:03about my dad
29:04was that
29:05he died when I was
29:07about three and a half to four.
29:08I mean, he didn't die
29:09of old age.
29:10I think he was
29:11in his 50s.
29:13My mother used
29:14to refer to him
29:15as W.D.
29:17He was a divorcee
29:19when she met him.
29:21That's all the information
29:22I have.
29:24I know absolutely nothing
29:26about his personality,
29:27what kind of man
29:28he was.
29:31This is the only photograph
29:32I have of my father.
29:35I'm on my way now
29:37to meet somebody
29:38who might be able
29:39to enlighten me
29:40as to what the uniform is,
29:43what regiment he was in,
29:45all of the things
29:46that I need to know
29:47to start piecing together
29:50this particular jigsaw puzzle.
29:54You must be Peter.
29:55Hello, Charles.
29:55Nice to meet you.
29:57Charles is meeting
29:57historian Peter Donaldson.
30:04This photograph
30:05is the only image
30:06I have of my father.
30:07It looks a little bit
30:08like a First World War uniform.
30:10Yeah, that's what I thought.
30:11But there are a couple
30:12of clues that tell us
30:13it's not from the First World War.
30:14OK.
30:15So there are no
30:16breast pockets
30:16on Walter's tunic here.
30:19By the First World War,
30:20soldiers had breast pockets
30:21to slip their paybook in.
30:23And also he's wearing
30:24a rather fancy belt
30:24with a brass buckle.
30:26Those have disappeared
30:27by the First World War.
30:28We could date this
30:30pretty precisely
30:31to 15 years or so
30:34before the First World War.
30:3515?
30:36Mm.
30:36Back to 1900.
30:38Blimey.
30:41Something immediately
30:42occurs to me.
30:44What's that?
30:46It might not be my father.
30:48Oh, gosh.
30:49Why do you think that?
30:51Well, because he died
30:54in 1949
31:00when my father was about 50.
31:04Let's say that's 1900.
31:06Yeah.
31:07He would have been a baby.
31:08This is not a baby.
31:11Well, we've got another document
31:13and that gives us
31:14a little bit more information
31:16about this man
31:17in the photograph.
31:18This is Walter Dancer's
31:20form he filled in
31:21when he enlisted
31:22in the army.
31:24This is this man?
31:25Yeah.
31:26Oh, thank God for that.
31:27I thought we were...
31:28Right, OK.
31:29Right.
31:30What's the date
31:30of this document?
31:3223rd of January, 1900.
31:35What is your age?
31:3725 years, 8 months.
31:38Oh, blimey.
31:39So in 1900...
31:42He was nearly 26.
31:43He was nearly 26, yes.
31:45So, he was born in 1874.
31:491874, exactly, yes.
31:52Wow.
31:53OK.
31:55Charles now knows that his dad
31:56was born 26 years earlier
31:59than he previously thought.
32:01He would have been 72
32:03when Charles was born.
32:06And if we go over the page,
32:07we can see a little bit more
32:08about Walter's service record.
32:11It was posted on the 30th of April, 1900.
32:14If we look on the first page again,
32:16he's signed up for either the duration
32:18of the war in South Africa.
32:19Yeah.
32:20Oh, I didn't know that.
32:21Right.
32:21War in South Africa.
32:22Yeah.
32:22This is his term.
32:23Oh, for a term of one year,
32:25unless the war in South Africa
32:27lasts longer.
32:28Mm.
32:28Is this the Boer War?
32:30The Boer War.
32:30That's right.
32:34Charles's father, Walter,
32:36enlisted to serve in the Boer War,
32:38which was fought in South Africa
32:40between the British and Dutch settlers,
32:42known as Boers.
32:45After the war broke out in 1899,
32:48heavy British losses
32:49led to an appeal for volunteers.
32:53Walter answered that call.
32:55His service record contains details
32:58about his family
32:59at the time he joined up.
