0:00:03 > 0:00:05From the age of 18,
0:00:05 > 0:00:09actress Samantha Womack has starred on both stage and screen.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Recently she's been touring with the musical South Pacific.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21But Sam is best known for playing the controversial character of Ronnie Mitchell in Eastenders.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23- What is it?- It's him!
0:00:23 > 0:00:26Ronnie, what about him?
0:00:26 > 0:00:28He's not your son.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Ronnie Mitchell was a brilliant character to play,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36but then I was feeling that character very deeply,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and I had my fill of playing her because she was just...
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I loved her to pieces, but she was so damaged.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47When Sam married Mark, who is also an actor,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50she changed her name from Janus to Womack.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57The couple live in Bedfordshire with their children, Ben and Lily Rose.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01My own past has been very fractured.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04My parents separated when I was six
0:01:04 > 0:01:07and we moved around a lot from place to place.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I was always the new girl.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14I was the new girl in Wales or in Scotland or London
0:01:14 > 0:01:17so I didn't really know who I was.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22So my deep-rooted fear would be to be isolated and lonely
0:01:22 > 0:01:26and for there not to be much information. That would be my biggest fear.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30I want to have a history, I want my children to have a history.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33I want to know where that line has come from.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10OK, put these down on here.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Sam was born in Brighton, her parents' only child.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18It was quite an isolated existence
0:02:18 > 0:02:23because of the separation of my mother and father, but also their parents.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26There wasn't a lot of information from either grandparent.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28And we've got no clues.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31We're not the kind of family that has those details at hand.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Sam's mother, Diana, was an actress and model,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39and her father, Noel, a singer-songwriter.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44My father was an incredible guy, but very difficult to live with!
0:02:44 > 0:02:48I don't think he found families or certainly having a child very easy.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52He took his own life erm...
0:02:52 > 0:02:55just over... well, just about two years ago,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and he struggled really finding his place in the world.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04It became an important part of his life to identify with someone.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10And I hope in my heart of hearts that I find somebody my father would feel close to.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13- Remember to keep the house tidy! - I will.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15So it's a gift really from me to him.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Sam has come to Brighton to start her search.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32She's going to see Dolly, her father's mother.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37DOORBELL RINGS
0:03:39 > 0:03:42- Hello!- Hello, lovely!
0:03:42 > 0:03:44It's lovely to see you.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47- Can I come in?- Yes, by all means. - Have a cup of tea.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55- So, I don't know anything about your family.- I don't!
0:03:56 > 0:03:58You don't know anything!
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Especially since I've got older, I keep thinking...
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Even the name, my mother's name, Garraud. I thought...
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Garraud - how is that spelt?
0:04:06 > 0:04:08G-A-R-R-A-U-D. She was French.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10Garraud, so French.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12I'm going to get a notebook and write all this down.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16I'm going to be like an investigator here because you know what we're like.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19- Oh, well, Beatrice it was. - Beatrice Garraud.- Yes.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22- So, Beatrice's mother?- Jessie.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- Jessie.- Ryder.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26- Ryder with a Y?- Yes.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29That would be my great-great-grandmother.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Yes, my father was Cunningham-Ryan.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35- Well, Alexander was his real name. - His real name.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Cunningham-Ryan.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43All right, so do you know anything about Alexander Cunningham-Ryan?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46No, nothing at all because they separated.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48Except he had a problem with his chest.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- And what was wrong with his chest? - Gas poisoning.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53A lot of soldiers had it in the First World War.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55He had gas poisoning from his time serving in the war?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57- Yes, I remember him telling me.- Yes.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Because usually men who have gone through this will not talk about it.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04But that was clearly something that was very difficult for him.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08- What I did know was he was a sad man.- He was sad.- Yes.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13I sensed it in him. I just felt that he was a man who thinks he...
0:05:15 > 0:05:16..missed the boat, you know?
0:05:17 > 0:05:22So I need to look for him in terms of his history within the army.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- Scots Guards.- Scots Guards. So that would be something to look into.- Yes.
0:05:35 > 0:05:41I've got more information there really than I've ever had.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46When she describes her father as being sad,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50you know, this man who she connected with that was very distant
0:05:50 > 0:05:53and felt he'd missed the boat, that's interesting to me.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59Alexander was poisoned in the First World War with gas
0:05:59 > 0:06:01so I'd like to find out more about that
0:06:01 > 0:06:06and to find out more about his military background, if he had one, in the Scots Guards.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14BAND PLAYS
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Sam has come to the Wellington Barracks in London,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28home to the Scots Guards.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31She's meeting archivist Lance Sergeant Kevin Gorman.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Well, here in the archives, they'd find service records
0:06:37 > 0:06:41for an Alexander Cunningham-Ryan, and this is them.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So, this date in the first column here,
0:06:44 > 0:06:50so it says, "Attested 22nd of the ninth, 1914", so what's this first date?
0:06:50 > 0:06:53That was the day that he actually joined the regiment.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56So June, July, August, so November,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00so a month after the war started, he decided to join?
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Absolutely, yes.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06And here, there's a change, 27th December, 1914.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08What does this say?
0:07:08 > 0:07:10That's transferred to the 1st Battalion Scots Guards.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13The 1st Battalion Scots Guards at that particular time
0:07:13 > 0:07:16were serving in the trenches in France.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18Was there any mention of any gas being used?
0:07:18 > 0:07:24Within the records we have a pension document,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26and if you read here, that will tell you the cause.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28"The report of medical boards."
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Ah! "Cause of discharge - gunshot wound..."
0:07:31 > 0:07:33SHE GASPS
0:07:33 > 0:07:35His right lung!
0:07:35 > 0:07:40So it wasn't gas. It was a gunshot wound into his lung.
0:07:40 > 0:07:46- And if you look at the report here...- "Gunshot wound.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50"A bullet entered end of clavicle
0:07:50 > 0:07:56"and emerged at lower angle of scapula.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59"The right lung is collapsed."
0:07:59 > 0:08:02It came in through here.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04It's come in this way and come out that way.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07- Yes, it's come round the back. - It's come out here?- Through his lung.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Yep. Which suggests that it came from an elevated position.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12So somebody is shooting down into the trench?
