0:00:06 > 0:00:09'At the beginning of my career I wanted to live in a big house
0:00:09 > 0:00:11'and I didn't have the money.'
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Seeing a child at every window, waving.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16That was one of my dreams.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18But this is kind of...
0:00:18 > 0:00:19It's been brilliant.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22Wa-a-a-ah!
0:00:22 > 0:00:28For over 40 years, Billy Connolly has been the wild man of comedy.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30I don't think I'm old. I don't feel old.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33But I've noticed certain distinctive changes coming over me recently.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36I tend to make a noise when I bend down.
0:00:36 > 0:00:37I don't know how long I've been doing this,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39but I caught myself the other day going,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42"A-a-agh, Jesus...!"
0:00:42 > 0:00:43LAUGHTER
0:00:43 > 0:00:46And his award winning performances on the big screen
0:00:46 > 0:00:48have made him an international star.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Oh, good girl!
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Born in 1942,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Billy has five children
0:00:56 > 0:00:58and two grandchildren.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00I'm 71,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03so I'm a lot closer to death than I am to birth!
0:01:04 > 0:01:07'So I'd like to know where I come from.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'I'd like my children to know.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11'I know so pitifully little.'
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Well done.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15The best-case scenario,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18it would be to find someone I'm descended from
0:01:18 > 0:01:21who impressed me by their wildness.
0:01:21 > 0:01:22Psh-h-h!
0:01:22 > 0:01:26Whose behaviour I thoroughly approved of!
0:01:27 > 0:01:28Just someone I can say,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32"That's the one. That's where my DNA came from."
0:02:08 > 0:02:10These are my sister and I.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13I like that picture. It's so Glasgow.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15It's a real tenement picture.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18I'm very proud of it.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21And I'm proud of that place, Anderston.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24"Ah, Billy, you're an Anderston boy," they say.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28It's a great area, you know, it's one of the oldest areas in Glasgow.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31And it's traditionally kind of poor and working class.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33You can see by my wee face how happy I was there.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Well, this is my parents' wedding.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Well, my mother, I remember very, very little about her.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43She left when I was four.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46But I remember her being around, laughing and stuff.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49And people think I should be angry because she left,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51and I'm not in the least bit.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54She was 19 and she met a guy who...
0:02:54 > 0:02:56And she fell in love with him,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and I didn't see her again till I was in my 20s.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02I don't blame her at all, not for a second.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Now, this picture is one of my favourite people in the world.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09This is my granny, Florence McGowan,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11and she was my mother's mother.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14And I was deeply fond of her,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17because when my mother was gone, she stepped right into the place.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20And when she visited us it was like the sun coming over the mountain.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22She was just... she was always a joy to see.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25She always had chocolate and stuff like that.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27I would like to find more about the background of
0:03:27 > 0:03:30that whole side of my family,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32my mother's side of the family.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34I think they were Irish immigrants,
0:03:34 > 0:03:36but I know so very, very little.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Billy is starting his search on his maternal side
0:03:42 > 0:03:45by using his grandmother Florence's birth certificate.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48So that's Flora that you've talked about.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Yes, that's her. My granny.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Born in 1902.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54Patrick McGowan's her father.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58That must be Mary McGowan nee Doyle,
0:03:58 > 0:03:59my granny's mother.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Go.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Florence McGowan.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05By searching census records,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Billy can find out where Florence's parents were from.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10Do the search.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Cara is much more literate on the computator than I am.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18- Oh, look, there we go.- Ooh.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19Well, it's the actual census.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21- I could have done this.- I know.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- Does that say McGowan?- It does.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28- Florence...- Age eight. Oh, look!
0:04:28 > 0:04:30What does that say?
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Daft Street! CARA LAUGHS
0:04:32 > 0:04:34She lives in 40 Daft Street.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Just off Crazy Avenue!
0:04:38 > 0:04:40- Or is it Oak Street?- Mm-hm.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44- That's the parents.- Yep.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Patrick McGowan was her father. Mary McGowan, mother.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Birthplace, Lanark, both of them.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54- So they're both from Lanark. East of Glasgow.- Yeah.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57I thought they were Irish immigrants.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Well, maybe their parents were, I don't know.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Well, why don't we go to the 1901, that's the last census before that?
0:05:08 > 0:05:10OK.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11Patrick McGowan, Mary...
0:05:13 > 0:05:14Mary...
0:05:15 > 0:05:19- What does that say?- Ireland.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Why would it suddenly say Ireland?
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Why on earth doesn't that match?
0:05:23 > 0:05:25Why would they say Ireland in one place
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and Lanarkshire in another?
0:05:29 > 0:05:31- Quite baffling really, isn't it? - Mm-hm.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Billy's always believed that his mother's side of the family
0:05:36 > 0:05:38was from Ireland.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40But the records for his great-grandmother,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Mary Doyle, show conflicting information.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Was she from Ireland or Scotland?
0:05:49 > 0:05:53Mary lived in Glasgow, Billy's home town.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56So he's come here to find out more.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59I need a wee picture with you, sir, please.
0:06:01 > 0:06:02- Thank you.- Gotcha.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Great to see you back in Glasgow, Billy. What do you think tonight?
0:06:05 > 0:06:08- Can Celtic do it against Barcelona? - Oh, they're going to hammer them!
0:06:08 > 0:06:10All the best. Billy Connolly live here.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12Ahh!
0:06:12 > 0:06:14There's the big man. How you doing, sir?
0:06:14 > 0:06:16- No bother at all. - How's tricks?
0:06:16 > 0:06:18It's not like this all the time.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21He said waving to passers-by!
0:06:21 > 0:06:23I don't mind being noticed at all.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26It's a lot better than being booed, I can assure you.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27I've experienced both.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Well, Kirsty, my granny's mother, Mary Doyle,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35why would it say she came from Glasgow,
0:06:35 > 0:06:37when she comes from Ireland?
0:06:37 > 0:06:38She couldn't have been born in both places.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Could you help me with this?
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I have searched the records in Scotland and in Ireland
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and also in England, and I couldn't find a record of Mary Doyle's birth.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51But I was able to find a document that I think will help
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- to explain things a little.- Yeah.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57This is actually a record of Mary's baptism.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- See here is...- Bangalore?
0:07:00 > 0:07:02- That's right, yes.- God!
0:07:02 > 0:07:04BILLY LAUGHS
0:07:04 > 0:07:06- In India?- That's right, yeah.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10BILLY LAUGHS
0:07:12 > 0:07:14This is... How did she...?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16From Ireland to Bangalore!
