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00:04I was born in Reading in a little maternity hospital and as the story goes my mum was
00:11cooking Sunday lunch, felt a little twinge, walked round the corner, had me and went home in time to
00:20serve crumble with baby Kate in her arms which really sums up my mum. She was a brilliant
00:24multitasker and an amazing cook and just could do it all. Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet was
00:32born in 1975, the second of four children. My parents never had any money and it was always
00:40a real struggle but we were very very happy. I think I'm about nine here and this photograph
00:48is taken in a van and I remember this distinctly because my dad who was an actor he always had
00:54to
00:54get whatever odd job he could and he got a job for the National Trust and he only took the
01:00job
01:00because one of the things that came with it was a 16-seater bus and he thought oh brilliant because
01:07we didn't have a car and this was a way of basically transporting his large family for free.
01:17On my dad's side all I really ever knew was there's some other pubs lots of pubs lots of booze
01:27clearly
01:28lots of actors but much more than that I don't really know. This photograph here again it's a
01:33family photo my mum absolutely loved children and so that sense of family has carried on in all of us.
01:40My mum Sally died nearly two years ago she had ovarian cancer and oh god it's only because it's
01:48coming up to two years. She was an amazing lady she should still be alive she was she was here
01:55now
01:55she would say come on shoulders back sit up straight don't swear yeah we all miss her terribly terribly
02:03she was very much the center of the family. My mum didn't talk about her family history very much
02:09actually I do remember when we were younger there was some rumor about some Scandinavian thing and
02:16people would say when we were younger god you look like a group of Scandinavian people we do look
02:23Scandinavian god that'd be good. It's something that I've always wanted to know I mean I think everyone
02:31does but I think particularly since my mum died I just would love to know more about where I come
02:36from on both sides
03:15my uncle Mark has given me a letter to get me started my uncle Mark is my mum's youngest brother
03:23okay let's see what Mark has given me dear Kate I've enclosed a picture of my parents Archibald Bridges
03:37and Linda Plum so that's Linda Plum that's my that's my grandmother right there that's Archibald
03:44God she looks like my mum wow cool dress the other photo is of all of us kids your mum
03:50is on the right
03:51I'm sitting on my mum Linda's lap so this is my grandmother here and that's my mum Sally
03:59Linda Plum may sound about as English as it's possible to be but that may not be the case
04:05while I never met mum's parents they died before I was born I did once meet her great aunt Lily
04:12I've never heard of Lily Lily came to the house when I was little and I vividly remember her standing
04:17by the living room window she seemed very well to do I know she'd come down from London to visit
04:24but what I remember most was that I was told she was Swedish I knew it so she stuck in
04:32my mind
04:33I do wonder where Lily and her family originally came from
04:37oh my god
04:42certified copy of an entry of death okay 29th of July 1964 Lily otherwise Lillian
04:52Helcrest female 84 years old widow myocardial fibrosis something I can't read all that
05:03causing the body to be buried Swedish church Harcourt Street W1 so Lillian Helcrest is buried in this
05:15Swedish church in London I've not heard of this woman at all
05:28I'm feeling very excited this morning here I am at the Swedish church which actually funnily enough I've walked past
05:34several times in my life
05:35never had any significance to me whatsoever but now it does I'm going in
05:42the Swedish church in Marylebone was built in 1911 to provide a place of worship for London's Swedish community
05:53Kate's here to meet historian Dr. Anne Kirshen
05:57I've been given a lead which is I was given the death certificate of my great great great aunt Lily
06:04and apparently she's buried in the Swedish church let me stop you there because sitting in this church
06:10it's obvious you couldn't have been buried here in the middle of Marlebone no um she was buried at
06:17Brookwood Cemetery which is near Woking and there was Swedish ground okay so people obviously of Swedish origin would be
06:26buried there
06:27so Lillian's date of death 29th of July 64 at the age of 84
06:32while I was checking the records at Brookwood I came across another relative
06:37right
06:40and that was the grave of Alfred Lidman who was in fact your great great grandfather
06:49Alfred Lidman so let me hang on let me piece this together so they were brother and sister
06:55yeah wow and I've got something here this is what's called an attestation
07:02it's a church record that priests kept about members of their congregation now that's the translation
07:12Taylor Taylor Alfred Johansson Lidman
07:18born 1857 April 21st in the Encelof Parish Halland he was wed in the English church
07:27May 1884 has three children right okay so that's basically telling you that he'd moved from the place of
07:37Holland Holland in southern Sweden to London my goodness me he was a hundred percent Swedish this is just brilliant
07:47and we know from that that he was a tailor that was his craft
07:53how fabulous I really admire that courage to go and seek your life
08:05Kate's two times great-grandfather Alfred Lidman married in London in 1884. London was then the largest city in the
08:14world
08:16its wealth buoyed by trade from Queen Victoria's vast empire
08:21at the time there were over 50 000 tailors working in the capital many of them immigrants like Alfred