0:08:12 > 0:08:17Down into the trench or more than likely a very good German sniper.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22Wow. So, "Breathing is shallow and difficult."
0:08:23 > 0:08:26- "Has much cough"?- Yes.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Do we have anything that would say who he was before all of this?
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Certainly, yes, at the very beginning of the documents.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38It tells us what happened to him before he joined the army.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43There's his name. "In the...
0:08:46 > 0:08:48.."In the parish of Glasgow"?
0:08:48 > 0:08:52- He was born in Glasgow, yes. - Which is where you are from.
0:08:52 > 0:08:53It is indeed, yes.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57No relation.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59And if you look here...
0:08:59 > 0:09:05"What is your trade or calling?" Oh, a musician!
0:09:05 > 0:09:07"Have you resided at your father's house for three years? No.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11"Have you served in the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Marines?
0:09:11 > 0:09:15"Yes, in the Highland Infantry."
0:09:15 > 0:09:18What does this say? 14 years?
0:09:18 > 0:09:2114 years service and five months.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24So, if he was a musician,
0:09:24 > 0:09:30could he have learnt his instrument here within the Highland Infantry?
0:09:30 > 0:09:32- Very possible, yes. - So we need to find out
0:09:32 > 0:09:36and we can only do that by going to Glasgow, presumably?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Yes, the Scottish records office will be able to give you information.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42I've just come back from Scotland!
0:09:42 > 0:09:45Well, get your coat on, you're going back again!
0:09:52 > 0:09:57Sam is in Glasgow, the birthplace of her great-grandfather, Alexander,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01and home to his regiment, the Highland Light Infantry.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09To know that you have a connection to somewhere like this is really weird to me.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12I've never had that sense of identity before.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17When Alexander was alive, in the Highland Infantry,
0:10:17 > 0:10:21and the Scots Guards, this is a place that would have meant a lot to him.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Is it terrible that I want to sing "On the bonny bonny banks of Loch Lomond"?
0:10:26 > 0:10:28SHE LAUGHS
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Sam is meeting military historian Douglas Anderson
0:10:34 > 0:10:38at the Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- Douglas?- Hello.- I'm Sam. - How do you do?
0:10:41 > 0:10:44I've got this overwhelming urge to say hello,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47only because you have information that I desperately want.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- Do come in!- Thank you.- And we'll have a look at things, yes.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- Let's start with this one.- OK.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58This is the first page of his service record,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01and, as the name suggests, that was a complete record
0:11:01 > 0:11:04of everything that he did while he was in the Highland Light Infantry.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10- OK.- Your great-grandfather joins the army.- For the very first time.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- For the first time, yes. - "What is your age?"
0:11:13 > 0:11:16- That's his age.- 14?- 14.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18- And six months?- And six months, yes.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22- He was 14 years old?- Yes, yes.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24He was 14 years of age, yes.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30- In the parish of Maryhill. - Maryhill, yes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:31Glasgow.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36And this is 15 July, 1895.
0:11:36 > 0:11:391895. So, have a look at that.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Description of Alexander. A description?!
0:11:47 > 0:11:51So at 14 years and six months... I'm going to get emotional now.
0:11:54 > 0:12:00- Four feet.- And a few inches. 10. - His complexion. What does that say?
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- I think that's fresh.- Fresh?
0:12:03 > 0:12:05- Eyes?- Hazel.- Hazel.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08- Hair?- Fair.- Fair.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13- Hallelujah!- Yes!- I could never tell where this and my children.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18- Fair hair, finally, there's a clue. - There you are, that's it, yep.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24There's no records of any photographs of him?
0:12:24 > 0:12:28Well, we don't have a photograph of him, unfortunately.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32That's probably "fortunately" because I don't know if I could handle it.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34However, what I can show you is this.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40And this is certainly what he would have looked like.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Yes, here we are.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Right.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46With his swagger cane and his gloves.
0:12:46 > 0:12:52- This is what he would have worn? - Yes. And if you look at the name...
0:12:58 > 0:12:59That's his dad?
0:12:59 > 0:13:05No, my feeling is, maybe because I want it to be,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- is that it's a younger brother. - I can't take it. Oh, my God.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11We can't be sure. We really don't know.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Can I see if there's a similarity?
0:13:15 > 0:13:19- What makes you think that this is his brother?- The name.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And the fact that he's in the Second Battalion.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24And what age was he there?
0:13:24 > 0:13:3014, 15, and this is pretty much what Alexander would have looked like.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34- Ready to go out of barracks. - Yes, that's incredible.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Boy soldiers like Alexander were educated in the barracks
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and taught by soldier teachers.
0:13:43 > 0:13:48They also learned how to march, salute, and handle weapons.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51But boys weren't usually expected to fight
0:13:51 > 0:13:54until they reached the age of 18.
0:13:54 > 0:14:00Instead, they were trained in support roles such as tailors, shoemakers or clerks.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05Others were taught to play in the band as buglers or drummer boys,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09and doubled up as stretcher-bearers when on active duty.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Can I ask you if you have any information on what Alexander was doing?
0:14:15 > 0:14:20- Indeed, yes, we know more about that, yes.- Tell me!
0:14:20 > 0:14:23It's amazing. Where is he? Where is he?
0:14:23 > 0:14:29I can tell you from his military history sheet.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33- Now that's an interesting one, there.- What's this?
0:14:33 > 0:14:35- What?- Bandsman.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38- Oh, is that what that says?- Mm-hmm.
0:14:38 > 0:14:43They were all given the opportunity to be buglers or drummers.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45- My father was a drummer. - If they showed no aptitude,
0:14:45 > 0:14:50then they were shoved into the tailor shop. Can you read that?
0:14:51 > 0:14:57- No, I can't. Can you? - Yes, it says "discharged".
0:14:57 > 0:15:04- Discharged? - Discharged under article 1142.
0:15:04 > 0:15:10Now, what that means is that he was allowed to leave the Army for personal reasons.
0:15:10 > 0:15:18Right. What does this... Total service - eight years and two days.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Well, his history form with the Scots Guards says different.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29He said he was with the HLI for 14 years and four months.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33So, is he lying? Would they not have known if he was?