0:07:17 > 0:07:20My God! I'm completely flummoxed.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24BILLY LAUGHS Bangalore!
0:07:25 > 0:07:29So Daniel and Margaret are the parents.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30Doyle.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33What's this? "Rank of father. Gunner."
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- Oh, her father was in the Army! - That's right, yeah.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38"Gunner. Royal Horse Artillery."
0:07:40 > 0:07:43That just takes my breath away. He wasn't half in the Army,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45the Royal Horse Artillery, that's quite fancy.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47My God!
0:07:47 > 0:07:50That's the last thing on earth I expected.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Cos I was always led to believe they were Irish immigrants.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I always imagined they were poor Irish immigrants.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59I didn't realise they'd be gunners in the Royal Horse Artillery
0:07:59 > 0:08:01in Bangalore.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Well, we do know that in 1872, a year after Mary Doyle was born,
0:08:05 > 0:08:07her father was stationed at Hill Station
0:08:07 > 0:08:09in Wellington in south India.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11So perhaps find out a little bit more.
0:08:11 > 0:08:12Is there a Wellington in India?
0:08:12 > 0:08:14There is, yes.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Well, I think we should get there post haste.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21I'm absolutely amazed.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23The Royal Horse Artillery.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25It's the last thing on earth I expected.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Cos they're quite an outfit, you know?
0:08:27 > 0:08:31They're the ones you see at Earls Court doing...
0:08:31 > 0:08:34They do, er, swinging on ropes, putting guns together
0:08:34 > 0:08:36and attaching it all back to the horse,
0:08:36 > 0:08:37it's all tassels and braid and...
0:08:37 > 0:08:43Well, I'm really curious because the Horse Artillery would have status,
0:08:43 > 0:08:48and being in India they would have had status as colonialists.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51So I want to know about Daniel's very British life
0:08:51 > 0:08:53in the middle of India.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Following in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather,
0:08:57 > 0:08:58Daniel Doyle,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03Billy is travelling 6,000 miles to Wellington in southern India.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08It's a small garrison town high up in the Nilgiris hills.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17I've been to India several times. I like the people.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20It's a lovely feeling being back in India again.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Oh, there's a monkey. There's monkeys all over the place.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Monkeys give me the willies!
0:09:31 > 0:09:35This is extraordinary tea country.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Just lush and green.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Kind of Scottish, really.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48People drive here like nowhere else on earth.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51This is a great example of the driving!
0:09:51 > 0:09:55They'll do a blind corner without even thinking about it.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Overtake. Beep-beep!
0:09:57 > 0:09:59The horn saves you from everything.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01HORN BEEPS
0:10:03 > 0:10:04I've never seen a crash here,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06although I've seen some hairy driving.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15I'm thinking about my granny's grandfather,
0:10:15 > 0:10:16Daniel Doyle.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19For Daniel to come here and live,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22it must have been like coming to the dark side of the moon.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25It must have been completely foreign to him.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29We can but wonder.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36When Daniel Doyle came to India in the mid-19th century,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39vast areas of the subcontinent were governed on behalf of the
0:10:39 > 0:10:42British Crown by the East India Company.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49For over 200 years the company had been making treaties
0:10:49 > 0:10:53to gain land and power from its Indian rulers,
0:10:53 > 0:10:55and had profited from trade and taxation.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01To maintain control over these lucrative territories,
0:11:01 > 0:11:05the Crown used the British Army as well as private armies
0:11:05 > 0:11:08created by the East India Company.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10SOLDIERS AND OFFICERS YELL
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Across the country, the company had a quarter of a million
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Indian soldiers serving alongside British troops.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Left, right, left! Left, right...!
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Billy has come to the barracks where Daniel Doyle was first stationed
0:11:30 > 0:11:32with the British Army in the 1850s.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36I've gone quite tingly.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Daniel Doyle, it's kind of weird walking in his footsteps.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42There's a definite spookiness.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Not sort of, "Whoo-oo-oo, ghostie," just,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48you feel like they're invisible,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50just standing taking note of you.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54But it's a beautiful barracks as barracks go,
0:11:54 > 0:11:58cos normally I'm used to the British idea of barracks
0:11:58 > 0:12:00which is grey,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02that sort of Aldershot beigey grey.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07Sounds like a soul singer, doesn't it, Beigey Grey!
0:12:07 > 0:12:09But it's really quite colourful.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13DISTANT SHOUTING OF COMMANDS
0:12:21 > 0:12:22I like that.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28The British usually accompany that order with a little scream.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30They go, "Du-uh, ha!"
0:12:30 > 0:12:32BILLY CHUCKLES
0:12:36 > 0:12:39To find out about Daniel's life as a soldier,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Billy is meeting historian Dr Rosie Llewellyn-Jones.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Yes, you see, canons here. I think...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48They've come to the Wellington Gymkhana Club.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Popular with the military,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52it dates back to the days of the British Empire.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55I have his military record here.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56Oh, great!
0:12:58 > 0:12:59Hollywood.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01- Ireland.- Oh, yeah.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03So there's the Irish connection.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05He's a labourer from the County of Wicklow.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06Was this when he joined?
0:13:06 > 0:13:11Yes, that's right. In September 1856.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14"Daniel Doyle, aged 18 years.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16"Complexion sallow.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19"Eyes blue. Hair brown."
0:13:19 > 0:13:21And you can see, he was quite a tall lad, actually.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- Yeah, 5'11½", must have been a tall guy.- Yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29And he went into the 3rd Battalion 60th Rifles,
0:13:29 > 0:13:32and this got him out to India.
0:13:32 > 0:13:37For Daniel it was a chance for adventure in an exotic country.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40- Attractive possibilities. - Very attractive, yes.- Mm.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44And we've got a couple of pictures of what it actually looked like.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Oh, it looks the same as I was there this morning.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- It's good, isn't it? - Oh, it's fantastic.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Daniel might have thought he was coming out to fight
0:13:53 > 0:13:56and life would be very lively and everything.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00He came out at an interesting time in the middle of
0:14:00 > 0:14:03the Great Rebellion, the Great Uprising of 1857.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- That was going on in the north of India.- Yes.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09But because he was in the south he didn't see any fighting.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17In 1857, the tide was turning against the British
0:14:17 > 0:14:18in the north of the country.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23There was growing resentment among the Indian soldiers serving with
0:14:23 > 0:14:27the East India Company about the spread of Western culture
0:14:27 > 0:14:32and Christianity, which threatened their traditions and religion.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Thousands of these formerly loyal Indian soldiers
0:14:38 > 0:14:42were now taking up arms against their colonial masters.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48To try to quash the rebellion, more troops were sent north.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51But the British still needed soldiers like Daniel Doyle
0:14:51 > 0:14:54to maintain a strong military presence in the south.