08:31now we know from the 1891 census where Alfred was living in London in London yes what's the red and
08:40the
08:40yellow and what are these bits on this map there was a social scientist called Charles Booth both created
08:46this map to show wealth and poverty by color red was middle class and pink was doing very well
08:54Alfred was living just along here in great Paltney street he was working in the west end and he was
09:03probably making bespoke garments for Savile Row so he was a Savile Row tailor yep and what I've got here
09:10exemplifies the kind of garments that Alfred would have been making up is this wonderful
09:16image of a Bond Street bow gosh how decadent
09:23but your great great grandfather had a proper job had a proper job well more than a proper job
09:31Alfred Lidman was successful he was he made the journey and I wonder what brought him to England
09:44I like this man I like this man a lot I would love to take this family line further back
09:51where do the Lidmans come from what made him leave maybe because he had to I'm quite impatient come on
09:58let's go let's go now let's go
10:11Kate has traveled to Holland in southern Sweden the region which her great great grandfather Alfred came
10:18from I have been to Sweden before only once when I was about six years old and it was nothing
10:25to do
10:25with family my parents have some friends who live here and I think I remember swimming in this lake and
10:30taking my feet off and swimming there you go I think I learned to swim in Sweden not funny just
10:36remembered that
10:42Kate's visiting a country estate in Sperlingsholm she's here to meet genealogist Ted Roswell
10:55I'm Ted hi I'm Kate nice to meet you nice to welcome this wonderful place thank you so much what
11:03do you think
11:04it's an incredible large house it's a it's a palace actually a small palace a small palace built in 1820
11:15by a very well-to-do uh count Henning Wrangel I have here a document it's a birth record from
11:231826
11:25and the item I want you to focus on is this one right here can you see what his name
11:31is
11:32Johan Christian yes and he was born at Sperlingsholm Sperlingsholm and that's right where we are now
11:40he was born here on this estate here and of course you can probably not read the Swedish text
11:45funnily enough no I can't but I have a translation for you here okay Johan Christian
11:52son of stable groom at Sperlingsholm Anders Johnson and his wife Anna Christina Eric's daughter
12:02so who is this Johan Christian do you think I've got a feeling because Alfred my great great
12:08grandfather Alfred Johansson uh Lidman because of the Johansson is this man his father that is his
12:16father okay so this is my great great great grandfather yes and he he he was born here because
12:25his father worked here and of course Johan Christian was known as Anderson because of our name system
12:33where you took your father's first name and added son or daughter to it yeah so if you had lived
12:40here
12:40back then what would your name have been Kate Rogers daughter yeah correct Kate Rogers daughter
12:47right sounds quite right
12:54Kate has discovered that her three times great-grandfather Johan Anderson was born on the
13:00Sperlingsholm estate in 1826. Johan was one of five children born to stable groom Anders Johnson
13:10and his wife Anna Erichsdottir
13:17Ted is taking Kate to Sperling's home stables
13:23the stable block where Anders worked was replaced in the late 1800s
13:29but the new stables were built on a similar scale to the original
13:36Angela Gabriel
13:36hey hey so here are your trusty horses
13:42hello
13:43Not very good with horses well this is where he worked
13:48your great-great-great-great grandfather but it wasn't a really a steady job
13:54he didn't actually get paid
13:56not in money anyway, they had their own currency here at the estate.
14:03What?
14:03Yes, the owner of the estate wanted the money to stay there.
14:08So he had a store, an estate store.
14:12And so he paid the workers in tokens for which the workers could buy food,
14:20milk and grain, potatoes and whatnot from the store.
14:24And I actually have a couple of those tokens here.
14:28Look at this.
14:31Can you read that thing up there?
14:34Henning Rangel, 1826.
14:37And that's precisely the year that your great-great-great-grandfather was born.
14:41Yes.
14:42Johann Christian was born that year.
14:45So chances are that his father may have had this in his hand back then.
14:51Oh my goodness me.
14:52And this is for one day's work, which you could then trade in for...
14:58I mean, that's amazing, but it's also kind of, it's amazing to see something like that,
15:02because of course I never would have thought something like this would exist.
15:05But also it's kind of terrible, because for a man with a family,
15:09he must have felt like there was never any way out of his arrangement.
15:14Yeah.
15:15So no sense of, no possibility to save and move away.
15:20No.
15:20And have a different life.
15:22But it gets worse.
15:23Oh no, I don't want it to get worse.
15:25What?
15:25This is a death record from 1831.
15:30And I want you to focus on this item right here.
15:34Do you think you can read that?
15:38Drangen.
15:39Yeah.
15:39That means the farm hand.
15:40Drangen.
15:41Anders Johnson.
15:43What does that say now?
15:44Son.
15:45Son.
15:47Gustav.
15:48Gustav.
15:49He was the youngest, wasn't he?
15:51And he was three months old.
15:54Oh no, he didn't die.
15:55He died.
15:56Oh!
15:57On the 18th of September, 1831, of, and this is a Swedish word, twinsut.
16:05It's malnutrition.
16:07We had really hard times in the 1830s.
16:12Starvation, really.
16:13We had crop failure year after year.
16:15And that caused, of course, malnutrition.
16:19You can compare this, what happened in 1830, to the Irish potato famine.
16:24Back then, it was really hard for people to stay alive.