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Yes, I think he was snatching that out of the air.
0:15:37 > 0:15:42The eight years and two days fits his service with the Highland Light Infantry.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45However, can you read that?
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- He re-enlisted. Is that right? - Mm-hmm.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55- Enlists into R?- Yeah.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58- What's that?- It's a G.- RGA?- RGA.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- What's that? - Royal Garrison Artillery. - So he possibly could have been...
0:16:02 > 0:16:08He could have been in a battery in Plymouth and Portsmouth along the south coast.
0:16:08 > 0:16:13So why, I wonder, when he joined the Scots Guards, did he tell a porky?
0:16:13 > 0:16:16I don't know, but that is something for you to find.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I wish I could speak to this man.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32Sam is on her way to Plymouth, where her great-grandfather was stationed with the Royal Garrison Artillery.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40She wants to find out why Alexander lied to the Scots Guards
0:16:40 > 0:16:44about serving in the Highland Light Infantry for an extra six years
0:16:44 > 0:16:47when he was actually with the Royal Garrison Artillery.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Ah, here we are.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54"Military of Defence - access only."
0:16:54 > 0:16:57I'm hoping they know I'm coming!
0:16:59 > 0:17:04At the Royal Citadel, Sam has arranged to meet Colonel Edward Dawes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12This is a copy of Alexander's military record,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15so we can see his previous service
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- that you've already identified in the Highland infantry.- Yes.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21- Well, now, it really gets interesting over the page.- OK.
0:17:21 > 0:17:24This page describes the years that he served
0:17:24 > 0:17:28and what he was doing, the rank that he held when he was serving here.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- Oh, and here, appointed musician. - Yes.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The same year that he arrives here,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38the Royal Garrison Artillery was putting together its first band here in Plymouth.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41So is that something he would have been instrumental in, in terms of...?
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Well, I think it's fair to say that he was one of the founding members of that band.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48- Yes!- So they were putting the band together.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51He brought the music to the Royal Garrison Artillery.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54He was, and music in those days was very important,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57- it was part of the fabric of military life.- Mm.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00Certainly we can confirm he has been employed
0:18:00 > 0:18:03in that trade as a musician.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Have I just seen this...
0:18:07 > 0:18:10What does this say and this say, does that say arrested?
0:18:10 > 0:18:16Yes. Right, so, reading on, after his promotion in 1906...
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- Yes.- ..the next entry, what does that say?
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Deserted. What's this, deserted?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- No?- Yes.- Yes?- It does.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28- So, can you read all of that? - Deserted at Plymouth.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- Yep. 1910.- Now, what does that mean?
0:18:31 > 0:18:34That is... That is a very serious issue.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37He should've been on duty and he wasn't.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42And of course, only four years later in 1914, when we were at war,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44that was an offence for which he was shot.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Of course, different in a time of peace, but still a very serious offence.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52So he's left here and then, six months later, he's arrested,
0:18:52 > 0:18:54awaiting trial?
0:18:54 > 0:18:58- Yes.- Tried and convicted? By what?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01- By the civil power...- By civil power.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03What does that say? Imprisoned?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- He went to prison? - Yes. It would appear so.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- Does it say what for?- We don't know,
0:19:08 > 0:19:12and the only thing the military is interested in is the fact
0:19:12 > 0:19:16that he was convicted and he was discharged in his absence.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21Which is why the Scots Guards have absolutely no record of this,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23this was never mentioned.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27In fact, the Royal Garrison Artillery was never mentioned, because he's...
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- covered this up. - He's cast a shroud over this.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36And well he might, because as a commanding officer,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40I can say that there is no chance that a convicted felon
0:19:40 > 0:19:43and a deserter would have been re-enlisted.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49- But we don't know...- Alexander, where did you go? What did he do?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Well, that's your next question.
0:19:55 > 0:20:00The Plymouth Record Office holds the city's prison records.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Sam knows that her great-grandfather was convicted in June, 1910.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09But she has no idea what crime he committed.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14This is his documents, reference number 30403.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16God, it's incredible, look at that.
0:20:16 > 0:20:22She's ordered the prison register for the year Alexander was imprisoned.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23Now...
0:20:24 > 0:20:26I'll start about there.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29OK. I'm slightly nervous.
0:20:29 > 0:20:35Let's have a look. So, name, no, Henry. Charles.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Frederick. William. George.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39SHE GASPS There he is. Oh, gosh.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Ryan Alexander Cunningham.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44What did he do?
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Stealing one what?!
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Cornet?
0:20:50 > 0:20:55What did he steal? Sentence - one month.
0:20:57 > 0:21:03And also, the date there is the 19th of August,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06but here, I've got...
0:21:06 > 0:21:11that he was arrested and convicted on the 27th of June.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13So, is it the same offence?
0:21:13 > 0:21:18I can't believe for stealing one item, the cornet... SHE CHUCKLES
0:21:18 > 0:21:21..that he would lose his entire military career for something...
0:21:21 > 0:21:25I was expecting to see something horrific.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Sam's discovered that Alexander committed two different crimes,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37and now has more information about one of them, the theft of a cornet.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43She's hoping that newspapers at the Plymouth Central Library
0:21:43 > 0:21:46- will fill in more details. - Dogs, poultry, livestock...
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- My heart's pounding, you do realise that, don't you?- I do.
0:21:49 > 0:21:54She's asked Mark Smith, curator of the Royal Artillery Museum, to help her.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Oh, Royal Garrison Army, hold on.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02"At Plymouth Police court yesterday morning
0:22:02 > 0:22:07"a musician named Alexander Cunningham Ryan, of no fixed abode..."
0:22:09 > 0:22:12I... I'm completely hyperventilating.
0:22:12 > 0:22:19"..with stealing a euphonium valued £12, 12 shillings.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21"He was further charged
0:22:21 > 0:22:23"with stealing a silver cornet
0:22:23 > 0:22:26"valued at £4, 4 shillings."
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- It's quite a lot of money. - What would the equivalent be?