33:01Name and address of next of kin.
33:03Oh, right.
33:04Name and address.
33:04Oh, wife.
33:05Louis Rowley Morris.
33:07Particulars as to children.
33:09Nora.
33:10Nora.
33:11So, Louis and Walter
33:13have a child, Nora.
33:15She was born on the 11th of December,
33:181898.
33:19Mm.
33:19So.
33:20I have a sister.
33:23Mm.
33:24I see.
33:26Right.
33:28Charles has discovered
33:30that his dad, Walter,
33:31had a wife, Louis,
33:32and daughter, Nora,
33:35Charles's half-sister,
33:36who was born nearly 50 years before him.
33:41Young daughter's born in 1898,
33:43and a year later,
33:45he signs up for active service
33:48in South Africa.
33:49Rather odd thing to do.
33:51It is.
33:51Don't you think?
33:51I mean, was there a great kind of
33:53recruiting drive at this point?
33:55There was a huge recruiting drive.
33:57So Walter would have gone forward
33:59to do his patriotic duty
34:01to serve his country
34:02in the moment of crisis,
34:04but for some men,
34:05it would have been a sense
34:06of adventure, excitement.
34:07I see.
34:08Actually, we do have
34:09some more information
34:10about Walter
34:11and his war record
34:13up at the Royal Fusilius,
34:15his museum,
34:16where his regiment was based,
34:18so we could go there
34:19and have a look at that,
34:20if you like.
34:20Excellent.
34:21I feel the hairs going up
34:22on the back of my neck.
34:23Wonderful.
34:27Walter Dance
34:28was in the Royal Fusilius.
34:30Charles is on his way
34:31to the Regimental Archives,
34:33held in the Tower of London.
34:37Charles, what we have here
34:38is the medal roll
34:39from the Royal Fusilius.
34:41So this is the battalion
34:42that your father was in.
34:44Right.
34:44And here are
34:46the names of those
34:48who were from
34:49your father's battalion
34:50who were awarded
34:51the South African Medal.
34:52Siebert Riley,
34:54Steyl Dabbs,
34:55in the North Carolina
34:56of Hedden Street.
34:598953,
35:00Sergeant Dance, W.
35:02And we have to go with
35:03the Royal of Honour,
35:04the actual medal
35:05that your father
35:06would have been awarded.
35:11Good Lord.
35:15So this is a campaign medal
35:17that all those
35:18who served in the war
35:19in South Africa
35:19in the Boer War
35:20would have received
35:21and then the clasps
35:23tell you the campaigns
35:24that they were engaged in.
35:27Transvaal,
35:27Orange Free State,
35:28Cape Colony.
35:34By the time
35:35Walter reached South Africa,
35:37the war had entered
35:38a brutal guerrilla phase.
35:40The Boers adopted
35:41hit-and-run tactics,
35:43launching surprise attacks
35:44on British bases
35:45and blowing up supply lines
35:47and communications.
35:50We know from
35:52the regimental diaries
35:54that Walter
35:55and the 2nd Battalion
35:56or the Royal Fusiliers
35:58spend a lot of their time
35:59hunting down
36:00Boer guerrillas.
36:01And that would involve them
36:02in day after day
36:04of arduous route marching.
36:06At night time,
36:08he'd be on camp duty,
36:09maybe picket duty out
36:111,000 metres beyond
36:12the camp perimeter
36:13in the dark,
36:15on high alert,
36:15waiting for a Boer ambush,
36:17possibly.
36:18So really physically
36:19and psychologically
36:20demanding work.
36:21Pretty tough.
36:22Pretty tough, absolutely.
36:23Very tough experience for him.
36:25And it would take
36:25a huge amount of endurance
36:26and courage.
36:29Oof.
36:32Well, I have to say
36:33this is quite moving,
36:34Peter.
36:34You know,
36:36because...
36:40Because I know
36:41so little,
36:41you see?