16:30In the 19th century, Sweden suffered famine after famine.
16:35And in winter, the situation became even more perilous.
16:40As temperatures plummeted well below freezing,
16:43many ports and roads were covered in snow and ice.
16:47Much of the country was cut off.
16:50So poor families, like Kate's four times great-grandfather Anders,
16:55struggled to survive.
16:58And here comes an even worse turn of events.
17:04This is a letter from 1832.
17:08And I have a translation for you here.
17:12To the circuit judge, Mr Holmutz, the county governor's office hereby instructs the chief executive
17:19to investigate the arrests of Bengt Svensson and Anders Jönsson from Wrangelsrow,
17:26who committed the burglary of three to four barrels of potatoes from farmers Per Jönsson and Bengt Larsson.
17:34So Anders stole.
17:36Yeah, and why did he steal?
17:37Because he was starving.
17:38Yeah.
17:38And so were his children.
17:40His child.
17:40The youngest child had died.
17:41And so he needed food for his family.
17:44And this is after Gustav has died.
17:46Gustav died in 1831 in September.
17:481831.
17:49This is...
17:50February 1832.
17:51Only five months later.
17:52In the midst of winter.
17:54Desperate for money for his children.
17:56Good on you, Anders.
17:57I would have stolen the potatoes as well.
17:59Yes, well.
18:00But that didn't go too well.
18:03So he was sent to prison.
18:06Oh no!
18:07In Halmster Castle.
18:08Oh no!
18:08For stealing potatoes!
18:10Yes.
18:10No!
18:13Oh no, this is horrible.
18:16And that...
18:17How long was he in prison for?
18:19Do we know?
18:19Well, we could find out possibly.
18:22He was sent to this castle at Halmstad.
18:25It's not very far from here.
18:26And that castle is still standing.
18:28And you could probably see where he was...
18:32Where he was held.
18:33Where he was held, yeah.
18:35Okay, I'm going to.
18:46I didn't expect any of this.
18:48It's very sad.
18:49His little boy died.
18:51And his wife must have been in pieces and...
18:55Grieving for this little boy.
18:58With four other children to look after.
19:01I'm not surprised he stole the flipping potatoes.
19:19Kate has come to Halmstad Castle.
19:23Built in 1621 as a royal palace, it's now a private government residence.
19:31Well, hello there.
19:34Hello, I'm Kate.
19:35Hello, I'm Yuan.
19:36Hi.
19:36Welcome to Halmstad Castle.
19:38The castle's prison block, where Anders was held, has been demolished.
19:44But historian Johan Darnberg has found something that remains from the time Anders was here.
19:54So please, step inside.
19:56Very old door.
19:57Very old door.
19:58Yes.
19:59Okay.
20:06When the prison was torn down in the late 19th century, they found something on the wall and they kept
20:14it and put it here instead.
20:17Some prisoner made this drawing with a knife and painted it.
20:23And this is most absolutely from that period when Anders Jönsson was here in the prison.
20:29Wow.
20:29And I believe Anders took care of horses, didn't he?
20:32Yeah, he did.
20:33Yes, he did.
20:36I mean, it is possible that he could have either had some part in this or he certainly may have
20:42seen it.
20:46It's very beautiful, isn't it really?
20:48It's so sad to me that he came from working with horses and then to be arrested for stealing food.
20:59For trying to do the right thing for his children.
21:19And I would like to hand you something here. It's the account for the trial of Anders.
21:26It's a lot of words.
21:28It is a lot of words in very swirly, swirly writing.
21:32And to help you again with some translation from this central part, we have something about Anders Jönsson himself.
21:41Anders Jönsson, who has a weak body constitution and more round than oblong face, a pointed nose and dark hair,
21:55stated that he is 42 years old and has never been suspected of any crime.
22:01Oh my God, so he was only a year younger than me.
22:03And he has a weak body constitution.
22:05Well, I'm not flipping surprised. He was starving.
22:12OK.
22:13OK.
22:13OK.
22:14He wasn't just a plain old thief.
22:16He was a good person.
22:17This was a one-off.
22:18He was desperate.
22:19Not really a one-off.
22:21Not a one-off?
22:22Not really a one-off.
22:23Oh my goodness.
22:24But quite connected.
22:26Nils Persson from Biscopstorp reported that thieves, oh no, stole three beehives and that the plaintiff found two pots of
22:38honey in the homes of the accused.
22:41The accused voluntarily admitted that these same beehives were stolen by them and the honeybees were slaughtered.
22:49I didn't know you could slaughter bees.
22:51It came to a surprise to me as well.
22:53But opening a beehive, perhaps that's the natural development.
22:58Wouldn't they just buzz off?
22:59Yes.
23:01So, Anders stole some beehives to make honey?
23:08Yeah.
23:12Clever boy.
23:16I guess you like to see something from the verdict?
23:18Yes, I definitely want this verdict now because I'm worried about it.
23:24The court finds it fair to judge the two accused, Bengt Svensson and Anders Jönsson, to 35 pairs of whipping
23:31each.
23:33Oh no.
23:3535 pairs of whipping each.
23:38So is that a whip with two lashes on it?
23:40No, it's not.