0:22:29 > 0:22:31£700 for the euphonium
0:22:31 > 0:22:35- and maybe 250 for the cornet.- Why has he done this? Why has done this?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38"About three years ago he was appointed storeman
0:22:38 > 0:22:40"and store librarian,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44"being responsible for the care of the instruments and the music.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48"On January 30th he disappeared
0:22:48 > 0:22:53"and witness subsequently found that the cornet was also missing."
0:22:54 > 0:23:00- "He was a frequent customer..." To who?- It's a pawnbroker's shop.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02He was a frequent... Oh, my gosh.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Well, he's pawning them.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07And then when he's got money, he's redeeming them.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- He's getting them back again?- Yes, and putting them back in the store.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And on this occasion, he hasn't been able to do it.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Someone has come and checked the store. He knows what he's doing.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20He knows what he's doing. And just chance has come along...
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- It just went wrong.- ..and bitten him in the bum.- Exactly.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26- I've something else to show you... - Oh, God.- ..which will just...
0:23:26 > 0:23:29No, honestly, it will just show you how much of a disaster this day was.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32SHE LAUGHS
0:23:32 > 0:23:33- Go on, then.- OK.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37So, an original document.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40And this is called a description on final discharge, what does that mean?
0:23:40 > 0:23:45Your future employers, once they find out you have been in the army...
0:23:45 > 0:23:47- Will ask for this?- Yes.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49- Uh-oh.- Yeah, uh-oh.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56- "Caution." It doesn't start well, does it?- No.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00"Men who have been discharged from the army for misconduct of any sort
0:24:00 > 0:24:03"or who have been dismissed with disgrace from the Navy
0:24:03 > 0:24:06"are cautioned against attempting to re-enlist...
0:24:08 > 0:24:12"..by concealing the circumstances of their discharge.
0:24:12 > 0:24:18"Such re-enlistment renders a man liable to imprisonment
0:24:18 > 0:24:22"with hard labour for two years."
0:24:22 > 0:24:27So this is saying if he ever, if he ever decides to lie about this,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31or re-enlist in the army without disclosing this piece of information,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33- he goes straight back to jail? - Straight to prison.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38- That's your reference.- So he now can't get any job outside...?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41No, he is going to have a really hard time.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44- So this is like a branding?- Yep.
0:24:44 > 0:24:50This dishonourable discharge is going to hang around his neck as...
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- the ultimate disgrace.- Yeah.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57So when war is declared, he decides to try to hide this,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00so he can re-enlist and become a part of the war?
0:25:00 > 0:25:05He gets his second chance, he's back in the game and he gets shot
0:25:05 > 0:25:08and that chance is taken away from him again.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13He is wounded in the worst place possible for him personally,
0:25:13 > 0:25:15when he's shot through the lung.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18So the two things that made up this man's life,
0:25:18 > 0:25:23military and music, both things were taken away from him.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24He...
0:25:24 > 0:25:31completely destroyed his world that one day when he took that cornet.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Alexander concealed his dishonourable discharge
0:25:41 > 0:25:45so that he could volunteer for service in the First World War.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50And actually, whether he falsified the information,
0:25:50 > 0:25:51it doesn't really matter.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55The fact that he got to be back in a world that he loved
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and left it proudly would have been very important for him.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04It's a bittersweet...experience, really.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07The idea that my dad just missed out
0:26:07 > 0:26:10in terms of understanding his heritage...
0:26:11 > 0:26:16..knowing that the music certainly that was so strong in him...
0:26:17 > 0:26:22..would have really, he would have really enjoyed getting to know his grandfather.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I would have loved to have shared that with him.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Sam now wants to find out about Alexander's partner,
0:26:35 > 0:26:36her great-grandmother.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38She knows very little about her,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41just that her name was Beatrice Garraud,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and that Beatrice's mother was called Jessie Ryder.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55To start her search, Sam has come back to London.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02The only thing that we know about her is her name
0:27:02 > 0:27:04and that Dolly lived with her mum in London.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07So, it's a completely blank canvas.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09It's weird not having any information.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14I hope it's happy. SHE LAUGHS
0:27:17 > 0:27:20At the Society Of Genealogists,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Elsa Churchill has been researching Sam's great-grandmother Beatrice.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28The obvious search to do,
0:27:28 > 0:27:30- we'll just try and find the birth of Beatrice.- Great.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34So, just basically trying to see when she was born.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37- G-A-R-R...- A-U-D.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39OK.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42And if we actually focus in exactly on the spelling
0:27:42 > 0:27:46as we think it is, certainly nothing comes up with Beatrice.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48- Ah.- Nothing at all.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51- So we thought, what's the only other facts we've got?- Her mum.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55Yes, precisely, so Jessie Ryder was the name.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59So, we did actually come up with something which we think might be interesting.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03- So, I've got some documents. - (I love this bit.)
0:28:05 > 0:28:11So I'm looking at a copy of an entry of marriage. 1892.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14- So, is this Jessie here? - Well, try the bottom.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Normally you get the groom at the top and the bride at the bottom.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- Oh, here we go, Jessie Ryder.- Mm-hm. - SAM LAUGHS
0:28:20 > 0:28:21Now, gosh, what's this name here?
0:28:21 > 0:28:25- The surname, can you say what that looks like?- Well, we've got Garraud.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29- Yeah, OK, so that's confirming... - Ah!- Can you make out the full name?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33- No. Pierre?- That's it.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- SHE ADOPTS ACCENT: Pierre.- That's it, Pierre.- So French?- That's right.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41I think that's possibly Pierre Franscois Olidon Garraud.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46- Amazing.- And then you get his age. - 27. And she was 23.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50And then you get, the next column just gives the father of the groom
0:28:50 > 0:28:53- and the father of the bride. - So the father of Jessie
0:28:53 > 0:28:57- is Alfred Ryder, an accountant. - There you go.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00And we've got the exact date of marriage, as well.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02On August the 17th.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07So, based upon that we can start looking for children of this couple.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11- First child that we found... - Entry of birth.
0:29:11 > 0:29:1614th of December, 1892.
0:29:16 > 0:29:17Now it's August.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21September, October, November... Ah! THEY LAUGH
0:29:21 > 0:29:25- Four months after the marriage. - Very close, but in.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Now, what does this say here? So who's that?