36:43So gradually,
36:44bit by bit,
36:47we're finding out
36:48about the life
36:48of a man
36:51who I just knew
36:52as named W.D.
36:53Hmm.
36:55And you've been able
36:56to tell me
36:56an enormous amount.
36:58And I think
36:58these artefacts
36:59do connect,
37:00don't they,
37:00to the person?
37:01Yeah, they do.
37:02Yeah.
37:05You're welcome.
37:07Hmm.
37:11It's rather extraordinary
37:13to know that
37:13here in my 70th year,
37:15I'm only finding out
37:17about all this now.
37:18There's something
37:19about this
37:24that, um...
37:28I do find quite moving.
37:33Charles' father
37:34returned from South Africa
37:36in 1901.
37:38Charles wants to know
37:39what happened next
37:40to Walter,
37:41his first wife Louis,
37:43and their daughter Nora.
37:46Well, after the revelations
37:48of yesterday,
37:49which left me
37:50reeling somewhat,
37:52I'm back in the
37:52relative peace
37:53and tranquility
37:54of my own home.
37:57And I thought
37:58I'd delve into
37:59the census records,
38:01which were...
38:01which I've published
38:03every ten years,
38:04I believe.
38:05So I think
38:05if I look in 1911,
38:07because Dad
38:08would be back
38:09from South Africa
38:10then,
38:12hopefully,
38:13this will give me
38:13a start.
38:15Anyway,
38:15much as I can find out
38:16off my own bat.
38:20Here we are.
38:21Walter Dance,
38:22head of family,
38:2337.
38:24Mm-hmm.
38:25Louis Dance,
38:26and she was 41,
38:28four years older
38:29than him.
38:31Mm.
38:32Total children
38:33born alive,
38:34two.
38:37Children still living,
38:38one.
38:40Children who have died,
38:43one.
38:44Well, I hope it wasn't
38:46Nora who died,
38:46no, no, no,
38:47Nora's 12 at the time
38:49and she was at school.
38:52Well, thankfully,
38:52Nora is still with us,
38:54Sister Nora.
38:55I wonder if there's
38:56anybody who can tell
38:57me a bit more
38:59about
39:02my other brother
39:03or sister.
39:07Hmm.
39:13I'd found out
39:14that
39:15I had not
39:17one but two
39:18other siblings,
39:21one of whom
39:22died.
39:24Charles wants to know
39:25more about his sibling
39:27who died.
39:28He's agreed to meet
39:29genealogist Judy Lester
39:30in Acton.
39:33I hope you're Judy,
39:34otherwise I'm approaching
39:35a total stranger
39:36in the street.
39:36Indeed,
39:37I am.
39:38Very pleased to meet you.
39:39And you.
39:39I searched for
39:40a birth registration
39:42for any other child
39:44of Walter and Louis
39:45and I did find
39:46that they'd had
39:47a daughter.
39:48Oh, another daughter.
39:50Then this document
39:50explains a little bit
39:51about her.
39:57Born on the 13th
39:58of May, 1903.
39:59Name, if anything,
40:01Mary Rowley.
40:02So,
40:04little Mary Rowley.
40:05I think probably
40:06Walter moved around
40:08a lot as work
40:09opportunities arose
40:10for him.
40:11Yeah.
40:11He was in a profession
40:12that was in great demand
40:14at that time.
40:15An electrical engineer.
40:16So, tell me,
40:17do you know what happened
40:18to Mary?
40:19I've got another document
40:20which will show you
40:21what happened to Mary.
40:23Death in the
40:24sub-district of Acton,
40:2716th of July, 1908,
40:30at 100 Goldsmith Avenue.
40:33Ooh!
40:33Mary Rowley Dance,
40:35Mary Rowley Dance,
40:36female,
40:37five years old.
40:41Fracture of the skull
40:45caused by being accidentally
40:49struck by a scaffold pole?