0:14:56 > 0:15:01We can see that he volunteers for the Royal Artillery as a gunner
0:15:01 > 0:15:04and he spends three years there and then moves up to the
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- Royal Horse Artillery, which is really prestigious.- Oh, yeah.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11Oh, that's great.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13So he must have been a pretty good gunner.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17This is an elite corps, there's no doubt about that.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19That's an extraordinary picture.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21Have a look at this.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25"With regard to the character and conduct,
0:15:25 > 0:15:28"it would appear his conduct has been good
0:15:28 > 0:15:33"and he is in possession of three good conduct badges."
0:15:34 > 0:15:35Hmm.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41- And he's promoted to corporal in 1863.- Yes.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43So Daniel's done quite well for himself
0:15:43 > 0:15:45with his good conduct medals, eh?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47So he would have been quite happy, I think, here.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49What we have got is a diary account
0:15:49 > 0:15:53by somebody who was actually in the Royal Horse Artillery
0:15:53 > 0:15:55- at the same time.- Oh, yeah?
0:15:56 > 0:15:59"Get up at five o'clock, roll up the blanket or bed,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02"any drills, parades, stables or fatigues are done by nine.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04"From nine until four in the afternoon
0:16:04 > 0:16:06"we're not allowed to leave the camp.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09"If you could look in here now you would see most of our men asleep.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11"From four to six is set apart for drill.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14"This, I think, concludes a day's work."
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Not a lot of work went on.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17"Everything is such a sameness.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20"Everybody knows everybody and we see each other so often
0:16:20 > 0:16:22"we tire to look at each other."
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Ooh, I can see it coming.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26"Then there is so little variety in our duties
0:16:26 > 0:16:28"that they become quite a bugbear.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31"To bed at nine, up at six, to bed at nine again,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33"thus we drag our miserable existence."
0:16:34 > 0:16:35Miserable existence.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38I thought they were leading a rather jolly life.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Not really, because you've got to remember
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- there's no fighting going on at the moment.- Yes, yes.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48So you can see boredom would drive them to all kinds of distractions.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Oh, indeed, indeed.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53We do have some more information about him.
0:16:53 > 0:16:58"His name appears 16 times in the Regimental Defaulters' Book...
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- "..and he has been held once by court martial."- Tried.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- Oh, he's been tried once. That's quite serious.- Mm.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08What did he do?
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Unfortunately we don't know.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12What's the Defaulters' Book?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15It's sort of like a naughty book if you step...!
0:17:15 > 0:17:17THEY LAUGH
0:17:17 > 0:17:18The naughty step!
0:17:18 > 0:17:21If you step out of line, your name goes down.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24But that could have been for fairly minor things.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27- Yeah, misdemeanour...- Being drunk, being rude, yes, exactly.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29I can smell alcohol.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- Oh, can you?- Yes.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35If you're 16 times in the Defaulters' Book,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38I reckon you're a bit of a drunk.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40So has he been flung out?
0:17:40 > 0:17:43No, not really. He just goes back to being a gunner again,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47but he's lost that, you know, that prestigious job unfortunately.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Yes. Yeah, well, I don't understand why he's got himself in trouble,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52having gone from private to corporal.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55I mean, his next step was sergeant.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59You would think he would behave himself. Oh, for shame, for shame.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01- I think he'd be good fun by the sound of him.- Yes.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05And what happened to him after that?
0:18:05 > 0:18:09We find him in Bangalore, in hospital, in 1866.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- Oh, really?- Mm.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12I wonder what he went to hospital for,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14that's what I would like to know.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24I think when Daniel was in India,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27he's obviously lying around here bored stiff.
0:18:29 > 0:18:3316 times in the... in the Defaulters' Book!
0:18:33 > 0:18:34BILLY LAUGHS
0:18:34 > 0:18:37He's a bit like me. I'm sure I would have been in the Defaulters' Book.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Find him very colourful. I kind of like him.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45When I heard that he'd been in hospital in Bangalore
0:18:45 > 0:18:47I immediately thought, "He's been in a fight."
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Maybe it's just some act of vandalism
0:18:49 > 0:18:52when he was drunk or something like that.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56I may be completely wrong. He maybe caught some disease.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59There was no... I mean, I don't imagine it was terribly difficult
0:18:59 > 0:19:03to catch a disease then here, for a white guy especially.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05So I really don't know. I haven't a clue.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07I'm desperate to find out.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09It's got my nosy bone going.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12I really want to know what he's been up to,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14why he's in hospital.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25Billy is heading 200 miles north to Bangalore city,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28where his great-great-grandfather was in hospital.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35PEOPLE CHEER
0:19:40 > 0:19:42HORNS BEEP
0:19:52 > 0:19:54If it's a quiet time you're looking for...
0:19:56 > 0:19:58..don't come to Bangalore!
0:20:00 > 0:20:02I never saw so many people in my life.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06All the mopeds and...
0:20:06 > 0:20:11the heart-stopping sight of women in saris sitting side saddle,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13hurtling through the traffic with a baby in their arms.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20It just crossed my mind how it must have looked in 1866.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Cos there would be no cars. Just be bullock carts.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27I wonder how Daniel got to Bangalore.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Maybe he just jumped on a horse.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42It's not known which hospital Daniel Doyle was treated in,
0:20:42 > 0:20:47but historian Dr Mridula Ramanna has found his medical records.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- Here's Daniel Doyle.- Daniel Doyle.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Diseases.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55And these are the dates when he was in hospital
0:20:55 > 0:20:59with the years '66 to '69.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03- So he's come back and forth out of... in and out of hospital?- Yeah.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Is that diarrhoea there?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Yes, diarrhoea, dysentery was very common.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- What does that say? - This is ebriositis.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14- Ebriositis.- ..sitis. Which is...- What's that?
0:21:14 > 0:21:18..which is actually alcoholism.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Oh!
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- Yeah. And you'll see... - It's a family tradition.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28- Oh! There's, there are two entries for ebriositis.- Yes.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33- Yeah. What does that one say there? - Yeah, that is, er,
0:21:33 > 0:21:38enu...enuresis, which is excessive urination
0:21:38 > 0:21:40in the night,
0:21:40 > 0:21:46and that is caused by, again, alcoholism.
0:21:46 > 0:21:47My goodness!