0:29:27 > 0:29:30Naomi Finney, Anthony Lennard.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33- So that's a boy?- That's the first one.- That's not Beatrice.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37- And then we can go on. - It's so exciting.
0:29:37 > 0:29:43- Oh, here we go. The 26th of August, '94.- OK.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47So, less than two years later they have a little girl.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54- What does that say?- I think that says Berthe. B-E-R-T-H-E.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57- Berthe Marie Josepha.- That's right.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Can you see, can you read that?
0:29:59 > 0:30:02What does that say? The French...
0:30:02 > 0:30:08Where and when born, it says the 26th of August at the French Hospital.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12- Mm-hm. Can you read where it says? - No, I can't see what that says.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15- Shaftesbury...- Shaftesbury Avenue!
0:30:18 > 0:30:20That's incredible.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24And the interesting thing for me is that this is the only two children.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28- You can't find Beatrice?- Well, certainly not something as Beatrice.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Ah. Could this be the same person?
0:30:32 > 0:30:35Well, I can't find an alternative, so, you know,
0:30:35 > 0:30:38has Berthe become Beatrice?
0:30:38 > 0:30:41Are you saying that that's what you think is likely?
0:30:41 > 0:30:44- It seems a bit coincidental that we've got a Berthe.- I see.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48And in checking out all the documentation,
0:30:48 > 0:30:50we actually came across this document.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Certified copy of an entry of death.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Anthony Garraud, male, six years old.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01SHE TUTS
0:31:01 > 0:31:03SHE GASPS
0:31:03 > 0:31:06- Burnt?- I know, it's awful, isn't it?
0:31:06 > 0:31:07Accidental.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12I can't see, what does this say? Burnt?
0:31:12 > 0:31:16- Burns from...- Nightdress?- Yeah.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22- Catching fire... - Oh, at the gas stove.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24That's so shocking.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27So what does this say here?
0:31:28 > 0:31:32An orphanage... He was given up for adoption?
0:31:32 > 0:31:37Yeah, and then from the orphanage seems to die in the...
0:31:37 > 0:31:40In the infirmary, in the Hampstead Infirmary, Hampstead where I've lived...
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- ..for years.- Yeah. - And then has the inquest on the 28th.
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Five days later there's an inquest.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51And one of the things you might want to consider, I suppose,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54- is because we've got the coroner giving the information...- Yes.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59..coroners' inquests are invariably going to be reported.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01So, look in kind of newspaper archives?
0:32:01 > 0:32:05- Yes, that's one thing to have a look out for that.- My goodness.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11If reports into Anthony's death still exists,
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Sam hopes to find them at the Camden Archive Centre.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18She wants to know exactly what happened to Anthony
0:32:18 > 0:32:20and why he ended up in an orphanage.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- So, these are your two newspapers. - Brilliant.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31We've got this volume of Hampstead And Highgate Express from 1899.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- And that's for the whole year, is it? - That's for the whole year.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39- And this is the Hamstead Record, also for 1899.- Fantastic.
0:32:39 > 0:32:44- Am I all right to have a look through these?- Yes, of course.- Brilliant, thank you.- You're welcome.
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Oh...
0:32:47 > 0:32:54So, the date I'm looking for is February the 23rd.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59So it's weekly, so it would be this one starting on the 25th.
0:33:02 > 0:33:06Well, I can't see anything in that week's issue,
0:33:06 > 0:33:11let's try next week's, which is Saturday, the 4th of March.
0:33:14 > 0:33:19Apartments, situations vacant, alleged kidnapping at Hampstead...
0:33:19 > 0:33:21Ah.
0:33:22 > 0:33:23Here it is.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26"Shocking burning fatality.
0:33:26 > 0:33:31"On Tuesday Dr G Danford Thomas held an inquest
0:33:31 > 0:33:36"at New End on the body of Anthony..." Now, they've put it as Garrond.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39"Aged six-and-a-half years, he died in the workhouse infirmary
0:33:39 > 0:33:42"from the effects of burns.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46"Mary Ann Johnson, a sister at St Vincent's Orphanage, Holly Place
0:33:46 > 0:33:50"stated that on the previous Thursday the boy had not been well.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54"He was kept in his bed in a room at the top floor.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58"He had his dinner at about 12 o'clock..." Oh, this is upsetting.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01"Shortly afterwards screams were heard
0:34:01 > 0:34:04"and a witness and another sister went up to his room.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06"His nightshirt was on fire
0:34:06 > 0:34:10"and a witness and another put out the flames with the aid of a blanket."
0:34:10 > 0:34:12SHE GASPS
0:34:12 > 0:34:15"There was a gas stove in the bedroom fitted into the fireplace
0:34:15 > 0:34:18"that was alight at the time and there was no guard around it,
0:34:18 > 0:34:22"because it was not generally used for children, that room.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27"The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
0:34:27 > 0:34:33"The grandfather of the child, Alfred Wright..." Jessie's father.
0:34:33 > 0:34:38It was Alfred Ryder. So that's obviously a clerical error.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44It said he identified the boy as his grandson. "His father was dead...
0:34:45 > 0:34:48"..and his mother was abroad."
0:34:48 > 0:34:50Wow.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55Let's see if the other one has got any more information.
0:34:58 > 0:35:00Er... I'm going to get the same...
0:35:02 > 0:35:06..date, which will be March the 4th, the last one was at.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09March 4th... Oh, there it is.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15Anthony Garrond, again they've got his name wrong here,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18aged six-and-a-half years.
0:35:18 > 0:35:23"It was stated at the outset that the child's mother was in America."
0:35:24 > 0:35:26America...
0:35:26 > 0:35:30"After the conclusion of the inquest, the grandfather arrived and said
0:35:30 > 0:35:34"that his name was Alfred Wright," which again is the wrong name.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38So that's Jessie's dad, didn't even go to the inquest.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40And it says here that his daughter,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43the mother who was on the stage had gone to America.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45On the stage?
0:35:45 > 0:35:47So...
0:35:48 > 0:35:51..Jessie was an actress, as well.
0:35:52 > 0:35:58And here, Alfred says the boy was of a rather is mischievous character.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00Well, he was six-and-a-half.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03I just feel so sorry for him.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08And why did she go to work on the stage in America?