40:54Good God.
40:57So, what do you think
40:58happened?
40:59Well, Acton was an
41:01expanding suburb at this
41:02time.
41:03Yeah.
41:03There was a lot of
41:04building work going on
41:05and the houses in this
41:07street had been completed
41:08by about 1907.
41:11Yeah.
41:11But the surrounding
41:12streets would have been
41:13very much like a
41:14building site.
41:15Oh, my God.
41:18So, she might have been
41:19playing on the
41:20building site?
41:20Yes, especially as it
41:22was the summer holidays
41:24from school.
41:25Oh, yes, of course.
41:26She could have been out
41:26playing in the street.
41:29But we do know that
41:30she died in the family
41:32home.
41:33So, it's possible she
41:34was taken back to the
41:36house from wherever the
41:37accident happened.
41:40This is Goldsmith Avenue,
41:42isn't it?
41:42Yes, just up here,
41:43these houses.
41:45Number 100.
41:47Number 100.
41:54So, I'm trying to find
41:56number 100.
42:02Where are we now?
42:0384.
42:04OK.
42:05A few more to go.
42:10And 100.
42:22That she might have been
42:23playing on a building site.
42:27Little Mary comes back here.
42:32And this is where she died.
42:39It would be nice to know what
42:41she looked like.
42:43I have an image.
42:54Of a pretty little girl.
42:56Well, I have a very pretty
42:58little girl.
43:01I have a very pretty
43:02bigger girl.
43:06And thank God they're
43:07all right.
43:10Horrible.
43:12Absolutely horrible.
43:13Don't really want to think
43:15about it, but I am thinking
43:16about it.
43:19it is overwhelmingly sad.
43:25And I don't think as a parent
43:28one would ever get over
43:29something like that.
43:35I have a glass of pinot, and I'll
43:48be over there.
43:51Thanks.
43:52Charles wants to know what happened
43:54to his dad after Mary died.
43:57He's checking the electoral register.
44:00Walter Dance, the Brin, Keith Road,
44:03Hayes, Middlesex.
44:04So, they've moved now
44:06from Goldsmith Avenue
44:10to Keith Road, Middlesex.
44:13And they were there from 1912,
44:161913, 1914,
44:181922,
44:201923,
44:211924.
44:23My mother did tell me
44:24that Walter and his first wife
44:26were divorced.
44:28But in 1924,
44:29it was still living
44:30under the same roof.
44:32And it's still
44:34Louis Dance and Walter Dance,
44:35so I assume they were still married.
44:37But their names
44:38do not appear
44:39after 1924.
44:42It seems that
44:44they weren't around,
44:45not in London then.
45:01To discover why his dad
45:03disappeared from the records,
45:05Charles has enlisted
45:06the help of genealogist
45:08Laura Berry.
45:09Hello, Charles.
45:11Lovely to meet you.
45:11And you.
45:12Please.
45:16Since Walter dropped off
45:18the radar in 1924,
45:21I decided to have a look
45:22through newspapers
45:23and magazines.
45:24And I did actually find
45:26this entry
45:26in the Surveyor magazine
45:27from 1923.
45:29Appointments wanted.
45:31Engineer,
45:32electrical,
45:32mechanical,
45:33and constructional.
45:35Desirous of settling
45:36in South Africa.
45:38Yeah,
45:38because he'd been there
45:39for a while
45:40during the Boer War.
45:41So he's looking for a job
45:42in South Africa.
45:43Which was a brilliant lead
45:44because I then went
45:45to have a look
45:46at some passenger lists.
45:47And I found this ship
45:49and the date is
45:51just about a year
45:52after the advert
45:54was posted.
45:55The SS Baradine,
45:57names of passengers,
46:00dance,
46:01Walter,
46:02and
46:03Mrs.
46:05Louise Louie,
46:06dance.
46:07So,
46:08basically selling up
46:09in England
46:10and going to South Africa.