23:41It's more like a stiff, flexible switch on a rod.
23:46But it's 70 strokes.
23:50It just makes me feel sick.
23:59We believe that Anders never got his punishment.
24:03Really?
24:03Yes.
24:05Because we have this documentation as well.
24:10Okay, where is he now? Let me see if I can see.
24:14Okay.
24:15You find him down here.
24:19And I have the translation for that as well.
24:22Wait a minute.
24:22He died.
24:23This is a record of his death.
24:25This is a record of the death.
24:28What does this say?
24:31That says this.
24:34Buried April the 3rd.
24:35Arrested man, Anders Jönsson.
24:3843 years old.
24:39Died of nerve fever.
24:41So we most likely had typhus in prison.
24:45Oh.
24:47And he's on the next page across from his little boy.
24:54So his son, Gustaf, is here at three months old.
25:02And then on the next page...
25:06And there he is.
25:19Oh, God, I'm angry now.
25:23Now I feel so angry now.
25:27It's just not fair.
25:30It's just not fair.
25:32And this poor wife, Anna.
25:34And then she was left breathing for the...
25:37Oh, my God, no.
25:38No, no, no.
25:42In the space of six months,
25:44she lost her husband and her baby.
25:49Poor Anna.
25:52And was left with four children.
25:56Johanna, Elna, Jöns and Johan,
26:00who would have been my great-great-great-grandfather.
26:04How on earth would she have survived this?
26:14When I think of those children,
26:16I absolutely can't stand it.
26:19Johan, Christian, would have been five,
26:22nearly six years old,
26:23which is exactly the same age as Bear,
26:27my youngest.
26:29Exactly the same.
26:30Oh, I can't stand it.
26:32And the thought of Bear being without his dad.
26:36Oh, my God, I can't stand it.
26:41But I wonder what happened to Johan, Christian,
26:45after losing his dad.
26:47Oh, please, it has to have been something good.
26:55To find out more about Johan's life,
26:58after his father died in prison,
27:01Kate is meeting historian Elizabeth Engberg.
27:07So, I've got a document about Johan to show you.
27:13It's a marriage record.
27:16Okay.
27:16I think you should start reading here on that line.
27:20Well, obviously, I can't read Swedish.
27:25Something, something. Johan Christian Andersen.
27:28I've got a translation for you,
27:30so you can read it in English.
27:31Yes, how fabulous. Okay.
27:32Stick to that.
27:34Okay, 23rd of May, 1847.
27:38Anna, Johan's daughter, is who he married.
27:42This is so fantastic.
27:46Okay, now we can, we can feel a little bit better about things.
27:51So what does, so this, what does this mean?
27:54The Botsman, it means that Johan Christian,
27:56he was a soldier in the Swedish Navy.
27:58The Swedish Navy was for a very long time
28:01upheld by a traditional system.
28:03Every parish was divided into smaller areas
28:06where the landowners were responsible
28:08of supporting a soldier.
28:09He had a small salary.
28:12Hooray! Okay, so he was not paid in tokens.
28:17No.
28:17He was paid in money.
28:19But most importantly, he was given a croft.
28:22A small cottage where he could live with his family,
28:26where he could grow his potatoes,
28:29or maybe some turnips, or maybe have a cow.
28:32That's fantastic.
28:34And then, what does this word mean here?
28:37Gökung.
28:38Gökung.
28:39Gökunga.
28:40Gökunga.
28:40It's a young cuckoo.
28:42That's a nickname.
28:43Swedish names are very common.
28:45So when they went into the army,
28:47they took this kind of nicknames,
28:49very distinctive names.
28:51Gökunga.
28:52Young cuckoo.
28:54Wow.
28:55Wow.
28:56If you want to, we could have a look at a small croft tomorrow,
29:00like the one that Johan and Anna and their family lived in?
29:04Yes, I would love to do that.
29:14Elizabeth is taking Kate to the village of Warburg,
29:17north of Halmstadt.
29:19They're here to see an original soldier's cottage,
29:22or croft,
29:24which has been preserved as it was in the 1840s.
29:39Oh, wow.
29:41Oh, my goodness me.
29:44Oh.
29:46This is...
29:47I'm not very tall, and even I'm struggling.
29:49I'm only five foot five.
29:52Oh, it's absolutely magical.
29:56So would they have all been in here?
29:58Yes, this is the only space.
29:59This is the only space.
30:01This is the only room.
30:01The room over here is an extension
30:03that was added in the early 20th century.
30:07If you go over here.
30:08Yes.
30:08I'm going to show you.
30:10Have you seen this hole?
30:12I did just see that, yes.
30:14Do you know what it is?
30:15No, I don't.
30:17They used to put straw in there and put babies
30:22to keep them warm.
30:23To keep them warm.
30:23Yes.
30:24Oh.
30:25Gosh, how fantastic.
30:28And they would have been warm.
30:29They would have been very warm
30:30next to the back of the chimney breast.
30:35Johan Andersson joined the Swedish Navy
30:37when he was just 18.
30:40He spent half his time at sea
30:42during the warm summer months
30:43and winters at home with his wife, Anna,
30:46at their croft.