0:36:09 > 0:36:14But where is Berthe or Beatrice, where's my great-grandmother? What happened to her?
0:36:16 > 0:36:19Sam still hasn't found any information
0:36:19 > 0:36:22on her great-grandmother Beatrice.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24So she's come to meet Colin Carsten,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28senior librarian at the West Hampstead Library.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33We found Berthe's brother Anthony, who sadly died.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38But Berthe or Beatrice, we don't know if it's the same person
0:36:38 > 0:36:41or if in fact she is my great-grandmother.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Well, if we do a wildcard search,
0:36:43 > 0:36:45that will bring out different spellings of the same name
0:36:45 > 0:36:49or variations of both first name and last name.
0:36:49 > 0:36:54- She was known as Beatrice, that's how we knew her.- OK, B-E-A...
0:36:56 > 0:36:57And then Garraud.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02- So you just put in the first few letters?- Yeah.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04That's clever.
0:37:04 > 0:37:09- Cos then it should bring up anything.- I see.- And born?- 1894.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15- Ah!- OK. So, that's 1901.
0:37:15 > 0:37:19So, Wiltshire, Wiltshire, Lancashire,
0:37:19 > 0:37:24- Suffolk, Surrey...- That's Ipswich. - No, Ipswich...
0:37:24 > 0:37:29Ah, Shaftesbury. I know she was born in Shaftesbury Avenue.
0:37:29 > 0:37:33But that's a Beattie Garrand. The place is right.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36- Can we look at that one? - Let's look at the record and see.
0:37:36 > 0:37:41I know she was about four years old when Anthony died,
0:37:41 > 0:37:43so she'd be about six now.
0:37:43 > 0:37:47- Look, six years old.- Six years old. - That's her, it's got to be her.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52It's estimated birth year, so it's estimated, 1885. I was told 1894.
0:37:52 > 0:37:57Where born - Shaftesbury Avenue, St Paul's parish.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Region South Hammersmith.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05Now what's this? Institution Nazareth House.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08OK, let's look for Nazareth House.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Ah, there it is. District - Nazareth House.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16So, enumeration book
0:38:16 > 0:38:23and the description is, a convent and home for the aged and infirm
0:38:23 > 0:38:26and destitute children on the Hammersmith Road.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30So she's in an orphanage, as well.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Around 78,000 children were living in some sort of institution
0:38:39 > 0:38:41in Britain by 1890.
0:38:43 > 0:38:48Often these youngsters were orphaned or abandoned by parents
0:38:48 > 0:38:50who had fallen on hard times.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54The most dreaded place for destitute children to end up
0:38:54 > 0:38:58was the workhouse, where they were subjected to a harsh regime
0:38:58 > 0:39:00and categorised as inmates.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05More fortunate youngsters found places in charitable homes
0:39:05 > 0:39:07such as Nazareth House.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11Here, children received an education until the age of 12.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Many then stayed on for another two years to learn a trade.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24Today, Nazareth House is a care home for the elderly.
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Sam's meeting archivist Doctor Peter Hughes.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31- Hello, Peter.- Hello.- I'm Sam. - Welcome to Nazareth House.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34- Thank you very much. - Let's go in this way.- Thank you.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40What I have here is one of the children's admission registers.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- Mm-hm.- This one starts in 1895.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48- Right.- And goes all the way up to 1981...- Gosh.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50..when the work here with the children ceased.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53So, if I open it here...
0:39:54 > 0:39:59- ..if you would like to look through and see what you can find.- OK.
0:39:59 > 0:40:04Christian name, Margaret, Katherine, Amy, Helen, Lily...
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Beatrice.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Beatrice. Beatrice, not Beattie.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Well, we don't know what the surname is yet, do we?
0:40:14 > 0:40:18- But it says Shaftesbury.- Right, is that the correct date of birth?
0:40:18 > 0:40:22It is. 1894.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Which is when we know that... And here we go, look,
0:40:25 > 0:40:29parents' names, Peter Garraud and Jessie Ryder.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33- That's my great-great-grandparents. - Right.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36- This has to be her.- Mm, yes.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41So Beattie Garraud and Beatrice Garraud clearly are one and the same.
0:40:41 > 0:40:42Yep.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46- Does this say when she came to be here?- Yeah, you've got to keep going.
0:40:46 > 0:40:53Keep going. Received - July 29th, 1897.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55She was two and a bit, she was two-and-three-quarters.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57Close to being three.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59What's interesting here, look...
0:41:01 > 0:41:06- Taken by grandparents.- Yes. - May the 6th, 1902...
0:41:06 > 0:41:09which would have made her...
0:41:09 > 0:41:15- '94... 6, 7... 8?- Nearly 8.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19So, three years after her brother perishes in a fire,
0:41:19 > 0:41:24the grandparents come to pick her up?
0:41:24 > 0:41:25Yes.
0:41:25 > 0:41:26It begs the question,
0:41:26 > 0:41:31why did they not take both grandchildren in when she gave...
0:41:31 > 0:41:35Maybe they couldn't afford to look after a child.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- And there's only one now to take, isn't there?- Mm.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53So, we finally found her, Beatrice,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56and this is where she was for about eight years.
0:41:56 > 0:42:00And it's the closest I've got to being in a place
0:42:00 > 0:42:03that she would have spent time in.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08I'm desperate to know more now, desperate to know about Beatrice
0:42:08 > 0:42:12and her mother Jessie and were they reunited?
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Where did Jessie go? Why did she go?
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Sam wants to understand what made her great-great-grandmother
0:42:25 > 0:42:28abandon her children and go to America.
0:42:29 > 0:42:34She's checking the passenger lists for Atlantic crossings during the 1890s.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38So, I'm now going to put in Jessie Ryder's name
0:42:38 > 0:42:42into a passenger list and see if I can find out
0:42:42 > 0:42:45did she go to America or did she go anywhere?
0:42:45 > 0:42:47So I've got Jessie...
0:42:48 > 0:42:54..Ryder. Year of birth, around 1867,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57so if I put plus five years...
