0:00:07 > 0:00:12- Right, can you crack, into this bowl, three eggs?- OK.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Family is everything to me.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Look at that. That's fantastic.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21Since becoming a parent, I base my whole life around family.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Honey, are you going to do some whisking, sweetie?
0:00:23 > 0:00:27It's opened my eyes to that amazing circular motion of life.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Presenter Fearne Cotton began her career in children's television,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36before becoming a household name with her Radio 1 show.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41My parents definitely instilled a work ethic in me,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45which has gone on to, you know, help me out massively
0:00:45 > 0:00:48in, you know, how I view work and my career.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53I've got this drive, and it's a burning drive inside,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55and I know that comes from my ancestry.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57That's not just something that I've got,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00that comes from a whole heap of stuff behind me.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Today, as well as broadcasting,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Fearne writes books and looks after her two children
0:01:07 > 0:01:09at their home in South West London.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13My own upbringing, I guess, was...
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Well, it was pretty normal to me.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Grew up thinking,
0:01:17 > 0:01:20there's nothing very exotic or exciting about this.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22So I think I'm actually looking forward
0:01:22 > 0:01:24to looking into those other stories
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and seeing if there was explosive dramas
0:01:26 > 0:01:29or strange jobs, lots of travelling...
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Mmm!
0:01:30 > 0:01:32All that sort of stuff that I felt
0:01:32 > 0:01:34wasn't really in my own childhood...
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Oh, you've done a great job there, guys.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38..and I think that will be a really wonderful gift
0:01:38 > 0:01:40to give to my children, and, sort of, pass on.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43I'm terrified!
0:01:44 > 0:01:46So excited - but I'm so nervous!
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Fearne is on her way to visit her parents, Mick and Linda,
0:02:28 > 0:02:29at their home in Buckinghamshire.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33I think I'm an even split of both parents.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38I've got my mum's tenacity and drive and fire...
0:02:40 > 0:02:43..but then, weirdly, I've got my dad's side,
0:02:43 > 0:02:48which is very calm and grounded, and I'm kind of a weird mix of both,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52depending on what I'm dealing with in life.
0:02:52 > 0:02:53Hello, guys!
0:02:53 > 0:02:56- Hello, what are you doing here, then?!- Mwah!
0:02:56 > 0:02:57- Daddy.- Hi, Fearney.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Let's head in.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08So, I wanted to have a chat with you about something
0:03:08 > 0:03:11that's quite obvious, but I've never bothered asking you, really,
0:03:11 > 0:03:14and that's about your parents, my grandparents...
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Cos you don't really ever have those chats, do you?
0:03:17 > 0:03:20- We're kind of just going about our everyday business and...- Mm-hm.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21- It's a good thing to do.- I think so.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25Because I wish I'd quizzed my grandparents and parents more
0:03:25 > 0:03:26- when they were alive.- I know.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28So catch us while we're still here.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33So, here's lovely Sylvia and Phil.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35And... I mean, my memories of...
0:03:35 > 0:03:38I mean, especially your dad -
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- I mean, he was hilarious and crazy, wasn't he?- Mm.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45He would've loved nothing better than sat at a table
0:03:45 > 0:03:48with about half a dozen kids, eating blancmange and jelly...
0:03:48 > 0:03:50- Yeah, yeah! - ..and wearing a paper hat...
0:03:50 > 0:03:52- Yeah, I remember. - ..and just being ridiculous, yeah.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54He was such a funny man, wasn't it?
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- Yeah, he was great, actually. - I do miss him, he was amazing.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58That's a lovely picture, that.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00What about Nan Sylvia's parents?
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Were they all London based?
0:04:02 > 0:04:05They were originated from Suffolk and Norfolk.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07- OK, I didn't know that.- Yeah.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Now, do I remember correctly, or have I made this up,
0:04:09 > 0:04:14that there's...because of a surname ending in BY, what would that be?
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Apparently - this is only sort of hearsay...
0:04:18 > 0:04:23- Yeah.- ..if your surname ended in BY, as theirs did, Wilby...
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- Wilby, that's it.- Wilby.
0:04:25 > 0:04:32- I think BY is Norse for Viking settlement.- OK.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34And then lovely Nan Ruby.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36So, Nan Ruby, your mum and dad.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Obviously just come back from a holiday, by the look of it.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Always. That's one of the things I remember about your mum is...
0:04:41 > 0:04:42Yeah, always on holiday.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- Always...- I think she had a hotline to Lunn Poly!
0:04:45 > 0:04:47She used to ring them and say, "What's...?
0:04:47 > 0:04:49"Have you got any last-minute cancellations?"
0:04:49 > 0:04:51- I know! - And they'd go away the next day.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54What I know, I guess, about Nan, your mum,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56is that she was born in Wales.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Yeah - and if we look at the birth certificate,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01you can see exactly where she was born.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06She was born in 1922, Evelyn Street, Abertillery.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- Yeah.- That's in South Wales... - South Wales, yeah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- ..and then her dad, Evan Meredith... - Mm-hm.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17..and then her mum, Elsie Meredith -
0:05:17 > 0:05:19and that's so strange to read, because I didn't know their names,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22and I never got to meet Evan Meredith,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24because he died quite a long time before I was born.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26'72, yeah.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Yeah, so sort of nine years before I was born.
0:05:29 > 0:05:30- What does that say?- Coal hewer.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32So that was that whole area...
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- It's coal-mining, basically, yeah. - ..was a coal-mining area.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36What do you remember about your grandad?
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Well, he always had his face in a book.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42He'd had his own chemist shop, opticians.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46He developed into, you know, a very clever, intelligent man -
0:05:46 > 0:05:48having come from a coal miner.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51- Yeah. Have you got any pictures of Evan?- Yes, yes.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53There's a very interesting one there.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Oh, wow.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57Look how smart he is in that uniform.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58Over 100 years ago.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Goodness me, so... This is 1913.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04It says, "Dad, St John's ambulance".
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Wow. So he was...
0:06:06 > 0:06:08How old, here, does that make him?
0:06:08 > 0:06:14'13... I think he was born '95, 1895, so 18ish?
0:06:14 > 0:06:17And I can see, look, cos I've never seen a picture of him in my life,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19but there's the family resemblance.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21- You can kind of see the nose... - Not so much.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23- I can see it.- Mm.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26- Definitely.- Maybe.- I can see Nan.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27- Mm.- 100% Nan Ruby.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- Mm.- Yeah, without a doubt.- Yeah.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- Yeah, maybe.- Like, the nose and the mouth, the chin...
0:06:33 > 0:06:37..and so, if this was in 1913, and he was already putting himself
0:06:37 > 0:06:42- to great use, do you know what he did in the war?- Not really.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Never said, he never spoken about...
0:06:46 > 0:06:49not by my mum, or certainly by Grandad Evan.
0:06:49 > 0:06:52He wasn't around, I know that much,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56but what he did or where he was, I've actually got no idea.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58- Well, that would be really interesting to find out...- Mm.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00- ..I think, wouldn't it?- Yes.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02- Do a bit more delving around Evan's story.- Yes.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Fearne has discovered that before becoming a chemist,
0:07:08 > 0:07:12her paternal grandmother Ruby's father, Evan Meredith,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14was a coal miner from South Wales.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24To find out more about Evan,
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Fearne has come to Abertillery to meet mining historian Ben Curtis.
0:07:30 > 0:07:31- Hi, Ben.- Hi, Fearne.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32Welcome to Abertillery.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- Thank you. How are you doing? - Yeah, good, thanks. Lovely.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36What a lovely view of the Valleys.
0:07:36 > 0:07:41Land of my forefathers - and more specifically my great-grandfather,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Evan Meredith. Am I saying Meredith right?