46:11Why did they decide
46:12to go out to South Africa?
46:14Well,
46:15Nora
46:16married a South African man.
46:18Really?
46:19Mm.
46:19Okay.
46:23Charles' sister,
46:24Nora,
46:24married Hugo,
46:25Hugo Brunt,
46:26in 1921.
46:28Walter and his first wife,
46:30Louie,
46:30moved to South Africa
46:32to be close to them
46:33three years later.
46:35So,
46:36I would love it
46:37if
46:38you could shed
46:40a little more light
46:41on
46:43Walter and Louie's life
46:44after
46:46boarding this vessel
46:48to South Africa.
46:49Well,
46:49having found
46:50the whole family
46:51going out
46:52to South Africa,
46:54I then did a trawl
46:55of the archives
46:57in South Africa
46:58and
46:59discovered
47:00that
47:00Nora
47:01died in
47:021993,
47:03unfortunately.
47:04Did she?
47:05Died in 1993?
47:08Blimey.
47:09She was born
47:10in 1898.
47:12That's a pretty good
47:13innings,
47:14isn't it,
47:14really?
47:14Yeah.
47:15The only thing
47:15that I found
47:16was a will
47:17for Nora
47:18dated from
47:201993.
47:21Right.
47:22She names
47:23her executor
47:24as Nonine Knox,
47:26who was
47:26her granddaughter,
47:28and that would
47:28be your
47:29great-niece.
47:30Nonine Knox,
47:31my great-niece.
47:32I have actually
47:33managed to find
47:34an address for Nonine,
47:35so that's where
47:36she's living in
47:36Pretoria.
47:37Oh,
47:38is she really?
47:39Nonine is living
47:40in Pretoria?
47:41Yeah.
47:42So,
47:42hopefully,
47:43I can find out
47:44a fair bit more.
47:51Didn't know anything
47:52about this whole
47:53other life
47:54in South Africa.
47:57Now,
47:58I have a great-niece
47:59in South Africa.
48:02Does Nonine,
48:04who I'm going
48:04to go and see,
48:06did she know
48:07of my relationship
48:08to Nora,
48:10her grandmother?
48:12Does she realise
48:13that?
48:15the fact that
48:16I am Nora's
48:17half-brother,
48:19we share this
48:20not-that-usual-named
48:22dance,
48:23why no attempt
48:24has been made
48:27to get in touch
48:28with me?
48:33Anyway,
48:34maybe I'll find out.
48:39Charles has travelled
48:40thousands of miles
48:41to meet his great-niece
48:43in South Africa.
48:44He's heading
48:45to Pretoria,
48:46where she lives.
48:52I hope Nonine
48:53is going to be able
48:54to tell me
48:55about her grandmother,
48:57my sister,
49:00and hopefully
49:01a little,
49:03if not a lot more,
49:04about my father.
49:25you must be Nonine.
49:28I'm pleased to meet you.
49:29I'm very pleased
49:30to meet you, too.
49:31Well,
49:32I've come a long way
49:33for this.
49:34Can we go somewhere
49:35and talk?
49:35Come, please.
49:38Charles doesn't know
49:39if Nonine realises
49:40that he is her great-uncle.
49:44We've been trying to put
49:45the story together.
49:46Right.
49:46I'm not quite sure
49:48where we fit in the story.
49:50I was led to believe
49:51you were a cousin.
49:52I'll tell you
49:53if you don't know.
49:55Look,
49:56other than the fact
49:57that I know
49:57that your surname
49:58is Dance,
49:58and my grandmother's
50:01maiden name was Dance.
50:03And my boys have
50:04watched all your movies.
50:05Really?
50:06Mm-hmm.
50:06Well,
50:06they have impeccable taste,
50:08that's all I can say.
50:09And your granny,
50:10that's my half-sister.
50:12Is that your half-sister?
50:13That's Nora.
50:14That's absolutely amazing.