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- He, he...- So he would be alcoholic and peeing through the night,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54- and having diarrhoea during the day! - Yeah.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57- His life was quite jolly! - Yeah.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- For this ebriositis...- Yes.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03..Doyle would have been given morphine.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07- For his alcoholism?- Yeah.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09To sedate him, because he would...
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Sedated by morphine?
0:22:11 > 0:22:15..because he must have been violent.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17- You know, in alcohol...- Yes.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20- So you know...- Throwing his weight around.- Right, yeah, perhaps.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Is that syphilis?
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Yes. Primary syphilis.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29My God!
0:22:30 > 0:22:32BILLY LAUGHS
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Golly! Oh...
0:22:37 > 0:22:39I didn't see it tucked away there.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Oh. So he's got syphilis and diarrhoea.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48What a happy young man he is(!)
0:22:48 > 0:22:51And that was pretty common here in the British Army.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52- Was it?- Yeah.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Many of these young men,
0:22:54 > 0:22:58their only outlet would be to go to prostitutes.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00So probably that's where he caught it.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03My goodness me!
0:23:04 > 0:23:06The dirty bugger!
0:23:06 > 0:23:08THEY LAUGH
0:23:10 > 0:23:14The British Army saw prostitution as a necessary evil.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20To exert some control, they procured prostitutes for their regiments.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26Around 20 prostitutes were expected to provide sexual services
0:23:26 > 0:23:27for up to a thousand soldiers.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Typically, the prostitutes were poor local women,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35used exclusively by the troops.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40But by the 1860s, as many as one in three soldiers,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44like Daniel Doyle, had a sexually transmitted disease.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Syphilis was called the scourge of the British Army.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53The British Medical Journal has a number of articles on how
0:23:53 > 0:23:58they performed health inspection of the regiments.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02With primary syphilis the symptoms are genital sores.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06"In some regiments the men are marched in a body to the hospital.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09"In some cases they stand in their ordinary fatigue dress,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12"each man unbuttoning the front of his trousers
0:24:12 > 0:24:15"and parading the genitals for the inspecting surgeon.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19"This operation generally giving rise to suppressed manifestations of
0:24:19 > 0:24:22"mirth, shame or indignation, but at all times,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26"to say the least of it, humiliating and disgusting to the surgeon."
0:24:26 > 0:24:27Oh, but of course.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30"Sometimes the soldiers are partially or even entirely
0:24:30 > 0:24:34"undressed or with shirt on only, the front tail of which is lifted..."
0:24:34 > 0:24:36THEY LAUGH
0:24:36 > 0:24:39"..as the surgeon passes down the line!"
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Oh, it's a peculiar salute he's getting there!
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Oh, God, when you think of how they behaved in those days.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51It was a matter of grave concern to them, so that's why...
0:24:51 > 0:24:53I'm sure it was, yes.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58- And they were very keen on containing it.- Yes.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03But it was invariably the argument that it was the woman to blame.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06- Yes. Of course it was. - So it would be...
0:25:06 > 0:25:09If the women were found diseased,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12they would be sent to lock hospitals.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Locked up as if they were in jail?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Yeah. The idea to lock up the woman
0:25:18 > 0:25:22for a period of maybe three months.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24In an attempt to control the spread of syphilis,
0:25:24 > 0:25:28the Army forced the prostitutes into lock hospitals
0:25:28 > 0:25:32to undergo examination and quarantine.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36When they were declared clean, they would be released
0:25:36 > 0:25:39and made available to the soldiers again.
0:25:39 > 0:25:40My goodness!
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- All of this was conducted by men, all these examinations?- Yeah.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47And would that be going on when Daniel was around?
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- The lock hospitals were in operation.- Yes.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54But just after this,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56he got married.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58- Oh, really?- Yeah.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Here is his certificate.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06"15th June, 1869,
0:26:06 > 0:26:08"Daniel Doyle to Margaret O'Brien."
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- Well, the syphilis didn't stop him getting married.- No.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16- Oh, I'm glad to hear it.- Yeah.
0:26:16 > 0:26:22By 1873, you'll see that he was "regular, good and temperate."
0:26:22 > 0:26:24"Regular, good and temperate."
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Probably the marriage to Margaret O'Brien sobered him.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32He must have got over both the syphilis and the alcoholism.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34To become a good father and husband.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36- Yeah.- He saw the light,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38and married the beautiful Margaret.
0:26:38 > 0:26:39Margaret O'Brien.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42THEY LAUGH
0:26:42 > 0:26:44And does it end there?
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Yes. He went back to Britain, '78.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Discharged from the Army.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53- 20 years in India.- Mm.
0:26:53 > 0:26:54Well, there we have it.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00My syphilitic great-great-grandfather.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Well, thank you very much indeed.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03Nice meeting you.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Oh, the pleasure's mine, I can assure you.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12I think he was doing what lots and lots of guys were doing.
0:27:12 > 0:27:14Getting drunk and getting laid.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18But you don't usually see that about your great-great-grandparents.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22They're usually all stiff and getting their picture taken.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23But he was a real Jack-the-lad.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28It's astonishing, once he meets Margaret he's...
0:27:28 > 0:27:30he cleans up his act completely.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Either she was immensely strong or he was very strong willed.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36The more I read about him, the more I like him.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40He's a vulnerable guy from Ireland who's taken a little drink
0:27:40 > 0:27:42and got in a little mess here.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48I thought he would be fighting but there you go, I was quite close.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51I would like to see what happens next to him.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53I think it would be difficult for him
0:27:53 > 0:27:56to adjust to living in the UK after living in India.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Freedom's quite frightening if you're not used to it.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06- Hello, Billy.- Hello, Gillian.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08How lovely to see you.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Billy has asked researcher Gillian Wright to look for
0:28:12 > 0:28:15records about Daniel Doyle's life back in Britain.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Well, I think we're in luck because we have some information.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Great.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And, er, this is actually from Scotland.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- Oh. So they moved to Scotland?- Yes.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31"Application For Relief."
0:28:31 > 0:28:33No, I don't understand it.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Are they applying to the Government for relief or the Church?
0:28:35 > 0:28:39- Yeah, they're applying to the, to the parish.- Oh, the parish, yeah.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41- And it's poor relief.- Oh!
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Which means they are very desperate.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45My God.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48I'm sad.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- I wanted him to do better than that. - Yeah.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01And then we know that he'd had a stroke
0:29:01 > 0:29:04and he died in 1902.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07BILLY SIGHS
0:29:07 > 0:29:08What a shame.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13It's a terrible tragic end to his life.