30:49Johan and Anna got three children.
30:52Three.
30:53The first born was a daughter.
30:55And I'm going to show you here the first document
30:58so we can say more about what happened to her.
31:01And this is from 1850.
31:03And we'll find her here.
31:09Okay, so...
31:10The girl Anna, Britta, Johans daughter.
31:14Can you see what kind of record this is?
31:16It's not a birth record.
31:18No, what is it?
31:20It's actually a death record.
31:21Oh God, not another death.
31:24Anna Britta, their first born.
31:26She died very young.
31:27Only 17 days.
31:29Oh God, I can't stand it.
31:32They were doing so well.
31:34They were doing so well.
31:37Their second child was a boy, Edward.
31:42Can you see what kind of record it is?
31:44It is another death record, isn't it?
31:45Yes, unfortunately.
31:46From 1853.
31:54Edward Johansson.
31:55What does that say?
31:56It says smittkoppor.
31:58What's that?
31:59It was one of the most feared diseases in the 19th century.
32:03Smallpox.
32:04Oh, smallpox.
32:05He died in smallpox.
32:07And he was seven months old.
32:10Oh my God, this sadness is terrible.
32:14She must have become just terrified of losing more.
32:22How does a woman like that carry on?
32:26Somehow she did.
32:28And she got another boy in 1857.
32:31And that was Alfred Johansson.
32:35And he was my great, great grandfather.
32:40Can you tell me anything nice now?
32:43Not quite.
32:44Oh God.
32:45I'm sorry.
32:46No, oh my God.
32:47Life continues to be hard for this family.
32:50Oh my God.
32:51I wish I could do that, but.
32:53Okay.
32:54This isn't a death record though.
32:57You might recognize it as a military record.
32:59Nope.
32:59I don't recognize it as anything, but it doesn't say death.
33:02And look here.
33:05It's all been crossed out.
33:07It's been crossed out.
33:08This is a military record from 1859.
33:13These things have been crossed out because Johan was discharged from the army.
33:19Why?
33:23Johan Christian, by order of the commander, on the 29th of March, 1859, was flogged 40 times for embezzling several
33:36of the crown's belongings.
33:37What?
33:40No.
33:41No, no, no.
33:44No, don't do that.
33:46Don't be embezzling.
33:48What kind of thing do you think that he was embezzling?
33:51It's difficult to say, but there are certainly explanations for why he did what he did.
33:57Right.
33:58The desperation.
33:59Yeah.
34:00They suffered, like everyone else, from the famine and from the bad times.
34:04So it was a difficult situation.
34:08Very difficult situation.
34:10We should look here.
34:13He has changed career.
34:15He's registered as a tailor in the sources.
34:17He became a tailor, which he then taught his son, Alfred.
34:21Exactly.
34:22So he carried on.
34:24Your great-great-grandfather went to London?
34:27Yes, as I know what then happened to Alfred.
34:30Alfred became actually a somewhat successful tailor on Savile Row.
34:36And lived in a very decent part of London.
34:40In a nice house.
34:42So things can change.
34:45Things can change.
34:59It is really a story of survival.
35:02Of people who fought and carried on in the face of incredible tragedy.
35:09I know, I really know where I came from.
35:15And that to me is the most wonderful thing to have come out of this story.
35:27My sister Beth actually had a really wonderful idea.
35:31She said, oh, what was the date that Anders died?
35:34And I said, well, he was buried on the 3rd of April.
35:36And she said, right.
35:36So we're going to have, on the 3rd of April, we're going to call it Anders Day.
35:39I'm getting emotional now.
35:42Just have a day.
35:43I'm sorry.
35:43I'm sorry.
35:47And just have a day of being thankful for everything that we have.
35:52Because it was so hard for him.
35:57And in spite of that, his children lived on and lived to tell, actually, a great tale.
36:05Good afternoon.
36:22Good afternoon.
36:28Having investigated her mother's side of the family,
36:32Kate is heading to Reading, the town where she was born,
36:35to start her research into her father Roger's side of the family.
36:53MUSIC PLAYS
36:54That is the house I grew up in and where I lived until I was 16 years old.
36:59Look, it's a sliver of a house.
37:03A family of six were in there.
37:05My parents didn't own it, it was a rental home.
37:07The top two windows there that you can see,
37:09that was my mum and dad's room,
37:10and my room that I shared with my sister Anna,
37:13which was tiny, was just behind that.
37:16The windows would rattle because, as you can see,
37:19double-decker buses go up and down the street,
37:21and the whole of the front of the house would just vibrate,
37:24and you could feel the windows going...
37:30I ain't posh, mate. No, I'm not posh at all.
37:41Kate's father, Roger, still lives in Reading.
37:51Hey!
37:52All right?
37:53Hello, Daddy.
37:54How are you, Daddy?
37:54I'm good.
37:56How you doing?
37:57Good, I'm good. Come through.
37:58Good, good, good.
38:04There's some things I really need to show you,
38:06because I think they're great.
38:10That's me, and actually it's my dad, and obviously my mum.
38:14Oh, look how sweet you are, Daddy.
38:16Oh, I must have been about nine, maybe.