0:07:43 > 0:07:46I would say Mer-EDD-ith rather than MEH-redith, but, yeah...
0:07:46 > 0:07:47Evan Mer-EDD-ith.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- Erm, who I know worked down the mines.- Yes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53I don't see any mines here now, though.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55No, no. There aren't any.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I mean, the last mine closed 30 years ago now -
0:07:57 > 0:07:59but in the early 20th century
0:07:59 > 0:08:03when Evan Meredith was living and working here,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05it was an absolute hive of industry.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Six Bells Colliery, which is where Evan worked,
0:08:09 > 0:08:10a bit further down the valley,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14just under 3,000 men and boys in 1913 working there,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17producing something like just over three quarters of a million tonnes
0:08:17 > 0:08:18of coal a year at that time.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20It's a tough life, isn't it, for a kid?
0:08:20 > 0:08:24- Very tough, very dangerous work for, kind of, anyone, yeah.- Wow.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28Like most boys in the area,
0:08:28 > 0:08:33Evan went to work down the mines aged 13 after leaving school.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36It was physically hard work that risked serious injury
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and even death...
0:08:40 > 0:08:42..but there was a strong sense of solidarity
0:08:42 > 0:08:45in mining towns like Abertillery.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Although the pits have gone,
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Fearne and Ben are visiting one of the last surviving reminders
0:08:51 > 0:08:54of that community spirit.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57OK, so here we are, Fearne, Llanhilleth Miners Institute.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59It's a lovely building.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02So, what year would this have been built?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05- 1906.- So it's sort of quite likely that Evan would have known
0:09:05 > 0:09:07about this building, maybe even visited it?
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Yeah, it's entirely likely he would've done.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11It's a lovely thought.
0:09:15 > 0:09:16- Thank you, Ben.- No problem.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22This is the lovely picture that my dad gave me
0:09:22 > 0:09:25of my great-grandfather, Evan.
0:09:25 > 0:09:32Which is 1913, so just shortly before World War I.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35How would Evan's life have changed once the war begun?
0:09:35 > 0:09:37This is a period when cutting coal
0:09:37 > 0:09:40is an essential part of the war effort,
0:09:40 > 0:09:43and mining was deemed a reserved occupation,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45- so for most of the war, he would've been...- Carrying on.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48..the work, the essential war effort, down the pits.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52The situation does change slightly towards the end of the war,
0:09:52 > 0:09:55with the need for even more men to be called up to go and fight,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58and that does necessitate a change of government policy
0:09:58 > 0:10:00with regards to the reserved occupations -
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and if you have a look at this document...
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- OK.- ..this gives you a sense of what this means for South Wales.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10So, this says "Miners & Comb-Out".
0:10:10 > 0:10:14"A conference of delegates representing the whole of the miners
0:10:14 > 0:10:18"of South Wales and Monmouthshire were held at the Cory Hall, Cardiff,
0:10:18 > 0:10:23"on Thursday, to consider the comb-out scheme, by which it is..."
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- Proposed.- "..proposed to take 50,000 single men from the collieries
0:10:27 > 0:10:31"of the country, the quota of South Wales being 10,000,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34"or 5% of the workmen, for the Army."
0:10:34 > 0:10:37So, it says several times here, "comb-out". What's that?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39It's a selective process,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42whereby those who are deemed to best fit the criteria
0:10:42 > 0:10:44are taken from the industry,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47selected, "combed out", and sent off,
0:10:47 > 0:10:48called up to go and fight.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54So, I mean, my gut's saying that he probably ended up going to war.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56If you have a look there...
0:10:56 > 0:11:00And this is July the 6th, 1918.
0:11:00 > 0:11:07"Two conscientious objectors, WN Hulin, Abertillery,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10"and Evan Meredith, Six Bells,
0:11:10 > 0:11:15"were on Thursday at Abercarn Police-court
0:11:15 > 0:11:18"charged as absentees from the Army
0:11:18 > 0:11:22"and handed over to a military escort.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23"No fine was inflicted.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27"They were removed to Brecon Barracks next day."
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Right.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34So does that mean they would've been called up to the Army
0:11:34 > 0:11:38but refused, and then were, essentially, arrested?
0:11:38 > 0:11:39Yes.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44When conscription was introduced in 1916,
0:11:44 > 0:11:48men who refused to fight were known as conscientious objectors.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Some objected to killing on religious grounds.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Others opposed the war for political reasons.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00Whatever their beliefs, they faced hostile public demonstrations,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03the threat of imprisonment, and ridicule.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09Despite this, more than 16,000 men refused to join up and fight,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11including Evan Meredith.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15It's quite rebellious - but maybe he had a good reason.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Yeah, this is 1918, this is getting towards the end of the war.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22I mean, the scale of slaughter really, on the Western front -
0:12:22 > 0:12:24- people know that it's been an absolute kind of slaughter.- Yeah.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27I mean, what a...
0:12:27 > 0:12:29awful decision to have to make.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30God.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I guess I'm quite shocked
0:12:42 > 0:12:46to hear about Evan's refusal to join the Army.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49I doubt that it's just sort of a simple act of rebellion,
0:12:49 > 0:12:52so I really want to try and understand more
0:12:52 > 0:12:54about his decision-making
0:12:54 > 0:12:57and the impact that had on Evan and the family -
0:12:57 > 0:12:59and I also want to find out what happened to him next.
0:13:02 > 0:13:06Fearne is meeting Welsh historian Aled Eirug at Brecon Barracks.
0:13:08 > 0:13:12I was quite shocked today, finding out that my great-grandfather, Evan,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14refused to join the army.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18I know from this document here that he was arrested
0:13:18 > 0:13:22and then he was brought with another objector here to the barracks...
0:13:22 > 0:13:24That's right, yes.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27So, what sort of thing would happen once you arrived at the barracks?
0:13:27 > 0:13:31They'd tried to persuade him to put on a uniform,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34to conform to regulations, which he refused -
0:13:34 > 0:13:40- and if you look down the list, his name is there.- Yes, Meredith.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- Yeah.- Does that say six...?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45- Six months.- Six months?
0:13:45 > 0:13:51- That's a long time.- So he would've been sentenced on this day,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53and then the following day
0:13:53 > 0:13:56he would've been taken to a civil prison.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00- Where would he have gone? - Well, we have this document here,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- if you have a look. - This is August 1918.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- Yeah.- "The following cases were decided at Wormwood."
0:14:06 > 0:14:09- Wormwood Scrubs prison? - Yes, yes.- In London?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12That's right. So that's where he goes next, and...
0:14:12 > 0:14:15That's quite a long way to go, from South Wales.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- He does get a lift.- Goodness me!
0:14:18 > 0:14:22But if you go down the list, you can see his name there.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26- OK. So, 5298 Evan Meredith.- Yeah.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31So, the interesting thing about this is, they give him a Category B.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35Category A was where they thought the person opposed the war
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- on religious basis.- OK.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42B suggests that Evan was seen as somebody who opposed the war
0:14:42 > 0:14:45on political grounds, which they didn't like,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48in that people argued that it was a capitalist war
0:14:48 > 0:14:50between imperialist powers,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53that it had nothing to do with the working classes.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Men like Evan didn't accept why they should be fighting.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02They didn't see ordinary German soldiers as their enemy.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05They saw the war as reinforcing the inequalities
0:15:05 > 0:15:08they believed society should be getting rid of.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12I'm guessing now, from what you've said,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14he had such strong political beliefs
0:15:14 > 0:15:17that, you know, it was worth doing six months' time
0:15:17 > 0:15:19rather than going against his wishes.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- Well...- Gosh.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25But still, I'm sure the majority of people of Abertillery
0:15:25 > 0:15:27would've been very, very upset
0:15:27 > 0:15:29by the fact that he wasn't going to go to war,
0:15:29 > 0:15:32especially in a period when, you know,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34- families had lost their own loved ones...- Yeah.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37- It's difficult to imagine how... - It is.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39- What an awful decision to have to make, as well.- Absolutely.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42So, he was in Wormwood Scrubs for six months
0:15:42 > 0:15:44- and then...- That's right. - ..after that allotted time,
0:15:44 > 0:15:46would he have been sent back to South Wales?