0:29:15 > 0:29:20- After this period, it's his wife who's applying for assistance.- Yes.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23She's the widow of Daniel Doyle, this is Margaret,
0:29:23 > 0:29:28and on the 28th of July, 1903, she's committed to the poorhouse.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31- She's complaining of weak vision. - She is, yeah.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34- God, life isn't easy for our Margaret, is it?- Not at all.
0:29:37 > 0:29:43And then we get the final entry on the 18th September 1905 when,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45again, she applies for relief.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52Her life has changed radically, too. She must have been deeply depressed.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55I mean, when she married a dashing young man...
0:29:55 > 0:29:59She married a dashing young drunk with a history of syphilis.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02THEY LAUGH
0:30:02 > 0:30:05- Well, I doubt if she was aware of that.- Yeah.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Erm...I'm depressed about the whole affair.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14This...this severe slope downwards.
0:30:14 > 0:30:20But that's the last application. After that, she never applies again.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24So perhaps then her family take responsibility for her.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28- But we don't know.- Yeah. - So that's where her story ends here.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32But there is, on the first page of this document,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35something which tells us about where she began.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39- Oh, really?- Yeah. Because they not only show the children,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43they show the parentage, so that may interest you.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49"Wife - Margaret O'Brien, born in East India.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54"Daughter of John O'Brien and Matilda Allan, both dead."
0:30:56 > 0:31:01- They're her parents. So I have a record.- You do?- I do.
0:31:01 > 0:31:06- Of...of her father?- Of her father and for her journey in life.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Oh, great.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12- Registry of Baptisms in the year 1852.- Yeah.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17- And if you look for Margaret... - This here?- Yes, there she is.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22"Parents' names - John and Matilda O'Brien.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27"Rank or occupation of the father - bullock driver."
0:31:27 > 0:31:30No, unfortunately, that would have been really fun.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32That's the next one down.
0:31:32 > 0:31:34Oh! THEY LAUGH
0:31:34 > 0:31:38- "Private."- He was a private in the 1st M,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42- which is the 1st Madras Fusiliers. - Really?- Yeah.
0:31:42 > 0:31:47And Madras Fusiliers had been sent up north to quash the rebellion,
0:31:47 > 0:31:50the Indian Mutiny, as they called it, the Great Rebellion.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52That started that year.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56- So, her father was a private in the Madras Regiment?- Yes.
0:31:56 > 0:32:02- He would definitely be up fighting in the mutiny?- Yeah.- Oh, my God.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Billy has discovered his connection to India
0:32:08 > 0:32:10goes back another generation.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14While Daniel Doyle was stationed in the south
0:32:14 > 0:32:16during the Great Rebellion,
0:32:16 > 0:32:21his father-in-law, John O'Brien, was sent to the heart of the uprising.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23You know, I didn't know I had anybody involved
0:32:23 > 0:32:26in the Indian Mutiny, the Indian Rebellion, you know.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28And he was actually in action.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32And I would... I would suspect that Daniel
0:32:32 > 0:32:34would be a wee bit in awe of him.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Billy is heading north to Cawnpore, where John O'Brien
0:32:40 > 0:32:43and his regiment, the 1st Madras Fusiliers,
0:32:43 > 0:32:47were sent in June 1857 at the height of the rebellion.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52'Must have been a horrendous, hairy affair.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55'Shooting and killing and smoke and flame everywhere.
0:32:55 > 0:32:58'Was he brave? Did he run away?'
0:33:01 > 0:33:04The rebellion was turning into a bloodbath.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08Atrocities were taking place on both sides.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11British officers and their families
0:33:11 > 0:33:13had been murdered by the Indian rebels.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18Retaliation by the British was swift and brutal.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22Some rebels were strapped to canons and blown apart.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28And many soldiers were ordered to shoot Indians indiscriminately
0:33:28 > 0:33:30and burn their villages to the ground.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36The British had lost control in major cities.
0:33:37 > 0:33:42Now, the garrison cities of Lucknow and Cawnpore were also under attack.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50To find out what happened to John O'Brien,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Billy is meeting military historian Rana Chhinna.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56The uprising spread like wildfire.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59It was called the Devil's Wind.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01And the force of which John was a part
0:34:01 > 0:34:05were desperate to reach Cawnpore
0:34:05 > 0:34:08because they were aware that massacres had been taking place...
0:34:08 > 0:34:10- Really?- Yeah.
0:34:12 > 0:34:18In Cawnpore, 350 British men had already been killed by the rebels
0:34:18 > 0:34:22but 200 women and children were still being held captive.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27Their lives depended on John and the relief force
0:34:27 > 0:34:30arriving before they suffered the same fate.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35John's regiment marched over 100 miles,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39facing fierce resistance, as they battled to reach Cawnpore.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43And this was at the peak of summer,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46- and they were all in their woollen redcoats.- Of course they were.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50John would have seen his comrades dying of heat exhaustion,
0:34:50 > 0:34:54- heat stroke, dysentery, cholera... - Oh, my God!
0:34:57 > 0:35:00The relieving force, of which John was a part,
0:35:00 > 0:35:02reached here just two days too late.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06- Just two days too late?- Yes. The women and children were killed.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10They were dragged out and thrown into the well.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12And this is that well.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Just two days before John and the relief force arrived,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20the women and children had been butchered,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23dismembered and piled into the well.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Oh, my God.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31I'm just trying to imagine my old great-great-great-grandfather
0:35:31 > 0:35:35arriving here to see this well and this nightmarish scene.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38Yes. If they looked into the well, they could actually...
0:35:38 > 0:35:40- Yeah.- ..see the remains.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43It would have a profound effect on them all, never mind John,
0:35:43 > 0:35:46- to be confronted with this when they arrived.- Yes.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49Which would be done on purpose, of course.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51It's a great military manoeuvre
0:35:51 > 0:35:55to confront the approaching troops with something nightmarish.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59And there's another thing. If you notice the bats, fruit bats?
0:35:59 > 0:36:02- Yes. Yeah.- You know what the locals believe?
0:36:02 > 0:36:04They believe the bats are here
0:36:04 > 0:36:07because this is a place of tortured souls.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10- Really?- Yeah.- Well, that's creepy!
0:36:11 > 0:36:13It's such a delightful place,
0:36:13 > 0:36:17it's hard to believe that such a horrible thing happened here.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21We also have to remember that when John O'Brien got here,
0:36:21 > 0:36:25just days after that, he became a father for the second time.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29- And Margaret, his first daughter, was five years old.- Yeah.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34So, to see these young children having been butchered...