38:20And look at little Blanche with a little straw hat.
38:22Yeah.
38:22Oh, and those beautiful, perfect curls.
38:25Sweet little lady.
38:26Check this one out.
38:27She was beautiful.
38:29Oh, wow!
38:30I've never seen that.
38:32Is that really Nanny Blanche?
38:36Absolutely gorgeous.
38:38There's something really quite an old movie star about it.
38:41Yes.
38:43There we have.
38:44My grandfather.
38:45George Robert Sims.
38:47Yeah.
38:47And that's their marriage certificate, and my grandmother.
38:51Oh, no.
38:51So this would have been my great-grandmother, Florence Edith Bick.
38:55Indeed, yeah.
38:55And that's just not a surprise at all, that he was a barman and she was a barmaid.
38:59Pubs everywhere.
39:00I knew it.
39:02Both Mum and I have worked in pubs at separate times.
39:05I think most people have, haven't they, Dad?
39:08But this is lovely here.
39:10Florence Edith Bick, father's name and surname, Thomas Bick.
39:13Rank or profession of father, independent means.
39:18What does...
39:18Well...
39:19What do you think that means?
39:20He must have had money.
39:21Do you think?
39:22Or he was a burglar.
39:24I don't know what it meant in those days.
39:25Interesting.
39:27Independent means.
39:28I'm very curious about that.
39:30Brilliant.
39:31Good-o.
39:34Kate has discovered that her great-great-grandfather was Thomas Bick,
39:39a man of independent means.
39:41But what did that mean?
39:47To see if she can find out more, Kate is meeting genealogist Emma Jolly.
39:54Hello.
39:54Hi, nice to meet you.
39:55Nice to meet you too.
39:57OK, so, I'm here to ask you about my great-great-grandfather, Thomas Bick.
40:04And I'm curious about this part here.
40:07He was a man of independent means.
40:10Can we take a look at this family tree here?
40:12Oh, I love a family tree!
40:14Any clues on there?
40:15OK.
40:15So, Thomas Bick, and he was a soldier and horseman, it says.
40:21So, it's probable that being a soldier, his independent means are a military pension.
40:25Living off his army pension.
40:28OK.
40:29And he was married to Marianne Colquhoun?
40:34Colquhoun.
40:35Colquhoun.
40:35Colquhoun.
40:36Amazing spelling.
40:37C-O-L-Q-U-H-O-U-N.
40:40So, that's an Irish surname.
40:41And we've got more information on Marianne.
40:45We've got her ancestors on this tree.
40:53What?!
40:55Marianne Colquhoun was one of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
41:06eleven siblings.
41:07So, Marianne Colquhoun was my great-great-grandmother and she was one of eleven children.
41:13And here are her parents, William Colquhoun and Eliza O'Brien.
41:21William was a soldier and his father was also called William Colquhoun and he was a soldier.
41:27Lots and lots of soldiers.
41:29So, military.
41:30A strong military theme.
41:32So, we haven't been able to find out any more about William Sr.
41:36The records just don't survive for him unfortunately.
41:38But we have got more on William Jr.
41:42Who is in the Grenadier Guards.
41:44The guards that barred Buckingham Palace.
41:46Well, I hope he was good at his job because he had eleven children to support.
41:51And a young wife.
41:52A lot of mouths to feed.
41:57How fantastic.
42:02One, two, three, four, five, six.
42:15Wellington Barracks is home to the Household Division, the prestigious army regiments that guard Buckingham Palace.
42:23Kate's three times great-grandfather, William Colquhoun, served with one of them.
42:28The Grenadier Guards.
42:30They must be boiling.
42:33Their heads must be like furnaces under those things.
42:38Oh, here we go, here we go.
42:40OK.
42:41And the brass band played.
42:47The regimental band are leading troops out for the traditional changing of the guard.
43:00It's just amazing.
43:03I'm really thrilled to have seen that.
43:08I would very much like to know what William had to do with all of this.
43:12Did he play an instrument maybe?
43:15It'd be cool if he did.
43:16I can barely play a recorder.
43:23Kate's here to see military historian, Eamon O'Keefe.
43:27Hi Kate.
43:28Hello.
43:29Great to meet you, Eamon.
43:30Yes, hi.
43:31Welcome to Wellington Barracks.
43:32Thank you very much.
43:34It's amazing buildings.
43:35Oh, it is, yeah.
43:39So I've managed to track down William's service record, and here's a page listing the regiments
43:45and ranks he held.
43:46OK.
43:48Slanty writing.
43:49Yes.
43:51What year is this?
43:521810.
43:54Grenadier Guards.
43:56Drummer.
43:58So he was a drummer.
44:00And you'll notice something else.
44:02Do you see what it says here?
44:04Can you read that?
44:06Under something?
44:07Under age.
44:08He was 11 years old and enlisted in the British Army as a drummer.
44:12What?
44:13Mm-hmm.
44:15How was that even allowed?
44:17Well, his father, remember, was a soldier.
44:20Yes, was a soldier.
44:21And it was very common at the time for soldier sons to enlist at a very young age.
44:25Wow.
44:26In this period, the army was the largest employer of musical professionals by a country mile,
44:31and gave ordinary men and boys the opportunity to learn musical skills.
44:35And in William's case, he would have also learned to read and write at the regimental school.
44:39I see.
44:41In the early 19th century, when there was no easy way to get an education, boys as young as seven
44:48enlisted in the British Army.
44:50Drummers like William were paid more than ordinary privates, and their training offered them greater opportunities for social advancement.
45:01After almost 20 years of being a rank-and-file drummer in a very elite regiment, he's then transferred to
45:07the 30th Foot,
45:07and then takes charge of the drummers there as the drum major.
45:11Drum major.
45:13Drum major.
45:13So here is an image from 1792 of the changing of the guard.
45:18But I saw that today.
45:20Yes.
45:20I saw this figure to this gentleman today.
45:23Drum major.
45:24Wow.
45:24So drum majors were highly visible.
45:26They led their regiment marching on the parade square.
45:29People looked to the drum major with the dramatic flourishes of his cane.
45:32He'd toss it up in the air.
45:33The crowd would go wild.
45:35He really was a larger-than-life figure.
45:37And so he was a performer.
45:38There's no two ways about it.
45:40Well, it's great entertainment.
45:41I mean, I can't believe how entertained I was outside.
45:44This is really wonderful.
45:47Making something of his life.
45:51Hard work and diligence and commitment.
45:55And a musical talent.
45:58I just love that.
46:03Eamonn is taking Kate to the guard's chapel to teach her one of William's drumming routines.
46:09Now, let's see if it's a better fit.
46:12Here we go.
46:13At dawn, the revali would be played to wake all the soldiers up.
46:17And it would sound like this.
46:24And on and on and on.
46:26Now, you know I can't do this.
46:28No, you don't.
46:28But we'll practice a few very basic rhythms.
46:31Try to hold the stick slightly higher up.
46:33Higher up.
46:33Yep.
46:34There.
46:34Just for better control.
46:35And try to hit in the center of the drum.
46:37And this is what they told the drummers historically.
46:39With daddy, mammy.
46:43Daddy, mammy.
46:45Daddy, mammy.
46:46Daddy, mammy.
46:47Now, I want you to try to bounce.
46:49Two with your left.
46:50Two with your right.
46:51Two with your left.
46:52Two with your right.
46:52Start off very slowly.
46:53Okay.
46:54Nope.
46:59Daddy, mammy.
47:01Daddy, mammy.
47:03Try to speak up a little bit.
47:04Follow me.
47:11Brilliant.
47:18Throw it out.
47:23Stop.
47:25What do you think?
47:26Ooh.
47:26Well, that's fabulous.
47:29Oops.
47:34But there was another aspect to a drummer's duty, Kate.
47:39Oh, no.
47:41No, I don't like it.
47:43Drummers like William were tasked with administering corporal punishment,
47:47flogging the bare backs of drunks, thieves, and deserters,
47:52with a whip known as the cat on nine tails.
47:55I don't believe this.
47:58I don't believe this is hideous.
48:00Because my ancestors on the other side of my family
48:05were subjected to such punishments for stealing potatoes.
48:12This is horrific.
48:17Oh, I want to un-hear this now.
48:19I don't like it.
48:24William would have first performed this duty
48:27as a drummer in the Grenadier Guards,
48:30and then as a drum major in the 30th Foot,
48:33he would have supervised the punishment
48:35the entire regiment was looking on.
48:37And it was a traumatizing spectacle for all involved.
48:43This doesn't mean that William himself was a monster.
48:46This was an accepted part of military discipline.
48:50Within the army, it really was flog or be flogged.
48:55I'm sure this wasn't something that they took any pleasure in.
49:00Well, we actually have another page from his service record here.
49:04And I'll direct you...
49:05I'm so glad you've taken that horrible thing out of my hand.
49:07...to the lines about his conduct and character.
49:10Okay.
49:11The officers are of opinion that this general conduct
49:15has been that of a good and efficient soldier.
49:20Trustworthy and sober.
49:22So William, from everything we know, was an exemplary soldier.
49:27And good at whipping people.
49:31But William doesn't spend his entire career in the army.
49:35In 1839, because of chronic rheumatism,
49:38he can no longer do his duty.
49:40So at that point, he wouldn't, still wouldn't have been very old.
49:43About 31, 41, 42?
49:44Yeah.
49:45And the question is, I suppose, what do you do next?
49:47What do you do next?
49:47When you're only 40 and you've got 11 children.
49:51What even is this?
49:53Enumeration book for public institutions.
49:57County of Devon.
49:58Yep.
49:59This is part of the 1851 census, or...
50:04Convict prisons.
50:07That's right.
50:08What?
50:10Now, he wasn't actually a prisoner.
50:12Oh, thank God!
50:16Now, let's see if you can find any Colhoons.
50:19Oh, my God.
50:20Okay.
50:20William Colhoon.
50:23Position in the institution...
50:26Principal?
50:28Principal warden.
50:30Principal warder.
50:31So he was a prison warder at Dartmoor.
50:33He was a prison warder at Dartmoor?