0:15:46 > 0:15:52He would've been released from Wormwood Scrubs in December 1918,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56the end of the six months, but then, once he walked out of prison,
0:15:56 > 0:16:04there would be soldiers there from the Welsh Regiment to rearrest him,
0:16:04 > 0:16:09- take him back to Wales for another court martial.- Oh, my goodness.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12It was like a catch 22 - you couldn't get out of it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14If you have a look here...
0:16:14 > 0:16:20So, the 9th of May 1919 - so, by now, the First World War is done,
0:16:20 > 0:16:21- it's over...- Absolutely.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24..but he's still got to serve his time,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27so, "Men still in the hands of the military and civil authorities..."
0:16:29 > 0:16:33- There we are.- Meredith, Abertillery...
0:16:33 > 0:16:35and then it says Carmarthen.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37What's that about, then?
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- Well, Carmarthen in West Wales...- Yeah.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43..is - or was - a garrison town.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45It had its own local prison.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Wow. It kind of makes no sense, cos you want him, really,
0:16:48 > 0:16:51to get back to work and keep that mining community alive
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and put him to good use - but they were more adamant
0:16:54 > 0:16:56on just keeping him in there for the punishment.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59That was a very controversial issue at the time,
0:16:59 > 0:17:03and there were lots of protests from public figures
0:17:03 > 0:17:07about the treatment given to conscientious objectors -
0:17:07 > 0:17:10but Evan ended up right in the middle of that row.
0:17:10 > 0:17:11Yeah. Gosh.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16I didn't know anyone from my family had ever been in prison.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18What a revelation!
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I feel slightly confused and, I guess, in conflict
0:17:27 > 0:17:31about the information I've just learned.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35On one hand, I massively admire Evan's courage
0:17:35 > 0:17:38and his strong willed ways,
0:17:38 > 0:17:43the fact that he vehemently stuck to his moral reasons
0:17:43 > 0:17:45as to why he didn't want to go to war,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48even though he had these severe consequences,
0:17:48 > 0:17:50he still stuck by that and I really admire that,
0:17:50 > 0:17:52but then, on the other hand, there's so many families
0:17:52 > 0:17:56that obviously lost relatives at war in the same area
0:17:56 > 0:17:58and that's unbelievably heartbreaking.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02So it's really hard to sort of digest it all
0:18:02 > 0:18:03and work out how I feel.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Fearne has come to Carmarthen to find out Evan's fate
0:18:13 > 0:18:15following his second court-martial.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18She is meeting historian Professor Lois Bibbings.
0:18:18 > 0:18:19Thank you, Lois.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24What I know is that my great-grandfather Evan
0:18:24 > 0:18:27was brought here to Carmarthen to serve his second sentence
0:18:27 > 0:18:29for being an objector.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31Do you know how long he would've been here?
0:18:31 > 0:18:37Well, this is one of the original papers from Carmarthen prison.
0:18:37 > 0:18:44OK. So, Evan Meredith, 14th of December 1918...
0:18:44 > 0:18:46What's that date in reference to?
0:18:46 > 0:18:49That looks like the date on which he was court-martialled and sentenced.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52So this here says, "Disobeying a lawful command".
0:18:52 > 0:18:54- Yes.- So what would that have been?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57So, yeah, something like not putting on a uniform, most probably.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Something fairly mundane.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01One-year sentence.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Yes, so his six months has now become a second sentence,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06one year and hard labour.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Oh, my goodness.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Prison regime at that time, as you might imagine, was fairly strict.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14There'd be a single plank for him to sleep on.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16For the first two weeks of his sentence,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18he'd be lying on the plank with no mattress.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22After two weeks he would have earned the right to a mattress.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23He'd have a stool,
0:19:23 > 0:19:28a small table and a few pots for drinking and...
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- doing other things in. - Got you. Got you, Lois.- Mm-hm!
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Um, and he would be adhering to the silence rule,
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- so he wasn't allowed to communicate with other prisoners.- Oh, my God.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41He wasn't allowed to speak -
0:19:41 > 0:19:43and that's what objectors found really the most hard.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45So isolating.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49- It's horrible.- But prisoners, if they behaved well,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52were automatically entitled to one sixth remission of sentence,
0:19:52 > 0:19:54so two months off, effectively.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Oh, right. Do you know if Evan did behave well and he got out early?
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Well, if you have a look at the next column...
0:20:00 > 0:20:01So, it says "Remarks",
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and Evan's got quite a lengthy section in there.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08I guess the really important date to look at is the temporary discharge,
0:20:08 > 0:20:11and to wonder why he was discharged at that point,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14because it doesn't match either the end of his sentence
0:20:14 > 0:20:15or the usual remission period.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Yeah, it's quite a way before both - so do you know why?
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Well, we do have a little bit more information on Evan's case.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26We are very lucky to have located a history of the Meredith family.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Chapter three of that history is written by Evan,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33and it records what happened to him in prison in the First World War.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Wow.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40"We had heard of hunger strikes in various parts of the country
0:20:40 > 0:20:43"and some of them are beginning to think in these terms.
0:20:43 > 0:20:48"Not only that, I was in the best position to organise such a move."
0:20:48 > 0:20:50So I'm trying to get my head around this!
0:20:50 > 0:20:56So, he was basically the person who started a hunger strike here
0:20:56 > 0:20:58for a group of prisoners.
0:20:58 > 0:20:59- Am I right?- Pretty much.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02There have been hunger strikes in some of the prisons
0:21:02 > 0:21:05around the country from 1918 or onwards,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07and they were largely about the conditions
0:21:07 > 0:21:09in which the prisoners were being held.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11By this time, post the Armistice,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14they tended to be about release dates.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16"By careful contact,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19"I discovered that everyone was ready and waiting
0:21:19 > 0:21:20"for me to fix the day.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22"This I did on a day one week ahead,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"so that I would be sure of contacting each man
0:21:25 > 0:21:26"individually beforehand.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28"The appointed day arrived
0:21:28 > 0:21:31"and every breakfast was returned to the kitchen..." Wow.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33"..including my own.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36"On the fourth day, the governor called in the evening
0:21:36 > 0:21:40"to bring the news that I was to be released the next morning
0:21:40 > 0:21:42"under the Cat And Mouse Act."
0:21:43 > 0:21:48The Cat And Mouse Act had been introduced in 1913.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52Officially known as the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge For Ill Health) Act,
0:21:52 > 0:21:54the Government had passed it
0:21:54 > 0:21:57to tackle the hunger strike protests by suffragettes held in prison.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Instead of force-feeding them,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04the act allowed the early release of weakened prisoners
0:22:04 > 0:22:07who might be at risk of dying, and their rearrest
0:22:07 > 0:22:09once they had recovered.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13So, when conscientious objectors like Evan began their hunger strikes
0:22:13 > 0:22:17in 1918, they were treated the same way.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Do you know if he was then rearrested
0:22:20 > 0:22:24- after that temporary time of discharge?- We don't for sure,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27but we don't have any evidence that he was picked up again.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I'll happily read through all of this. Thank you so much.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42I mean, what is clear to me already is...
0:22:44 > 0:22:47..which I didn't factually know...
0:22:47 > 0:22:50is that he didn't want to go to war
0:22:50 > 0:22:52because he didn't want to kill anyone.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58It's that simple, really.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I'm really getting a picture of who he was.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06You know, it's not necessarily jobs,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09location that you continue in that lineage,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13it's all of those traits and all those beliefs,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15and they filter through in their own way,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19so it's really, really special to read his words.
0:23:30 > 0:23:35Fearne has one final visit to make to piece together Evan's life.
0:23:35 > 0:23:41Evan's son, my great uncle Hayden, is still alive, and he's in his 90s,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43and he's incredibly with it,
0:23:43 > 0:23:48so it'd be really interesting to see what Hayden, you know,
0:23:48 > 0:23:53makes of all this, and I guess how that impacted him as a son.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01No! I don't believe it!
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Liquid sunshine. Hello, there.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Liquid sunshine.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08- So lovely to see you.- And you.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10I haven't been here for so long -
0:24:10 > 0:24:14I must have been, I don't know, 12 or something last time I was here.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15Yes, well...
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I knew so little about Evan
0:24:18 > 0:24:22before I, sort of, started on this exploration,
0:24:22 > 0:24:25and I've learned that he was a conscientious objector...
0:24:25 > 0:24:27- Yes, yes.- And that he refused to go to war.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Did he ever talk about his time in prison?
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Or was it just a no-go subject?
0:24:31 > 0:24:35- No-go subject.- Yeah. - Never touched it.- Mm-hm.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38- Never touched it.- Do you think that was because it was just too painful
0:24:38 > 0:24:40- of a memory for him?- Oh, yes, I think it...
0:24:40 > 0:24:45- Yeah.- ..it was looked upon with disdain.- Hmm.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48But, of course, some of them out on the Western Front were shot....
0:24:48 > 0:24:50- Yeah.- For... For disobedience.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55- Yeah.- But, hopefully, there's a place in heaven...
0:24:57 > 0:25:00- ..where they don't judge in this way.- No.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04I guess there is, then, a bit of a gap that I need to fill,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- between him going back into the mining community...- Yes.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12And then him arriving as a real pillar of the community...
0:25:12 > 0:25:17- Yeah.- ..out of Wales, in Kingsbury, and how that happened.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Yeah. He didn't talk to me about South Wales generally.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26I used to love to go to Abertillery, because if you've been there,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28there were these beautiful mountains.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32- Yeah.- It was such a wonderful place...
0:25:32 > 0:25:36- Mm.- ..and out of the blue, my father said,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39- "I worked damned hard to get out of that place."- Yeah!
0:25:39 > 0:25:42He did it by digging himself out of the pit.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Yeah, quite literally.
0:25:44 > 0:25:45- Look at it that way.- Yeah.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48He dug himself out of the pit into pharmacy,
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- and eventually into a chemist's shop.- Wow.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55I can remember him answering the phone, "Meredith the chemist",
0:25:55 > 0:25:58he used to say. In a Welsh accent, "Meredith the chemist",
0:25:58 > 0:26:02and, um, really, that was how it...
0:26:02 > 0:26:08how it came about, because he was learning, learning, learning...
0:26:08 > 0:26:11- He was very, very studious and driven?- Absolutely -
0:26:11 > 0:26:16and towards the final stages of his career as a pharmacist,
0:26:16 > 0:26:23he was given a fellowship of the Pharmaceutical Society,
0:26:23 > 0:26:26which very, very few pharmacists ever achieve.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28- Really?- Yeah.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32But, I mean, so this was a really big moment for your dad, to...?
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Oh, yes. Apart from a knighthood, there's not much else!
0:26:35 > 0:26:40No! I mean, it's safe to say that Evan didn't do things by halves.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42- Oh, no, he really...- He...
0:26:42 > 0:26:44- Once he got stuck into it... - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46What a lovely photo.
0:26:46 > 0:26:53- So, looking back, do you feel a huge sense of pride?- Yes.- Yeah.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55- I always did.- Mm.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I was never without pride.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05That's... You know, I used to tell people what he did
0:27:05 > 0:27:08and what he was doing.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12- All his life he's been giving, giving, giving.- Yeah.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15What an incredible man.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17It's been such a pleasure learning about him.
0:27:17 > 0:27:21- It's been a real treat.- Yes.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30It was really quite emotional talking to Hayden today
0:27:30 > 0:27:32about his father, Evan.
0:27:32 > 0:27:37There was this huge sense of pride about where his father had come from
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and where he ended up,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42working so hard and digging himself out of quite a hole,
0:27:42 > 0:27:47and I can't help but feel completely bursting with pride about that.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54So, next, on to my mum's side of the family, who I know so little about.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59I've heard rumours of Viking blood and several surnames thrown around,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01but really I know very little indeed,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04so I'm really looking forward to getting my teeth into a new story.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Fearne is meeting genealogist Laura Berry,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15who's been looking into her mother Linda's ancestors.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18I don't know very much about my mum's side of the family.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21I've heard a few rumours and stories.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23The only thing my mum has ever said
0:28:23 > 0:28:27is that there might have been a surname that ended in "BY" -
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Wilby, something like that, along the way,
0:28:29 > 0:28:32and that that could have been Viking related.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34That sounds like a wild fairy tale to me,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37and I don't know if there's any truth in it, but that's...
0:28:37 > 0:28:38That's all I've ever heard.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Well, I've done quite a lot of digging
0:28:40 > 0:28:44into your mum's family history, and actually there is, obviously,
0:28:44 > 0:28:48a Wilby surname here on your nan's side, and you can see here
0:28:48 > 0:28:51we've got you at the bottom, then there is your mum...
0:28:51 > 0:28:53Oh, lovely Nan Sylvia.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55..and then her dad.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57Ronald! I had no idea he was called Ronald.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58- Did you not know?- No!- Oh!
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Well, Ronald's mother was a Wilby,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04and that line has been traced back a few generations.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09Yeah, I've heard Suffolk and Norfolk being knocked around a lot.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Like, it's that area of the country.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Whether or not it has Viking origins, it's hard to say.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18Possibly, because that "BY" ending, like you say,
0:29:18 > 0:29:20it's said to derive from old Scandinavian,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22meaning farm or settlement -
0:29:22 > 0:29:25but, I mean, we're talking, sort of, ten centuries...
0:29:25 > 0:29:26- Yeah.- ..maybe even more, back...
0:29:26 > 0:29:30- Yeah.- ..and unfortunately the records just don't go back that far,
0:29:30 > 0:29:33but, as you can see, this tree shows lots of London-based ancestors,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36as you suspected, until you, sort of,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38work back further into the 19th century
0:29:38 > 0:29:41and then you find that they are coming from the Home Counties
0:29:41 > 0:29:43before they moved to London in search of work.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47OK, so we've got here Middlesex and Essex, and Ipswich,
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Essex again...but then Ireland -
0:29:50 > 0:29:54I've never, ever heard of Ireland being connected to my family
0:29:54 > 0:29:55in any way at all.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57- Really?- So that's really surprising, yeah.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59I had no idea.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01That's your four-times great-grandfather up there.
0:30:01 > 0:30:02- Wow.- William Gilmour.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05Now, so, William was born in Garvagh,
0:30:05 > 0:30:10which is in Northern Ireland, right back in the 1820s.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11That's fascinating.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15I would love to explore more about William Gilmour.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23Fearne's discovered unexpected Irish roots on her mother's side.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Her four-times great-grandfather William Gilmour
0:30:25 > 0:30:29was born in what is now Northern Ireland in the early 1820s.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Fearne has come to Northern Ireland to explore those Irish roots.
0:30:39 > 0:30:41I am feeling really excited,
0:30:41 > 0:30:43considering up until recently
0:30:43 > 0:30:46I had never even heard the name William Gilmour,
0:30:46 > 0:30:47my four-times great-grandfather,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51and had no idea that my family were rooted in Ireland.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54I'm so curious to find out more about William.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Fearne's meeting Irish historian Elaine Farrell
0:31:00 > 0:31:03at the museum in William's hometown of Garvagh.
0:31:05 > 0:31:11I know that my four-times great-grandfather William Gilmour
0:31:11 > 0:31:15was born in Garvagh in around 1821.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17I know nothing about him.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20What would his early life have been like here?
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Well, Garvagh would have been a predominantly rural town,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26so most people would be employed in farming...
0:31:26 > 0:31:30- Yeah.- ..and would have been involved in the textile industry, as well.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32So, I suppose, for William, in terms of work,
0:31:32 > 0:31:35- his choices would have actually been quite limited.- Mmm.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38So, our very first document actually shows us
0:31:38 > 0:31:41that William Gilmour is not in Garvagh any more.
0:31:41 > 0:31:46So it's the Londonderry Standard here from 1844.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49- So he would have been 23ish, roughly?- Exactly, yeah.
0:31:49 > 0:31:56"We have much pleasure in stating that Mr William Gilmour,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58"of Garvagh, has been appointed
0:31:58 > 0:32:02- "apothecary to the Liverpool South Dispensary."- Mm-hm.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04So an apothecary is what we would understand as a chemist.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07Yeah - there is a running theme in my family with this.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11- Really?- On both sides of the family now, which is peculiar.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14So, his work has now taken him to Liverpool.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17Yes, exactly - and obviously, if he's working in Liverpool,
0:32:17 > 0:32:18he's quite close to the docks,
0:32:18 > 0:32:20and there would have been a very busy port,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22so he would be treating people maybe who got injuries
0:32:22 > 0:32:25aboard some of those ships, and also treating people
0:32:25 > 0:32:26who would have got diseases.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29- So he's really learning on the job here.- Wow.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32- And such big news it made the paper, as well! Wow.- Yeah.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36So, the next document dates to 1851.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38- What is this document? - It's a census.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41OK, right. So he's still in Liverpool...
0:32:41 > 0:32:43- Yeah.- ..at 31, so he's been there for quite some time now.
0:32:43 > 0:32:48- He has.- William Gilmour, "Rank, profession or occupation,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50"chemist and druggist."
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Wow - and then, so... So, this is the rest of his family here?
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Yeah. So we have - now he's married.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Elizabeth, wife, born Bucks Hulcott.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02So, Buckinghamshire?
0:33:02 > 0:33:05- Yeah.- Wow. How did they meet?
0:33:05 > 0:33:06SHE LAUGHS
0:33:06 > 0:33:08- Must have been in Liverpool. - She's having...
0:33:08 > 0:33:13She's on a girls' weekend in Liverpool and meets William!
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Goodness me -
0:33:15 > 0:33:20- and then Bessie, I imagine that's his daughter...- Exactly.
0:33:20 > 0:33:23- Kate.- Yeah - and you can see, as well,
0:33:23 > 0:33:29he has an assistant working in the chemist, and he also has a servant.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32That's incredible - cos that's not a huge amount of time.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35So, he was 23 when he arrived in Liverpool
0:33:35 > 0:33:39and then, by 31, he's found himself a wife, he's had children
0:33:39 > 0:33:44and he's started up, seemingly, a successful career for himself.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46- Yep.- Wow.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50So now we have the Coleraine Chronicle.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52What a wonderful big book!
0:33:52 > 0:33:56So, this is Saturday, May the 20th, 1854.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01"Mr William Gilmour...
0:34:01 > 0:34:03- "..surgeon"!- Yeah -
0:34:03 > 0:34:06so the term wouldn't be what we would understand as a surgeon,
0:34:06 > 0:34:08- it'd be more of a GP.- OK, wow.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Bridge Street, Coleraine.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Coleraine would be quite close to us here in Garvagh.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21So, he has now moved back with his...
0:34:21 > 0:34:23- With his whole family. - ..English-born wife. Yeah.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25So, at this point, in 1854,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29he seems to have settled quite nicely back to his home region.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32- Mm-hm. You would think that, Fearne, but...- Oh!
0:34:32 > 0:34:35- ..let me show you the next... - There's always another surprise,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38isn't there? There's always another surprise!
0:34:38 > 0:34:41So this is the Coleraine Chronicle again.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44This is from 1855.
0:34:44 > 0:34:50- So this is less than a year after the last newspaper.- Yeah. Mm-hm.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53"Medical appointment, we understand that Dr Gilmour,
0:34:53 > 0:34:58"of this town, has been appointed medical superintendent
0:34:58 > 0:35:01"of the screw steamship Great Britain,
0:35:01 > 0:35:04"which has been chartered by Government
0:35:04 > 0:35:07"as a transport to convey troops to the Crimea
0:35:07 > 0:35:10"and bring back invalids."
0:35:10 > 0:35:11Wow, so he's off on a ship.
0:35:11 > 0:35:13He's on the SS Great Britain, yeah.
0:35:13 > 0:35:18This is less a year after he was announcing himself
0:35:18 > 0:35:21as setting up his practice in Coleraine, so, for whatever reason,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24whether it didn't go well or he got itchy feet
0:35:24 > 0:35:26and he decided to head off again -
0:35:26 > 0:35:29but you'll remember that he had brought his wife and his children
0:35:29 > 0:35:32- back to Coleraine...- Yeah.- ..and now he's heading off on a ship.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34I mean, if that were me,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37and I'd just not only moved from where I was born,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40but had just settled and I had young kids, I'd be livid.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42- Absolutely.- I'd be like, "You're not going on that ship, I'm afraid!"
0:35:42 > 0:35:45- Yeah. It was a lot for her to take. - I don't care about your certificates
0:35:45 > 0:35:47- and your career, you're staying here.- Yeah.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49You're staying put. Get back in that surgery.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52I'd be very angry...
0:35:52 > 0:35:53but I'm very selfish.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55SHE LAUGHS
0:35:58 > 0:36:00The SS Great Britain was the largest ship in the world
0:36:00 > 0:36:02when it launched in 1843
0:36:02 > 0:36:05as a state-of-the-art passenger liner
0:36:05 > 0:36:08to cross the Atlantic to New York...
0:36:08 > 0:36:12but when the Crimean War began a decade later,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15ships like the Great Britain were commandeered
0:36:15 > 0:36:18to take troops and supplies to the Black Sea, 3,000 miles away,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21and bring back injured and sick soldiers -
0:36:21 > 0:36:24and the man responsible for their welfare
0:36:24 > 0:36:26was the ship's surgeon, William Gilmour.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35Fearne has travelled from Northern Ireland to Bristol,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38where the SS Great Britain is now in dry dock,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41to find out more about William Gilmour's time aboard.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45She's meeting naval historian Professor Andrew Lambert.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47- Hi, Andrew.- Hi, Fearne.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50- Lovely to meet you. - Welcome to the SS Great Britain.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Thank you. It's such a beautifully restored ship.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54- I would love to have a look around. - Yeah, brilliant.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56- Let's go below.- Let's go.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00During the Crimean War,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02these...these cabins here were put up for the soldiers,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05and they're packed in, four men in a little tiny space.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07Oh, my goodness. Gosh.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09- Tiny little beds.- Yeah.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12This was a soldiers' barrack that rolled from side to side,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14- and people were being sick all the time, as well.- Ugh!
0:37:14 > 0:37:16- Sounds horrific.- It was pretty grim.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21This is where William would have worked.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23This is the surgeon's cabin.
0:37:23 > 0:37:24I mean, it's not very big, is it?
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Considering he's got goodness knows how many men to look after,
0:37:27 > 0:37:28it's a tiny room.
0:37:28 > 0:37:32- It is - and it's also where he lives.- Wow.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35So what sort of injuries and illnesses
0:37:35 > 0:37:37is he going to be working with?
0:37:37 > 0:37:40As they're going out, he's got a lot of men,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42most of whom are pretty healthy, and he's got to keep them healthy.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Once they get to theatre, musket-ball wounds,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47- very large numbers of amputations... - Ooh...
0:37:47 > 0:37:51..and particularly major outbreaks of cholera, which is lethal,
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- dysentery, which can be lethal... - Mm.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57So he's making those big decisions. He's the surgeon on board.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00He's the man who is going to actually do those difficult jobs.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02That's a huge undertaking, to do a job like that.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06War is...is terrible, but it also creates opportunities,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and the fact that he volunteers for this
0:38:09 > 0:38:11- means that he sees this as a step up.- Mm.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14- This is a man on a journey.- Yeah.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17Well, I'm very curious to learn how William
0:38:17 > 0:38:21made the transition from quite a basic rural life in Ireland
0:38:21 > 0:38:26to having really quite an important job here on the SS Great Britain.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28I can't quite piece all of that transition together.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Well, what we're looking at is a classic example
0:38:31 > 0:38:35of Victorian social progress. It's all about taking a chance,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37finding another way of getting on.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39I mean, that must have been quite terrifying,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41slash also him not quite believing his luck...
0:38:41 > 0:38:43- Yeah.- ..that he'd landed such a job.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45I think there is a clue to that in, actually,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48an entry that we have from the ship's logbook,
0:38:48 > 0:38:52where he features in the day-to-day record of the ship.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Oh, so, William Gilmour, MD.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Medical degree.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01So when would he have got that?
0:39:01 > 0:39:04- On board?- Whenever he fancied claiming to have been at university.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Oh, really? So he just made it up?
0:39:06 > 0:39:09There is no evidence he attended any of the universities
0:39:09 > 0:39:10that awarded medical degrees,
0:39:10 > 0:39:14so other men serving in this capacity on other ships,
0:39:14 > 0:39:16they've actually earned this.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17He's assumed it.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20And so he's flying by the seat of his pants.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22- He is.- He is going to have to get up to speed
0:39:22 > 0:39:24with everyone else on board that boat,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27with a really important and difficult job to do.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30Yeah. You know, there's... There's an opportunity and he grabs it -
0:39:30 > 0:39:32and, of course, this is a results-based industry,
0:39:32 > 0:39:35so the key thing we need to know is, is he successful?
0:39:35 > 0:39:37- Yeah.- Can he actually make this claim stick?
0:39:37 > 0:39:38Right, exactly.
0:39:38 > 0:39:43Here we have the London Standard, and the ship has come home.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47- So, this is 1855. - Yeah, it's...- November.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Yeah, it's the end of the voyage.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53OK, so, "The Great Britain, iron screw transport,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57"came into the harbour at noon and landed the following:
0:39:57 > 0:40:04"30 invalided officers, five women, for children, 81 military invalids.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08"They were under the medical charge of Dr Gilmour,
0:40:08 > 0:40:10"belonging to the Great Britain.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13"The unremitting care and attention of this gentleman
0:40:13 > 0:40:18"to the wants and comforts of the sick are beyond all praise."
0:40:18 > 0:40:22So, this is a success story for him.
0:40:22 > 0:40:28- Yeah - MD? Who cares?- So this, for him, is exactly what he wanted.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31- Oh, yeah.- He went there, he knew he was underqualified,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34but he got the results, and they're in print for all to see.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38And he gets even higher testimonials than that...
0:40:38 > 0:40:40in the Coleraine Chronicle.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42That is where he wanted the news to be spread, isn't it?
0:40:42 > 0:40:44- He wanted that news to reach home. - Yeah.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49"The Great Britain was honoured by a visit by Her Majesty the Queen."
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Wow!
0:40:51 > 0:40:55"She went to enquire after the health of the invalids on board,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58"and on the Sunday following, Doctor Gilmour, we understand,
0:40:58 > 0:41:02"had the honour of lunching on board the Royal yacht,
0:41:02 > 0:41:05"Victoria and Albert, by special invitation."
0:41:06 > 0:41:09- Yeah.- This is the dream.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11- Yeah.- Oh, my goodness.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13"The Great Britain is now in Liverpool taking..."
0:41:13 > 0:41:15Blah, blah, blah. Who cares about that bit?!
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Oh, my goodness, he had lunch with the Queen!
0:41:17 > 0:41:20He might not have a degree, but he's got better than that.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25Oh, my goodness. I mean...that is huge news.
0:41:25 > 0:41:26Huge news -
0:41:26 > 0:41:30and for everybody to know that, to be sort of graced by royalty,
0:41:30 > 0:41:32to be commended by royalty,
0:41:32 > 0:41:34it doesn't get any better than that, does it?
0:41:34 > 0:41:39- It doesn't.- And rightly so, because what he did was incredible,
0:41:39 > 0:41:41an amazing feat, and huge success,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45and he took the biggest risk and the biggest chance and it all paid off,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and there he is on the yacht having lunch with Victoria.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50- Yeah.- Fab.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56It's the ultimate success story,
0:41:56 > 0:41:59someone who come from really quite humble beginnings
0:41:59 > 0:42:03and had this vision, had an idea and made it happen.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05He's a real chancer.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08He had that self belief and confidence and did it -
0:42:08 > 0:42:11and I've got a feeling there's probably more to come.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16Fearne is on her way to meet historian Imogen Dickens
0:42:16 > 0:42:19to find out what her four times great-grandfather
0:42:19 > 0:42:21William Gilmour did next.
0:42:23 > 0:42:26I'm trying to piece together this intricate puzzle
0:42:26 > 0:42:28of my four times great-grandfather, William Gilmour.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32I know he had a really successful voyage on the SS Great Britain
0:42:32 > 0:42:36during the Crimean War - but I don't know what happened after that,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39so I'm hoping that you can help me with this next leg of the journey.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Yes, so let me show you this poster.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46So, "Liverpool and Australian Navigation Company.
0:42:46 > 0:42:51"Steam from Liverpool to Australia in under 60 days."
0:42:51 > 0:42:53Wow! So, he's gone back to sea.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56He's gone back to sea aboard a different ship -
0:42:56 > 0:42:58so it's not the SS Great Britain,
0:42:58 > 0:43:02but it's the Royal Charter which is the SS Great Britain's sister ship.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06So, it was designed by the same shipwright, the same shipbuilder.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09So, "Including stewards fees
0:43:09 > 0:43:12"and attendance of an experienced surgeon."
0:43:12 > 0:43:16Wow, so that's part of your service going aboard this ship,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18that you get a very experienced surgeon.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22- Yeah.- What I love about this is knowing a little bit more
0:43:22 > 0:43:26about William now is that he's probably not as experienced
0:43:26 > 0:43:27as they might have liked!
0:43:27 > 0:43:32I'm wondering what has made William want to go back to sea.
0:43:32 > 0:43:34Either he just liked it -
0:43:34 > 0:43:37or would this have been a particularly well-paid job
0:43:37 > 0:43:39to help out his family?
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Because he's got a young family who is back in Ireland,
0:43:41 > 0:43:45and I'm sure they are pretty reticent to let him go again.