0:36:34 > 0:36:36It would mean a great deal to him.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39- Yeah, would have had a great impact on him.- Mm.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Yeah. For John and his comrades, "Remember Cawnpore"
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- became the rallying cry for them. - Really?- Yeah.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49John's commanding officer, Colonel Neill,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52ordered immediate punishment of those suspected
0:36:52 > 0:36:55of taking part in the massacre.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59"Each miscreant, after sentence of death is pronounced upon him,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03"will be taken down to the house and questioned under a guard
0:37:03 > 0:37:08"and will be forced into cleaning up a small portion of the blood-stains;
0:37:08 > 0:37:12"the task will be made as revolting to his feelings as possible...
0:37:12 > 0:37:15"After properly cleaning up his portion,
0:37:15 > 0:37:18"the culprit is to be immediately hanged
0:37:18 > 0:37:22"and for this purpose a gallows will be erected close at hand."
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Oh, my God!
0:37:24 > 0:37:27The suspects were forced to clean up
0:37:27 > 0:37:30the victims' blood with their tongues.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32As further humiliation,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35and in violation of their religious beliefs,
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Muslims were forced to eat pork
0:37:37 > 0:37:41and Hindus to eat beef before being hanged.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46He was not concerned whether they were guilty or innocent.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48It didn't matter to him.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52- So, he... John would be part of this? - Yes. Very much so.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55- Enforcing this?- Yes.- Oh, dear.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00John O'Brien would have been part of that, yeah.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02One of the officers said,
0:38:02 > 0:38:06"Every day the trees are ripe with the fruits of rebellion,"
0:38:06 > 0:38:08and he was talking about the corpses that were strung up.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10- Yes, hanging.- Yeah.
0:38:11 > 0:38:17- My God! Neill, guy's a sadist, isn't he?- He was very brutal.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22- I don't know what to think about that.- Yeah.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26- We didn't get this history at school. - No. No.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32The way I see it, my great-great-great-grandfather
0:38:32 > 0:38:37was a very nice man who was lorded over by Mr Neill.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39He probably just was a private, doing what he was told.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Private soldiers have to do exactly what they were told to do.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48With the horrors of Cawnpore fresh in their minds,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51John and the relief force were ordered to march 50 miles
0:38:51 > 0:38:56to Lucknow, where a massacre on an even greater scale was threatened.
0:38:58 > 0:39:012,000 British soldiers and civilians
0:39:01 > 0:39:05had sought refuge in the British headquarters called the Residency.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Surrounded by rebels, and under constant attack,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12they were desperate to be rescued.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18With thousands of civilians now supporting the rebel soldiers,
0:39:18 > 0:39:23the relief force suffered heavy losses in the battle
0:39:23 > 0:39:26to break through enemy lines and reach the Residency.
0:39:29 > 0:39:31This was the main gate
0:39:31 > 0:39:34- and this was the gate that John would have come through.- Yes.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37And, of course, he would have fought his way to here.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39They were fighting every inch of the way.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42God, it's remarkable to think I'm walking up the same road
0:39:42 > 0:39:45as my great-great-great-grandfather walked up.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50When John and his relief force finally arrived in late September,
0:39:50 > 0:39:54the Siege of Lucknow had been raging for three months.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57This was a proper battle ground of...
0:39:57 > 0:39:59You can see where that one's been hit with heavy artillery,
0:39:59 > 0:40:02- just up at the top there. - That's right.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- 24 hours a day under fire.- Yes.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10There is a contemporary print.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14Oh, yes. That's great.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19- I'm just trying to imagine, with the cheering.- Yes.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21There's an account.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25- A Lady's Diary Of The Siege Of Lucknow.- Yeah. The extract.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28"Yesterday evening, on the 88th day of the siege,
0:40:28 > 0:40:33"our long-looked for and so often despaired of 'relief' arrived.
0:40:33 > 0:40:38"Never shall I forget the moment to the latest day I live.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41"The big, rough-bearded soldiers were seizing the little children
0:40:41 > 0:40:45"out of our arms, kissing them with tears rolling down their cheeks,
0:40:45 > 0:40:48"and thanking God they had come in time
0:40:48 > 0:40:51"to save them from the fate of those at Cawnpore."
0:40:51 > 0:40:53God, that must have been a party!
0:40:54 > 0:40:56That's wonderful.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00So, did any fighting continue in here?
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Yes. You see, you have to remember the numbers were so few
0:41:04 > 0:41:09and they were surrounded by a force of 8,000 to 10,000 men.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13- Really?- There was no way that they could actually battle their way out.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15- Couldn't get out.- Couldn't get out.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19And they would be a weight on the food and all that, and the resources.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21Yes. Yes, cos you know, they had marched in as...
0:41:21 > 0:41:24- The great saviours. - ..the great saviours.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27And then the relievers became part of the besieged.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33God! It's never ending.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37We have an account by one of the officers of the Madras Fusiliers.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42"Instead of affording any great relief to this unfortunate
0:41:42 > 0:41:45"garrison of Lucknow, I am writing one week after our entrance.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48"We are almost as badly off as the garrison
0:41:48 > 0:41:52"and with few supplies left - daily fighting, daily loss.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55"But such a scene of filth mixed up with costly things,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57"it's impossible to imagine.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00"The finest china used by soldiers of the force,
0:42:00 > 0:42:04"all this mixed up with dead bodies until the stench is so great
0:42:04 > 0:42:07"we can hardly sit - and no-one to remove all this filth.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11"Our force is so small, nothing more can really be done."
0:42:11 > 0:42:14- Oh, my God! - Conditions were growing...
0:42:14 > 0:42:16- Worse and worse. - ..worse and worse.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20And these are events that John O'Brien was definitely
0:42:20 > 0:42:22- a part of and would have seen first-hand.- Yes.
0:42:26 > 0:42:30With rebels pounding the Residency with artillery fire,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33casualties inside were mounting daily.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37The banqueting hall was turned into a hospital.
0:42:38 > 0:42:44As a matter of fact, we know John O'Brien was wounded.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48If you look at that, it says, "O'Brien, John..."
0:42:49 > 0:42:52"Severe gunshot." Does that say wound?
0:42:52 > 0:42:55- Yeah, wound...- Yes, left shoulder. - ..of left shoulder.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58And now, in those days without anaesthetic,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01- you can imagine what he must have gone through.- Yes.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05My God!
0:43:05 > 0:43:09People dying all around him, would have been blood everywhere.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Must have thought his chances were pretty small of getting out of here.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14And hundreds of people in here.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17It must have been an extraordinarily place.