0:43:02 > 0:43:04SHE GASPS
0:43:04 > 0:43:07She's here. SHE LAUGHS
0:43:07 > 0:43:10Oh, my goodness. New York.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Port of departure, Liverpool, and she arrived on the 14th of March...
0:43:16 > 0:43:19..1891.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23So that's before she got married.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Now, hold on. Look, if I scroll up...
0:43:28 > 0:43:30..she's got herself listed...
0:43:32 > 0:43:33..as an artist.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38And then here, eight months later, she went back.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43Well, it's saying she went to New York in March
0:43:43 > 0:43:46and came back in November.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52So, she clearly went to be some kind of actress or something.
0:43:52 > 0:43:57But I wonder if she went back to New York when she left her kids.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02So, there's no other way of knowing
0:44:02 > 0:44:07any more about her, unless I actually follow the trail to New York.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12CAR HORNS TOOT
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Sam knows that her great-great-grandmother Jessie travelled to New York
0:44:24 > 0:44:29as an artist in 1891, before she married and had children.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Sam has come to New York to find out if Jesse returned here
0:44:35 > 0:44:40six years later, after leaving Anthony and Beatrice in orphanages.
0:44:45 > 0:44:50- Hi, Leslie, I'm Sam.- Hi, Sam, lovely to meet you.- Nice to meet you.
0:44:50 > 0:44:54Sam is meeting genealogist Leslie Corn,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58who's been looking into Jessie's time in the United States.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00I'm trying to work out whether she was actually here.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04I'm hoping that's something you can help me with.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08- I wish I could in New York.- OK. - Found nothing in New York.- Oh.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13Absolutely nothing. Vital records, naturalisation records, censuses,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16directories, nothing for her.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20Then, you know, if you don't find someone in New York,
0:45:20 > 0:45:25broaden the search to what we call the tri-state area, New Jersey and Connecticut. So...
0:45:25 > 0:45:27And did you find her?
0:45:35 > 0:45:37Full name of child...
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Jessie Ryder had a child here?
0:45:41 > 0:45:44- Annie, is this Annie?- Mm-hm.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47- Annie Gertrude Finkle.- Yes.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Who the hell is Finkle?
0:45:50 > 0:45:52Who's Finkle?!
0:45:53 > 0:45:59So, little girl, date of birth, August the 5th...
0:45:59 > 0:46:011899.
0:46:01 > 0:46:07Well, this puts her here in the US. So she's come back.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12February, March, April, May, June, July, August...
0:46:12 > 0:46:18She had a daughter six months after her son perished in a fire.
0:46:19 > 0:46:2336-and-a-half?
0:46:23 > 0:46:25- Bree Street?- Erie.
0:46:25 > 0:46:29- Erie Street?- Erie Street. - Erie Street in Jersey City.- Right.
0:46:29 > 0:46:35- That was the place of the birth of Annie Gertrude Finkle.- So...
0:46:35 > 0:46:41Annie, the little girl's father is Harry Philip Finkle.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47I can't get my head around why she was here.
0:46:47 > 0:46:53She must have known that her son had perished in a fire six months previously. Presumably...
0:46:55 > 0:46:58..if this little girl was born six months later,
0:46:58 > 0:47:03then she was already pregnant when she found out about
0:47:03 > 0:47:05Anthony's death.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11And what's she doing, just having children everywhere
0:47:11 > 0:47:13when she's got two in an orphanage?
0:47:15 > 0:47:18It's quite a lot to take in, isn't it?
0:47:21 > 0:47:25The more I find out about Jessie, the harder it is to swallow.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30I'm getting a little uncomfortable, actually.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34Because there's just such a long line of kind of damage,
0:47:34 > 0:47:38and this woman now seems to be the new villain in the piece.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40At the moment, that's how I'm seeing her.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43And I don't want her to be that.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Sam has read in newspaper reports that her great-great-grandmother
0:47:51 > 0:47:52came to America to be on the stage.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58She wants to find out what kind of a performer Jessie was.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06I'm looking for any information about my great-great-grandmother...
0:48:06 > 0:48:08At the Mint Theatre,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12she's come to meet theatrical historian Helen Violante.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14So I wondered if she had a history in the theatre.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18Well, let's look into an online database here.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22- The last name's Finkle?- Yes... - Well, one of her last names. - One of her last names is Finkle!
0:48:22 > 0:48:26OK. So, we'll type in Finkle
0:48:26 > 0:48:28and we'll see what comes up.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31- Found six items.- Six items.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34Between 1690 and 2007.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37Um, let see what the first one says here.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41- August the 6th, 1904.- It's coming up.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44- SHE GASPS That's a picture!- It looks like it.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47Yes.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52Uh... I-I'm speechless.
0:48:52 > 0:48:53I can't believe that's her.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59- That's quite a scary face. - It is quite a scary face, yes.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02There's no warmth in that face, is there?
0:49:02 > 0:49:05It's a very stern expression in that particular... Yeah.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08I'll just scroll down so you can read it.
0:49:08 > 0:49:12- Hold on, so Lyric Theatre... Hoboken?- Hoboken, New Jersey.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15New Jersey. So, the time...
0:49:17 > 0:49:25"Mrs Jessie Almer Finkle and her little daughter Gertrude of 37..."
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Well, it was 36-and-a-half, but still, "..37-and-a-half Erie Street,
0:49:28 > 0:49:30"this city, will be with
0:49:30 > 0:49:36"WE Nankeville's Silver Slipper company this season.
0:49:38 > 0:49:44"Miss Finkle has an excellent reputation in the profession as a...
0:49:44 > 0:49:48"talented comedienne." So it's a comedy?
0:49:48 > 0:49:52Well, it has elements of comedy, singing, dancing.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53- That's a bit freaky.- Yes.
0:49:55 > 0:49:57So let's see here...
0:49:57 > 0:50:01"Little Gertrude takes after her clever mother."
0:50:01 > 0:50:03And that's her?
0:50:03 > 0:50:05- Gertrude.- Little Gertrude?- Yeah.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09- Oh, God, imagine putting your daughter on the stage at that... - At that age.- I mean, she's...
0:50:11 > 0:50:15I'm looking at this photo of my great-great-grandmother
0:50:15 > 0:50:19and I'm feeling nothing but contempt for this woman.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21It's as if...