50:16Yeah.
50:16Let's bring it in.
50:19Nonine has a chest
50:20of memorabilia
50:21passed down to her
50:22by Nora.
50:25That's Nora.
50:26I don't know her age
50:28at that photograph.
50:29Hello, Nora.
50:33Nora wrote
50:34her autobiography.
50:36What?
50:37Oh!
50:39Oh!
50:39Well done, Nora.
50:41OK.
50:42Glasses.
50:45Woof.
50:54OK.
51:00Nora Hugo Brunt,
51:02chapter one.
51:03In her autobiography,
51:05Nora writes about
51:06her and Charles' dad,
51:07who was one of five brothers.
51:11Father used to recount
51:13that when they arrived
51:14in Broadstairs,
51:15the word went round,
51:16look out,
51:16the dance boys have arrived.
51:18Ha!
51:19They were a gay young crowd,
51:20and in their youth
51:22had the good fortune
51:23of living in a townhouse
51:24in London
51:24and a country house
51:25in Broadstairs,
51:27Kent,
51:27where they spent
51:28most of
51:30the summer months.
51:33Oh, dear.
51:38I don't know why
51:39this is quite so overwhelming,
51:41but it is.
51:44Uh...
51:45My father had a great
51:46sense of humour.
51:47Oh, good for him.
51:49Much too much,
51:50sometimes,
51:51when in a mischievous mood,
51:53often amongst strangers,
51:54this caused me
51:55considerable embarrassment.
51:57Ha!
51:57Yeah, yeah,
51:58I think I do that
51:59to my children.
52:02He was a strong swimmer.
52:03I swim.
52:05Keen shot.
52:06Fisherman.
52:07Tennis and cricket player.
52:08And boxer.
52:10In fact,
52:11one could call him
52:11a pretty good all-rounder.
52:13Well, I'm, you know,
52:14I wasn't great
52:15academically at school,
52:16but I was quite sporty,
52:19did all these things.
52:20He was tall,
52:22about six feet in height,
52:23broad-shouldered,
52:24ruddy complexion
52:25that goes with red hair.
52:26His eyes were greenly blue,
52:27and he liked to refer
52:28to his nose
52:30as Roman.
52:32I'm tall,
52:32I'm broad-shouldered.
52:34I have a ruddy complexion,
52:35I used to have red hair.
52:37I've got a kind of Roman nose.
52:39He was a lovable
52:40and a generous man,
52:42and slow to anger.
52:44Yeah, it takes a lot
52:44to wind me up.
52:45I mean, really,
52:47for me to have a temper,
52:49somebody has to really
52:51put my nose out of joint
52:52seriously
52:53before I lose my temper.
52:55He had a weak streak,
52:56liked to be considered
52:57the ladies' man.
52:58Well, I think that's a quality,
53:00not a fault.
53:02I think I've inherited
53:04quite a lot of that, really.
53:07Charles wants to know
53:08about his dad's life
53:09in South Africa,
53:11and how he ended up
53:12returning to London
53:13and marrying his mum.
53:17Father became
53:18the electrical engineer
53:19for the little town
53:20of Heumannsdorp.
53:22That's right.
53:23They adored
53:24their grandchildren.
53:26Hmm.
53:27So that's why
53:28they came out
53:29to South Africa.
53:30But they came back.
53:32I wonder why.
53:35In 1936,
53:36I went through
53:38the agony
53:38of having to say goodbye
53:39to my beloved parents.
53:42father had had
53:43a serious illness
53:44necessitating
53:45an operation.
53:47I expect, too,
53:48he never really
53:49got it out of his system
53:50that he'd fought the Boers.
53:52There was only one thing
53:54to do,
53:54return to their homeland.
53:56My mother died
53:58very shortly
53:59after she returned.
54:01Pfft.
54:03That's quite something,
54:05isn't it?
54:05So,
54:06they didn't divorce.