0:43:19 > 0:43:21This place would have seen a lot of suffering.
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Must have been unimaginable torture for them.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25It would have been awful.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29And lying in a hospital here, unable to do anything.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31He must have thought his chances were pretty small
0:43:31 > 0:43:33of getting out of here.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41On November 17th, nearly six months after the siege first began,
0:43:41 > 0:43:44a larger relief force came to the rescue.
0:43:47 > 0:43:50John's ordeal was finally over.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55The defence of Lucknow became the pinnacle
0:43:55 > 0:43:58- of the British Imperial achievement. - Yeah.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02So, for John to have been present at this key moment
0:44:02 > 0:44:04in British Imperial history was huge.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Extraordinary, yeah.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10If it was an American you would say he was one of the guys
0:44:10 > 0:44:12who was present at the Alamo.
0:44:15 > 0:44:22That is a medal roll and there he is, Private John O'Brien, 2252.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26- Top of the list.- And it says,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29"Entitled to a clasp for the defence of Lucknow."
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Rana has a replica of the medal John O'Brien would have received.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38My goodness!
0:44:38 > 0:44:42- That's a lovely thing, isn't it? - It is.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44That's amazing. Good on him.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50It wasn't just British soldiers like John O'Brien
0:44:50 > 0:44:53who were decorated for their part in defending Lucknow.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57Over 700 Indian soldiers remained loyal
0:44:57 > 0:44:59to the British during the siege.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Every Indian member of the garrison was subsequently admitted
0:45:03 > 0:45:06to the Order of Merit, which was the highest gallantry award.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08- Really?- Yeah.
0:45:08 > 0:45:11It was the Indian equivalent of the Victoria Cross which they gave them.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13That's wonderful.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17I think he would have been quite proud.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21And quite delighted to have survived.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23My God!
0:45:24 > 0:45:26What a guy!
0:45:31 > 0:45:35When I think of what his eyes must have seen was a disgraceful act.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39And it must have been terrible for him,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41having seen the massacre in Cawnpore,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43then coming here and wondering
0:45:43 > 0:45:46what was happening to his wife and two children.
0:45:46 > 0:45:50But he came through it all and he won a medal.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54On one hand it's valorous because you did your job extremely well.
0:45:55 > 0:45:59But was your job really worth doing? It has to be questioned.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04It's very easy for the likes of me to sit here and say that.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07He lived in a completely different world.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09Where we had an Empire that had to be looked after
0:46:09 > 0:46:13and he was there to keep India British.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17You know, it's dead easy for me sitting here, Joe the hippy,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20"Peace and love and save the whale."
0:46:20 > 0:46:23But when you're there, it's a different sausage.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31Regaining Lucknow was a turning point for the British.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34But it took them another six months
0:46:34 > 0:46:36to finally quash the Great Rebellion,
0:46:36 > 0:46:41or as many Indians called it, their First War of Independence.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46In 1858, the East India Company was dissolved.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49The British Crown took direct control
0:46:49 > 0:46:51and many soldiers returned to Britain.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56John O'Brien was wounded in the Great Rebellion,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58and Billy wants to know what happened to him.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02I've been looking at some records here.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05General Orders. Is this him here?
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Yes, that's him there, right there, yeah.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10- "Pension - one shilling and six pence."- Yeah.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13- So that's him being pensioned out of the Army.- Yeah.
0:47:13 > 0:47:171859. So that's just two years after the Relief of Lucknow.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19That's right.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22So he wouldn't be living very high on the hog, would he,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25to live on a shilling and six pence?
0:47:25 > 0:47:28But for that point of time it was a good amount
0:47:28 > 0:47:31- and he could have lived quite comfortably.- Really?- Yeah.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34So, do you think he would have been invalided out?
0:47:34 > 0:47:36Yeah, because he was wounded.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39Yes, his left shoulder, he was badly wounded.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Yeah, so probably he couldn't serve any more,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43which is why he was pensioned off.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47And since this was at the Siege of Lucknow it was probably just...
0:47:47 > 0:47:50- Since he's proved his loyalty to the British...- Yes.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53It was like a mark of the service rendered that they gave him
0:47:53 > 0:47:56- that higher amount of pension. - Oh, yeah.
0:47:56 > 0:48:02- Yeah. So they appreciated the service that he gave them.- Yes.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07It also mentions where he chose to reside after being pensioned.
0:48:07 > 0:48:11- And it was Bangalore.- Yeah. - Oh, he's chosen to live in India.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13- That's correct, yeah. - Oh, I like that.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16Yeah, that's interesting because most of the others chose to go back.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Yes. "England, England, England..."
0:48:19 > 0:48:22So he's gone and settled in Bangalore.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26And is there any information how long he stayed there?
0:48:26 > 0:48:32- Yeah. So if you would look at this. - Baptisms. I can't make out the date.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36- 1864.- So he has more children at this point.
0:48:36 > 0:48:42- We have another baptism record. - 1866.- That's right.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46- I have another record as well for you.- 1872.- Mm-hm.
0:48:46 > 0:48:49- More babies! It's the climate!- Yeah.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Yeah, you can blame it on the climate, yeah.
0:48:53 > 0:48:56And probably being a pensioner, he had a lot of time on his hands!
0:48:56 > 0:48:58THEY LAUGH
0:48:58 > 0:49:03BIRDS SQUAWK Even the birds find it funny!
0:49:03 > 0:49:05But I kind of like the fact that he stayed in India,
0:49:05 > 0:49:09and the children growing up in Bangalore would have had a nice time.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11Yes, they would.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14I was hoping one of the girls would marry a maharajah.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17THEY LAUGH
0:49:17 > 0:49:20- Don't we all! - THEY LAUGH
0:49:20 > 0:49:23I was hoping to marry a maharajah too!
0:49:25 > 0:49:28- Well, thank you very much indeed. - My pleasure.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35Billy knows Mary Doyle and her mother, Margaret,
0:49:35 > 0:49:37were both born in India.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42Now he wants to know if Matilda and her parents
0:49:42 > 0:49:45take his connection to the country back another generation.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Hello. You're Rajesh? I'm Billy Connolly.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59I'd like to know if you have any records pertaining
0:49:59 > 0:50:05to my great-great-great-grandfather John O'Brien and his wife Matilda?
0:50:05 > 0:50:09You can take a look of marriage and baptism records from 1840s.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13- Oh, that sounds great, yeah. - So, these are the registers.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16Thank you very much.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Well, I think I'll do the marriages first.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23So, I look for O'Brien.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30Golly, this is hard.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34Oh, this is a minefield!