0:43:45 > 0:43:46Yeah, the wage would have been good,
0:43:46 > 0:43:49but it wouldn't have been exceptional.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Of course, he would have got to visit
0:43:51 > 0:43:52loads of really exciting places.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57A lot of ship's surgeons tended to go to visit new places.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Yeah, they liked the adventure.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01Yeah, maybe bitten by the travel bug.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05Yeah, completely. So it's all working out rather nicely for him.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07- Wow!- Yeah, well, let me show you this.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11So, "Ball's Cottage, Buckingham Road, Aylesbury.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14"April the 25th, 1859.
0:44:14 > 0:44:19"Gentleman, I beg most respectfully to tender you my resignation
0:44:19 > 0:44:25"of the situation I have held as surgeon of the SSS Royal Charter.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30"I'm going to commence the practice of my profession here in Aylesbury.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32"I may succeed, and may not."
0:44:32 > 0:44:36Right, so he's got himself a nice little practice in Aylesbury.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Yes, he's back on land, he's away from the ship.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Right, that's good. So that makes me feel relieved -
0:44:42 > 0:44:46so he's kind of set up there, he's got his new practice,
0:44:46 > 0:44:48the wife's happy.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50His days on the sea were over.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52- That's a relief.- Yeah!
0:44:56 > 0:44:59- Morning!- All right, darling? - Good, thank you. You OK?
0:44:59 > 0:45:00Fearne has come to Aylesbury
0:45:00 > 0:45:05to visit the house where William set up in private practice.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07She's meeting historian Elaine Thomson.
0:45:08 > 0:45:09- Hi.- I'm Elaine.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Welcome to Aylesbury - and The Mount.
0:45:11 > 0:45:12It's so pretty.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18William, at this point, is in his 40s.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23I'm imagining there were far less choppy waters living in Aylesbury
0:45:23 > 0:45:25with his practice and his family.
0:45:25 > 0:45:28I think when he came here, that was certainly his expectation.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30He's moved into a beautiful house,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33and it's here that he would have had his private practice.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35Probably this room...
0:45:35 > 0:45:38- Oh, really?!- ..would have been used to actually see the patients, yeah.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41So they would be coming into a very...you know, a nice space
0:45:41 > 0:45:44to be treated, to see the doctor sitting behind his desk
0:45:44 > 0:45:47and it would all look very professional and proper.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Is there a "but" coming? I feel a "but".
0:45:49 > 0:45:54Well, I think things maybe turned out slightly differently
0:45:54 > 0:45:57- to how he expected them to be. - Right.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59So if I could just show you this.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02The Bucks Herald.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03"In bankruptcy."
0:46:03 > 0:46:06- It's not a great start. - It's not a good start.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08So, "Castle Street, Aylesbury,
0:46:08 > 0:46:12"150 lots of household furniture, books, medicines,
0:46:12 > 0:46:16"bottles and other effects will be sold by auction
0:46:16 > 0:46:18"by Mr Robert Gibbs.
0:46:18 > 0:46:23"On the premises of Mr W Gilmour, surgeon, Castle Street, Aylesbury,
0:46:23 > 0:46:27"by order of the Court of Bankruptcy."
0:46:27 > 0:46:29- Oh, that's so sad. - I know, it's terrible.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31So he's just selling everything.
0:46:31 > 0:46:33It's such a shame.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36- Where did it all go wrong, William? - It's tragic.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Everything he has worked so hard for
0:46:38 > 0:46:43is now practically in a yard sale in Aylesbury in this very house.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47So, I think it must have been very difficult, very shaming.
0:46:47 > 0:46:52And almost, I guess, it felt for him less chancy setting up here,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55rather than at sea where there is sort of trepidation and uncertainty.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57I think that's what you would assume,
0:46:57 > 0:46:59that this is a safer port, as it were,
0:46:59 > 0:47:01that he can be with his family
0:47:01 > 0:47:03and set up in private practice and do well -
0:47:03 > 0:47:06but I think the people who tended to be particularly ill
0:47:06 > 0:47:09- were the poor...- Oh.- ..and they're of no use to you at all,
0:47:09 > 0:47:10- because they can't pay you.- Right.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Who you want, ideally, are the rich middle classes.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16You know, some rich, constipated widows
0:47:16 > 0:47:18who would come to you for laxatives,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21or gouty old men who you could look after on a regular basis.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Simply not enough rich, constipated women in Aylesbury.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26Not enough, yeah.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28- And there's another... - Poor William!
0:47:28 > 0:47:31..sort of another bit of detail about the bankruptcy.
0:47:31 > 0:47:32So, this is the Bucks Herald.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35This is 1865.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37"The bankruptcy of William Gilmour.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41"The total amount of his debts is about £500..."
0:47:41 > 0:47:42That must have been extortionate.
0:47:42 > 0:47:45It's about 50...about £50,000.
0:47:45 > 0:47:50"..and he ascribes his failure to the following causes -
0:47:50 > 0:47:54"insufficiency of income to meet my necessary expenditure
0:47:54 > 0:47:58"and pressure of creditors. My income has been very fluctuating,
0:47:58 > 0:48:03- "and having a family of seven children..." by this point?!- I know.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Oh, my goodness.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09- I mean, that pressure is immense. - Yeah.
0:48:09 > 0:48:13So, he's scrambling to get himself out of quite a huge problem.
0:48:13 > 0:48:15Yeah. So you really feel for him.
0:48:15 > 0:48:16He's had an adventurous life...
0:48:16 > 0:48:18- He's had a fall from grace. - ..he's done his best.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20- I mean, he came back a hero at one point.- Yeah.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23But he's not a man to let these things grind him down.
0:48:23 > 0:48:26- He doesn't give up, does he? - He doesn't give up.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31He never gives up - and he moves on and we see him listed in the Lancet.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34You see, it's just the 1st of July.
0:48:34 > 0:48:35This is a couple of months after bankruptcy.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38Yeah, hardly any time has passed.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39So, what's William up to now?
0:48:39 > 0:48:41There he is.
0:48:41 > 0:48:46So, "William Gilmour, LRCP Ed, has been elected medical officer
0:48:46 > 0:48:52"and public vaccinator for district number one of Ongar Union, Essex."
0:48:52 > 0:48:53Do you know what the Ongar Union is?
0:48:53 > 0:48:55- No.- It's a workhouse.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59- OK.- It's maybe not the most fantastic opportunity...
0:48:59 > 0:49:01- But it's a job.- It's a job -
0:49:01 > 0:49:04but I think it was the kind of job you would do
0:49:04 > 0:49:06- when you couldn't find too much else.- Yeah, yeah.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08I think, at this stage in his career,
0:49:08 > 0:49:11he would probably be very disappointed to end up in the Union.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13- But desperate times! - He's not given up.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16He's not in prison, and his family aren't on their own in poverty,
0:49:16 > 0:49:18so he's still all he could, I guess, at this point.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20He meets his responsibilities.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22- I think, an impressive man.- Mm.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24It seems terribly sad now,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26thinking back to William's resignation letter,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30there is this one line saying about his move to Aylesbury,
0:49:30 > 0:49:33"it may work out, it may not,"
0:49:33 > 0:49:36and it hasn't - and I'm sure he wasn't particularly expecting that.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39It's very poignant, now, looking back at that.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41I like that he doesn't give up, though.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44- I like that a lot. - No - he is not a quitter, is he?
0:49:44 > 0:49:45- Persistent.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47That trait's in our family, for sure.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55I think, for William,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59he might just have one more roll of the dice in him.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03He's a chancer, and so far it's worked out pretty well,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06so I'm hoping at this point he can really pick himself back up
0:50:06 > 0:50:09and get his career back on the straight
0:50:09 > 0:50:13and support his family and get a better life for them all.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21Fearne has come to the former Ongar Union workhouse in Essex.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24She's meeting historian Peter Higginbotham.
0:50:24 > 0:50:25Mind the steps.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27It's an amazing building, this.