50:35Yes.
50:35The iconic Dartmoor prison.
50:41Oh, my goodness.
50:44Oh, my gosh.
50:46All right, so he's in Devon.
50:49Okay.
50:50And his family...
50:51Where are his family?
50:51...are living in Westminster.
50:52Okay, so his family are in Westminster.
50:55He's not abandoning his family.
50:57He's taken on a job that really was common amongst soldiers to do,
51:02serving as a prison warder in order to support them back in London.
51:18DURBENDLY
51:18Kate is heading to Dartmoor, in Devon,
51:21to find out more about William's career as a prison warder.
51:30Seeing the horrific cat of nine tails yesterday made me feel very conflicted about him as
51:35a person, the kind of man that he perhaps was just simply because he'd been exposed
51:42to such an extraordinary level of violence.
51:46This was a horrendous thing that he had to do.
51:51He clearly wasn't a bad man, but he had to do bad things.
52:05Dartmoor, a former military prison, opened to civilians in 1850.
52:11At the time, attitudes to prisoners were under review.
52:15Hello.
52:16The traditional policy of transporting felons to the colonies was being wound down.
52:25Raising the question of how to treat prisoners back at home.
52:30Kate is here to meet historian Dr Rosalind Crone.
52:34Hello.
52:35Hi, I'm Kate.
52:35Hi Kate, I'm Rosalind.
52:36Nice to meet you.
52:37Nice to meet you too.
52:38What were his duties?
52:40Tell me more about his position, because I just know nothing.
52:42In terms of what he did every day, it's mainly about supervising convicts.
52:47Especially with his military background, they probably would have liked him out on the moors
52:50and supervising the agricultural work that was going on at this particular prison.
52:55OK.
52:55So he's in quite a position of responsibility.
52:58You also work long hours and pretty much every day of the week, you get a half day off.
53:05So you don't have much time to spend with your family.
53:07It's not an easy life here, not by any stretch of the imagination.
53:13It's a new type of prison.
53:15Dartmoor had quite a reformist agenda, in some ways ahead of its time.
53:20It was not just about punishment.
53:22Right.
53:22But also some reformatory techniques were used to try to make them better men
53:27and then release back into British society.
53:30Gosh.
53:31Which you just wouldn't expect.
53:33No.
53:33You wouldn't expect that at all, actually.
53:35No, it includes things like teaching men, trades, like shoemaking.
53:40And also the education programme.
53:42It was not just about basic reading, writing and arithmetic,
53:46but they took subjects like history and geography.
53:48Wow.
53:49That's really wonderful, isn't it?
53:51That is really wonderful.
53:53I wouldn't have thought that at all.
53:56So it's a really nice, it's a really pleasant surprise.
53:59I was fearing very much the worst.
54:04Kate's three times great grandfather, William Colquhoun, was one of the first officers to serve at Dartmoor.
54:11While William oversaw traditional hard labour punishments, such as breaking stones,
54:17a warder's duties were becoming far more wide-ranging, from supervising convicts' gardening, to their maths lessons.
54:27Policies that would transform life in the prison.
54:32Now we've found this newspaper article that mentions your ancestor.
54:37The Daily News, October 2nd, 1851.
54:43A visit to the experimental prison at Dartmoor.
54:47Having a desire to see something of the great work that is going on in the Dartmoor prison,
54:52we presented ourselves to the warder of the gate.
54:55The governor has sent for principal warder, William Colquhoun.
54:59My gosh.
55:00And told him to show us over the whole of the prison,
55:04and answer all questions fully that we might ask him.
55:08We found our guide and intelligent officer.
55:11Hang on, so this is him?
55:12That's right, yeah. It's your intelligent officer.
55:15Is William your ancestor?
55:17Oh, God. Wow.
55:19That's a whole article, basically, about my great-great-great-grandfather.
55:31Gosh.
55:33How extraordinary to sort of read a description, really, of him.
55:41I'm very happy to see this.
55:44I'm very, very happy to see this.
55:51William clearly took great pleasure in what they were doing at Dartmoor at that time,
55:55which I was very impressed by.
56:00I didn't come from very much.
56:02And it is nice to think that he did make something of himself.
56:07And so I feel really proud of that.
56:15William is buried in Ford Park Cemetery in Plymouth.
56:19He has no headstone and lies in common ground.
56:25I have my great-great-great-great-grandfather William Colquhoun's death certificate.
56:31And he died in 1856 at the age of 56.
56:37And it seems he died of, basically, his lungs packed up.
56:41He had asthma.
56:42And he's buried somewhere in this very, very beautiful cemetery.
56:50I naturally feel a connection with him and with all of the ancestors that I've learnt about.
56:57It makes me feel as though I fit somewhere more, knowing all of this.
57:04It's completely overwhelming, actually.
57:11I strive to remain grounded and to pass that on to my kids.
57:16But maybe, because I come from such beginnings,
57:21that's actually in my DNA.
57:23You're what I say too.
57:42You're unable to live.
57:44You can switch.
57:44I'm not too well.
57:45You may be unable to live...
57:45... you're unable to live.
57:51I'm unable to live.
57:52You're unable to live.