54:08No.
54:10They went back
54:11to England together
54:12and unfortunately
54:13she died.
54:15Now,
54:15Walter
54:16married
54:17my mother
54:18really not long
54:20after
54:20Louis died.
54:23So,
54:24um,
54:25I wonder if
54:27Nora had a bit
54:28of a problem
54:29with that.
54:30Probably did.
54:31You know?
54:31The time lapse
54:32was too short.
54:34Well,
54:34it's kind of
54:35not surprising.
54:35But then that
54:36kind of explains
54:37why
54:38I don't know
54:39our relationship.
54:42No.
54:44No.
54:44Well,
54:45we're starting.
54:46Yeah.
54:46All right?
54:47This is day one.
54:48Day one.
54:48OK.
54:49Chapter one.
54:50Yeah.
54:50Nora also kept
54:52albums of photographs
54:53which include
54:54pictures of
54:55Charles' dad.
54:57Is this the old man?
54:58Yes,
54:59that's him.
55:00Wow.
55:031921.
55:04So,
55:04he was 47
55:05here.
55:07Do you see
55:07a resemblance?
55:08Yes,
55:09I do.
55:09Do you?
55:09Yes.
55:10OK.
55:12So,
55:12there he is.
55:14Pipe
55:15clamped
55:15firmly
55:16between his teeth.
55:17No,
55:17I've got one more.
55:18Have you?
55:19OK.
55:20I've got it.
55:21It's hidden
55:22in the back
55:22of the book here.
55:23Oh.
55:27Very dapper indeed.
55:28Very dapper.
55:29I don't know
55:30what the occasion was.
55:31He's got a bit
55:32of a twinkle
55:32in his eye,
55:33hasn't he?
55:34Naughty twinkle.
55:35Oh,
55:35well.
55:36You say you only
55:37have one photograph
55:37of him?
55:38Yes.
55:40Yeah.
55:42And it's,
55:43um...
55:43There you go.
55:44Oh,
55:45my God.
55:47Thank you very much,
55:48Diane.
55:49I think that's
55:50very special.
55:51It is.
55:53It is indeed.
55:55This is great.
55:59You're welcome.
56:02Charles,
56:02would you like
56:03to meet
56:03the rest
56:04of my family?
56:05Come on in.
56:07Hello,
56:07how do you do?
56:08What's your name?
56:09Fraser.
56:10Hi.
56:11Nice to meet you.
56:11I'm Ramsey.
56:12Hi, Ramsey.
56:13I'm Dan.
56:14I'm Dan.
56:15I'm your great,
56:16great uncle,
56:17OK?
56:17Take it or leave it.
56:19I think I'll take it,
56:21eh?
56:21Good.
56:21Excellent.
56:25There was more
56:26than an element
56:27of surprise,
56:28of course,
56:28to find out
56:29that I had
56:29a whole other family.
56:31Nanine,
56:32who I've met,
56:33and Nanine's family.
56:34So,
56:35I have a great niece
56:37and I have
56:37great,
56:37great nephews.
56:39I've made contact
56:41with them now.
56:41A whole other world.
56:44Wonderful.
56:45Yeah.
56:45The understanding
56:47that I now have
56:48of my father
56:49and his life
56:50in some peculiar
56:52way
56:55has given me
56:56more of an understanding
56:57about me.
56:59What I feel
57:01about Walter
57:03to dance,
57:03my dad
57:04is quite proud.
57:06Dare I say,
57:07quite good-looking man.
57:10He was well turned out.
57:11He was upright.
57:12He swam.
57:13He played tennis.
57:14He fished.
57:15I kind of do
57:16all those things.
57:17So,
57:17that's come down to me.
57:19It's a very revealing
57:22process.
57:24Overall,
57:25I think I'm pretty
57:25proud of him,
57:26actually.
57:29I wish I'd
57:30known him.
57:31for a while.
57:58I wish I'd