0:50:27 > 0:50:28The fact it is largely untouched
0:50:28 > 0:50:30- since it actually was a workhouse.- Yeah.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34So, how many people would William have been looking after?
0:50:34 > 0:50:36Although he was kind of based here,
0:50:36 > 0:50:39he was a district medical officer, was his job title,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42that meant he looks after people in their own homes.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45Technically, he probably had a couple of thousand people...
0:50:45 > 0:50:47- Mm-hm!- ..that potentially could be patients.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Considering William now had seven children to feed, and a wife,
0:50:50 > 0:50:53do you think he was making a sufficient wage to live on?
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Um, quite possibly not.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58First of all, the salary was not very good.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00There were lots of things, lots of outgoings,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02that you had to take out of that salary.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04So, the doctor had to pay for all the medicines
0:51:04 > 0:51:08that he dispensed to his patients. Which could make quite a big hole...
0:51:08 > 0:51:10- Yeah.- ..in his salary.- Absolutely.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13If you were ill or you wanted time off,
0:51:13 > 0:51:16then you had to arrange a standing as a sort of substitute
0:51:16 > 0:51:19and you had to pay their costs.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22So you could end up working virtually for nothing.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24I guess, although this was a very hard life for William,
0:51:24 > 0:51:26there were some pluses.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29You know, he's in a beautiful sort of rural area,
0:51:29 > 0:51:31perhaps reminiscent of where he's from, Garvagh,
0:51:31 > 0:51:33where he had a very rural existence.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Nice for the children to be able to run around freely
0:51:36 > 0:51:39and not be in a stuffy city with lots of disease.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42He's managed to just about keep everything afloat
0:51:42 > 0:51:44and keep some sort of stability.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53When I first found out about William's life here,
0:51:53 > 0:51:54I was relatively concerned,
0:51:54 > 0:51:58but I feel like it wasn't as bad as I initially thought,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00his life and his work here.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02That's true. I mean, he settled into the job -
0:52:02 > 0:52:04but life is never simple,
0:52:04 > 0:52:09and in 1871, something happened that was to change
0:52:09 > 0:52:11how things were going for him.
0:52:11 > 0:52:15This is an entry from the Guardian's meeting minutes.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20"Dr Gilmour, medical officer of district number one
0:52:20 > 0:52:24"attended this board to answer a charge of neglect
0:52:24 > 0:52:28"for not attending the child of a pauper at Fyfield,
0:52:28 > 0:52:32"named Rose Madle when first requested to do so
0:52:32 > 0:52:34"on the 8th of September last,
0:52:34 > 0:52:37"and that such child died a few hours
0:52:37 > 0:52:40"after his attendance the next morning."
0:52:40 > 0:52:43So that's pretty serious.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47"Mr Gilmour, having explained that he was ill
0:52:47 > 0:52:49"on the evening of the 8th of September last,
0:52:49 > 0:52:53"but that he attended at seven o'clock on the following morning,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55"that his substitute had left this neighbourhood
0:52:55 > 0:52:58"and that he had been, and still was,
0:52:58 > 0:53:01"unable to obtain another medical substitute."
0:53:01 > 0:53:04So, as you said, that would have been his responsibility
0:53:04 > 0:53:07to therefore pay for someone else to go and do his job.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Yeah, that was one of the key responsibilities.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11No matter what, you have to provide a service.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13- And he didn't.- He didn't.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15- And a kid died.- Yeah.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19I mean, I don't know how you ever recover from that.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Do we know if he lost his job?
0:53:21 > 0:53:23We're not absolutely sure.
0:53:23 > 0:53:30- We do know he moved on from Ongar fairly soon after this event.- Mm.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33- We do know where he was in 1880, in fact.- OK.
0:53:33 > 0:53:39We've now moved on to the Bethnal Green workhouse in London,
0:53:39 > 0:53:45so he's now the workhouse dispenser making up the drugs and potions
0:53:45 > 0:53:49that were prescribed for the workhouse inmates.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51So, "Gilmour, dispenser.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55"Clerk read a letter from Mr Gilmour asking the guardians
0:53:55 > 0:53:59"if they would pay him his salary weekly."
0:53:59 > 0:54:01So what's going on here, then?
0:54:01 > 0:54:04The fact he wanted his salary weekly, I guess,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07sort of implies he didn't really have the savings
0:54:07 > 0:54:09- to keep him going... - Yeah, he's in trouble.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11..throughout, to the next pay cheque.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13It's literally hand to mouth.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17He needs to get that money and get that food on the table for the kids.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21- Goodness me. - So, just a few months later,
0:54:21 > 0:54:27early 1881, again, he crops up in the minutes.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29I'm imagining at this point it's more bad news.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32Let's have a look.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34"The medical officer reported that there was no improvement
0:54:34 > 0:54:37"in the health of Mr Gilmour, dispenser."
0:54:37 > 0:54:39- So he's ill now?- That's right.
0:54:39 > 0:54:40Do we know what was wrong with him?
0:54:40 > 0:54:44We could move forward another few weeks.
0:54:45 > 0:54:48Another entry in the minute book.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52This is the 22nd of March 1881.
0:54:52 > 0:54:58"Mr Knox reported that Mr Gilmour, the dispenser, died on Monday."
0:55:00 > 0:55:01Oh, gosh, how sad.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06Do we know what William died of?
0:55:06 > 0:55:10Well, final piece of paper.
0:55:10 > 0:55:15So this is certified copy of an entry of death.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19"William Gilmour, 60 years old, cause of death, bronchitis."
0:55:19 > 0:55:22So, three months.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26So, it could have been something that he caught from a patient,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28or someone he was dispensing drugs to,
0:55:28 > 0:55:30or is that quite common of that era?
0:55:30 > 0:55:35- I think it's probably a reflection of his living conditions.- Mm.
0:55:35 > 0:55:39- It was a typical workhouse kind of condition.- Mm!
0:55:39 > 0:55:44He had such high hopes, and he kept on trudging and battling away,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47and...and never quite made it.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51So, he finished his life in quite a humble way -
0:55:51 > 0:55:54- as it had started, I guess, really.- Mm.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- As far as we know, there weren't any obituaries.- No.
0:55:57 > 0:55:58No, he just seems to have...
0:55:58 > 0:56:01- Just drifted away. That was it. - Yeah, really sad.- Mm.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06Poor, poor William -
0:56:06 > 0:56:07and his poor wife.
0:56:07 > 0:56:09"Widow...
0:56:09 > 0:56:10"present at the death."
0:56:10 > 0:56:12Gosh, how sad.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18Good story, though. He had a great story.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20He definitely wasn't boring.
0:56:20 > 0:56:22That's for sure.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24Definitely wasn't boring.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29He was never prepared to surrender.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33He had huge dreams, and...
0:56:34 > 0:56:36..it just didn't work out for him.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39He was made of strong stuff,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42and I think that's what I'm going to take away from this story
0:56:42 > 0:56:44more than anything.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51I really hoped when I was starting out that I would discover
0:56:51 > 0:56:55some real hard-working characters who had grit and passion
0:56:55 > 0:56:57and determination.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01Evan, who went from coalminer to chemist.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04Sure, he had his ups and downs, but it was a real success story -
0:57:04 > 0:57:08and then poor William, who tried so hard.
0:57:08 > 0:57:13He was relentless in his efforts to do well for himself and his family,
0:57:13 > 0:57:17and he had these wonderful glimmers of hope and great moments,
0:57:17 > 0:57:20but the end of the tale was really quite heartbreaking.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23I really want my kids to understand these brilliant stories
0:57:23 > 0:57:26when they get older and see the determination
0:57:26 > 0:57:28and the grit and the passion there.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34So, on that note, I'm off to go home to give my kids a big hug.