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Holy moley!
0:50:40 > 0:50:42If Margaret was born in 1852...
0:50:45 > 0:50:48..I go back to... Where am I?
0:50:50 > 0:50:52Bingo!
0:50:54 > 0:50:57John O'Brien, 1st Madras Fusiliers.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Matilda Ellen.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05Date of Marriage - 16th of July 1845.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10Matilda. I don't know where she came from.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15There's no information about her parents.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Married 1845, in July.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Billy's searching for Matilda's baptism record,
0:51:23 > 0:51:25which may hold more clues.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29Baptised... I'm just presuming she was baptised here.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43Matilda Allan.
0:51:43 > 0:51:50She was baptised on 20th of May 1845 in Bangalore.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57The parents - there's no information, surname or nothing.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02Hang on.
0:52:02 > 0:52:05The 20th June...
0:52:05 > 0:52:07And she's married in July.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10So, this is obviously to make her a Catholic...
0:52:12 > 0:52:14..so that he can marry her.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17There's no other information.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19I wonder if she was pregnant.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Date of birth - 1832.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27If she was born in 1832 and married in 1845...
0:52:30 > 0:52:3313?
0:52:33 > 0:52:35That cannae be right, surely!
0:52:38 > 0:52:43Date of birth - 1832. Date of Marriage - 1845.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Surely she wasn't married when she was 13!
0:52:50 > 0:52:52Doesn't make any sense.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56It doesn't even say where she was born.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58God Almighty!
0:52:58 > 0:53:00Really shocked me.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05I'm astonished.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08Absolutely astonished to find that
0:53:08 > 0:53:13my great-great-great-grandfather married a 13-year-old girl.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15I had to do the math.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Between 1932 and '45, it's not difficult.
0:53:18 > 0:53:23My brain kept saying, "No, that makes her 13, don't be ridiculous!"
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Was it legal in 1845?
0:53:25 > 0:53:29I'm trying not to be judgmental. Maybe it was absolutely normal.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34It's kind of playing havoc with my mind.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37That's a nice colour, isn't it? The sari.
0:53:42 > 0:53:44- Hi, Richard.- Hello, Billy.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46- Nice to see you. - So good to meet you.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Billy is meeting local historian Richard O'Connor
0:53:49 > 0:53:51at the exclusive Bangalore Club.
0:53:51 > 0:53:56My God, this is quite the place, isn't it? Very posh.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59- It is.- This is the India that used to be, the British Raj India.
0:53:59 > 0:54:03- In fact, it's nearly 150 years old. - Really?- Yes.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06We are entering the men's bar now.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09This was meant for the officers of the British Army.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16Richard, in 1845 my great-great-great-grandparents
0:54:16 > 0:54:20were married here in Bangalore. John and Matilda O'Brien.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23But it would appear that Matilda was only 13 years of age
0:54:23 > 0:54:26and she was baptised a month before the wedding.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29Do you know if it was legal to get married at 13?
0:54:29 > 0:54:31Could you cast any light on it for me?
0:54:31 > 0:54:35Well, to do that, Billy, we'll have to look at the records
0:54:35 > 0:54:38of John and Matilda's children.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42This is the marriage of one of the daughters, Mary.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46Mary O'Brien.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52- It says about Mary is East Indian. East Indian?- East Indian.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56I don't know what that means.
0:54:56 > 0:55:01- Have you heard of this name? - East Indian?- Before, yeah?
0:55:01 > 0:55:04Matilda was European, wasn't she?
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Matilda Allan. The wife of John O'Brien.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12- But look what it says. - East Indian.- East Indian.
0:55:14 > 0:55:19It's not European. East Indian means Anglo-Indian.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24- Anglo-Indian.- This means that her father was European,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27in this case British, and her mother was Indian.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30- Lordy, lordy!- There we go.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36- Well, well, well!- All along you've been thinking she's European?
0:55:36 > 0:55:40- Yes, I thought she was European! - It's here on record.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43While the children are Anglo-Indian, the mother was definitely Indian.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47Indian! HE LAUGHS
0:55:47 > 0:55:52This is ridiculous! Indian! That's wonderful.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56And that explains the 13 years of age marriage, doesn't it?
0:55:56 > 0:55:59And she's converted to Christianity.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Converted to Christianity because she got baptised.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05- Yeah, a month before their wedding. - Just a month before her wedding.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10- And normally Anglo-Indians get baptised soon after birth.- Mm-hm.
0:56:10 > 0:56:18- All these records show that definitely Matilda was Indian.- Yeah.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Well, that would have helped in his decision to stay here, wouldn't it?
0:56:23 > 0:56:27- If your wife's Indian, makes the decision very easy.- Yes.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31I'm still absolutely amazed that Matilda was an Indian.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37I'm very pleased. I'm very pleased to have Indian blood in the family.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41- It just takes my breath away.- You must be having relatives in India.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52I'm glad somebody diligent kept these record the way they are.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55It's given me another family I didn't know about.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58I think it's wonderful. I'm very pleased.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01- Oh, nice to hear that. - Can't wait to tell my children.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Three generations born in India. HE LAUGHS
0:57:08 > 0:57:12It's just... It's just such a huge thing not to know.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18I would love to think I behaved like John O'Brien,
0:57:18 > 0:57:22who's a soldier, proud and true.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25But if I had to really look in the mirror and own up,
0:57:25 > 0:57:27I'm much more like Daniel Doyle.
0:57:27 > 0:57:32As a matter of fact, I sent an e-mail to my manager during this shoot
0:57:32 > 0:57:34and told him one of my ancestors, Daniel Doyle,
0:57:34 > 0:57:40peed too often and he's an alcoholic, you know, and he had syphilis.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42HE LAUGHS
0:57:42 > 0:57:46He sent me an e-mail back saying...
0:57:47 > 0:57:50"An incontinent alcoholic mad shagger?
0:57:50 > 0:57:52"You're got a chip off the old block!"
0:57:52 > 0:57:53HE LAUGHS
0:57:55 > 0:57:59I'm very proud and happy to be part Indian. It's lovely.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01No matter how small the part is.
0:58:02 > 0:58:04But I still feel very Scottish.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08When anybody writes about me they always put the word "Scottish" in.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11"Big Scottish comedian."
0:58:11 > 0:58:14"Scottish" is right across my forehead.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19You know, I'm a Glaswegian, Scottish person
0:58:19 > 0:58:22and that will remain till the day I die.
0:58:23 > 0:58:26But in my heart I have... I have a little bit of India.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31And I'm going to keep it very close to me.