0:50:21 > 0:50:26It's as if her previous family doesn't even exist.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29- And remind me of the date again of this.- This was 1904.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32So five years after he burned to death and she still hasn't gone back
0:50:32 > 0:50:35to get her other daughter, and yet she's cavorting on stage.
0:50:35 > 0:50:40I mean, I'm desperate to find some reason to understand it
0:50:40 > 0:50:43or to explain her actions.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I want to scribble her face out, do something really childish.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50But I won't.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56When I left to come here,
0:50:56 > 0:51:00I didn't know what instigated her leaving both her kids.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04I was hoping it was because she was madly in love with this guy
0:51:04 > 0:51:06and he died and she couldn't cope.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09It wasn't that. It wasn't that, it was...
0:51:11 > 0:51:14It was that she wanted all of this.
0:51:14 > 0:51:15Is all this worth it?
0:51:18 > 0:51:20I don't think so.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31After Sam's great-great-grandmother Jessie left her children
0:51:31 > 0:51:34back in England, she set up home in Jersey City with her new love
0:51:34 > 0:51:38Harry Finkle and their baby daughter Annie Gertrude.
0:51:41 > 0:51:45Really what I want to now do is find out where my great-grandmother is
0:51:45 > 0:51:48in all of this, where Beatrice is.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Did Jessie stay here in America?
0:51:50 > 0:51:55Did she leave Beatrice in London after Anthony's death,
0:51:55 > 0:51:57or did eventually she bring her here?
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Did she introduce her to her new family,
0:52:00 > 0:52:01or was she just left abandoned?
0:52:01 > 0:52:05I really want to find out now where Beatrice fits in,
0:52:05 > 0:52:07my grandmother's mum, where was she?
0:52:09 > 0:52:13To try to find out more, Sam's come to the Jersey City public library.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19She's searching the census records.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24So, I'm going to try the technique
0:52:24 > 0:52:27that I was shown for the kind of wildcard search,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30so just putting in the first four letters of her name.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36And then we've got Finkle...
0:52:37 > 0:52:42And we know that she lived in Jersey City.
0:52:44 > 0:52:45Search...
0:52:50 > 0:52:53So, this is 1910. SHE LAUGHS
0:52:53 > 0:52:57This is really funny. We've got a Jessie Tinkle,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00which is now actually in brackets, Jessie Finkle.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02There was obviously a spelling error.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06Now, birth year, 1871, birthplace, England.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11So let's view that record.
0:53:12 > 0:53:18Jessie Tinkle, Finkle, she's now 39 and she's living in New Jersey.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Married...
0:53:23 > 0:53:26SHE GASPS
0:53:26 > 0:53:29I'm very excited. Household members.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33There's Annie Gertrude, her daughter, a little Harry Junior
0:53:33 > 0:53:35and there's a Beatrice.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38She's got her.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40And she's 14.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45There's my great-grandmother, there she is. She brought her to America.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Crazy.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49I want to find out when she got her.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52So, if I know that was 1910,
0:53:52 > 0:53:56if I do the New York passenger list for, let's try...
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Finkle, let's put in Finkle.
0:54:01 > 0:54:071910, with a variation of ten years.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13And we'll find out when she came.
0:54:13 > 0:54:14I'm excited.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21There she is. She came over on The Adriatic
0:54:21 > 0:54:28from Southampton on the 6th of September, 1907.
0:54:28 > 0:54:33Now calling herself Beatrice Finkle, and she's ten years old.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35She got onto a ship called The Adriatic
0:54:35 > 0:54:41and she came over to be with her mum for the first time since she was a...
0:54:43 > 0:54:45Well, since she was a toddler.
0:54:48 > 0:54:52Let's go to the passenger list here and see...
0:54:54 > 0:55:01Oh, it's one of these incredibly small handwriting...
0:55:02 > 0:55:05Finkle.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08Here she is. SHE GASPS
0:55:10 > 0:55:12Oh, look!
0:55:13 > 0:55:18All the Finkles came to get her.
0:55:18 > 0:55:23There's Jessie, her daughter Annie Gertrude, her son Harry, who's three,
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Helen, who could be a cousin or something and there's Beatrice.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30So the whole lot went back to get her.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37That's nice. Well...
0:55:37 > 0:55:40At least she did the right thing,
0:55:40 > 0:55:42which is go and get her daughter, finally.
0:55:42 > 0:55:47God, I bet that was a weird journey. Imagine!
0:55:47 > 0:55:49Imagine the awkward silences.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11That's 28...
0:56:15 > 0:56:1730...
0:56:17 > 0:56:22Around the corner from the Jersey City public library is Erie Street.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26Sam knows that her great-great-grandmother used to live here,
0:56:26 > 0:56:29at number 36-and-a-half.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32There's 36.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47And that is 36-and-a-half, Erie Street.
0:56:52 > 0:56:54They all lived here.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59SHE LAUGHS
0:57:00 > 0:57:02Well...
0:57:06 > 0:57:10She would have walked up the steps with her kids.
0:57:14 > 0:57:15That's amazing.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20Incredible. I wonder if these are the same. I wonder if she held these.
0:57:42 > 0:57:43And it's been a strange journey,
0:57:43 > 0:57:47because I have mixed feelings about all of them.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50Alexander, the pain he must have suffered
0:57:50 > 0:57:55when he lost his military and his music career in one fell swoop.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58And the complicated relationship between Jessie,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00my great-great-grandmother, and Beatrice.
0:58:00 > 0:58:02And the pain caused.
0:58:04 > 0:58:11I think there's a peace within me that wasn't there before
0:58:11 > 0:58:15of just knowing that I came from somewhere, that there was...
0:58:15 > 0:58:19a family out there that I belonged to.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24And that clearly they were all performers in some way,
0:58:24 > 0:58:27and that gives me a real sense of pride.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31It's been truly, truly healing.
0:58:33 > 0:58:36And something that I will never be able to change now,
0:58:36 > 0:58:41I will never ask those questions again, who are we, where are we from?
0:58:41 > 0:58:43Cos I now know.
0:58:48 > 0:58:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd