0:00:04 > 0:00:08Coming home to Wales is international movie star Ioan Gruffudd,
0:00:08 > 0:00:11back home on these shores to discover the extraordinary story
0:00:11 > 0:00:13of his Welsh ancestry.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19On this journey,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Ioan is moved to learn of the service and sacrifice made
0:00:22 > 0:00:25by his family in World War II.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Well, we're so lucky, aren't we?
0:00:31 > 0:00:32So lucky.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Whilst a trip back to school brings out his mischievous side.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40I used to come running round here.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46So that was a sure way of getting yourself into trouble with
0:00:46 > 0:00:48the teachers here at Glantaf.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54And he discovers how these ancient tombs hold the secret
0:00:54 > 0:00:56to his family's royal ancestry.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59That's... That's extraordinary.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05As Ioan Gruffudd is coming home.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Making his mark at the age of 24 on the hit TV series Hornblower
0:01:14 > 0:01:17as its swashbuckling title star,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Ioan was destined for fame, the red carpet and Hollywood.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28He's played opposite Keira Knightley and Clive Owen in King Arthur,
0:01:28 > 0:01:32as the iconic Marvel comic book hero Mr Fantastic,
0:01:32 > 0:01:35and worked alongside the world's biggest movie stars.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40And today,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Ioan has made Hollywood his home.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45But even here, living in the heart of Los Angeles,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49it's clear he's lost none of the passion for his homeland of Wales.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Yeah! Get in there! Come on!
0:01:54 > 0:01:56History in the making! Come on!
0:01:56 > 0:01:58What heart! What heart!
0:02:01 > 0:02:05Now at home with his family in the United States,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Ioan is particularly keen to trace his Welsh ancestry,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12so he can share the story with his two daughters, Ella and Elsie.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Da iawn ti, Elsie!
0:02:16 > 0:02:18Da iawn!
0:02:18 > 0:02:20Wnest ti'n dda!
0:02:20 > 0:02:26Ioan's journey begins in Hollywood, captured on film by his wife, Alice.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28How do you feel?
0:02:28 > 0:02:29You know what, I, er...
0:02:32 > 0:02:36I'm probably more nervous about this trip than I ever have been about
0:02:36 > 0:02:40getting on a plane, going to do a big film or going to do a TV show
0:02:40 > 0:02:42or standing on stage.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Erm, I don't know why.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47I think it's...
0:02:47 > 0:02:51I suppose, in a week's time, when I come back to LA,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55I will probably have learned so much more about
0:02:55 > 0:02:58my own family and my own past
0:02:58 > 0:03:01and it'll probably shed some light on the fact that, you know,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03maybe our daughters' genes do come from my side of the family
0:03:03 > 0:03:06when they're being naughty and terrible!
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Which is what I've always been saying!
0:03:10 > 0:03:12But, er, I don't know.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14You know what's amazing, you know, we're both actors,
0:03:14 > 0:03:16we're both storytellers.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20I just can't wait to hear the stories, you know, the adventures,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24the good and the bad and I suppose,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I have to be prepared for the ugly and sort of the sad as well, so,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29erm... Yeah, very nervous, trepidatious,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31but ultimately, quite excited.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33Very exciting.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34OK, give us a kiss!
0:03:34 > 0:03:36Mwah!
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Bye, baby! Have fun.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44Not too much fun, though!
0:03:48 > 0:03:53So Ioan sets off from Los Angeles on his long journey back home to Wales.
0:03:58 > 0:03:59Meanwhile back in Cardiff,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03there are two people in particular keenly awaiting Ioan's arrival.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05At the Gruffudd family home,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09parents Peter and Gill have been eagerly anticipating his homecoming.
0:04:11 > 0:04:13And they couldn't be more proud of their little boy.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19We have supported him and his brother and sister
0:04:19 > 0:04:23- whatever they wanted to do, really. - Yeah.
0:04:23 > 0:04:29And it's just, erm, great that he has...
0:04:29 > 0:04:32- Had work, to be honest with you. - Well, yes, exactly, because...
0:04:32 > 0:04:34At the end of the day, it's work, isn't it, you know!
0:04:34 > 0:04:38He went into it knowing that he could be out of work
0:04:38 > 0:04:43more than he was in work because, I mean, he'd had experience with
0:04:43 > 0:04:47working with professional actors, so, erm...
0:04:47 > 0:04:50But it was a case of that's what he wanted to do and we said, well, yes,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52if that's what you want to do, then you must try it now.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56- Go for it, go for it, yeah. - And see what happens.- Yeah.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01And yes, he's done well and we're obviously very proud.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Yes.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06It's quite, emotional.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08Oh, yes.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15Ioan's parents live in the village of Pentyrch, just outside Cardiff.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20And, after a long flight, Ioan is finally back in Wales
0:05:20 > 0:05:21and home to his mum and dad's.
0:05:26 > 0:05:27- Hello?- Hello!- Hello.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Sut wyt it ers sbel fawr?
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Ioan has travelled over 6,000 miles to enjoy this hug from his parents.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39But now, it's time to get started on the family story.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42And of course, any research into your tree
0:05:42 > 0:05:44must begin with the family album.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Well, so this is me as a young baby.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50How many weeks old is this?
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Oh, maybe six...
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It's baby Ioan on his grandmother's shawl.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58This is a shawl that Mam-gu, your mam-gu made.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00My mam-gu made?
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Yes, my mother. My mother made that. She made a lot of...
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And a talent that has been passed down through the generations.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Oh, yeah, your Mam, yes.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15So how much do you know about your grandparents and your ancestors?
0:06:15 > 0:06:20On my side, on my father's side, I don't know them at all,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23because they both passed away well before I was born.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26I mean, how do you feel about finding out, you know,
0:06:26 > 0:06:27more specifically...
0:06:27 > 0:06:32Oh, I'd love to, to be honest, because especially my father's side,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34I didn't know any of them, you know.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Of my grandparents on my father's side.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40That would be really an eye-opener for me.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43I'm looking forward to that, yeah.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46I'm looking forward as well. I think it's very exciting.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48It is, it is, it is!
0:06:48 > 0:06:50There might be some skeletons in the cupboard!
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Whatever comes, whatever comes. You never know, do you?
0:06:53 > 0:06:54Exactly, exactly.
0:06:54 > 0:06:55Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59So now, the ancestral story can begin.
0:07:00 > 0:07:05Joining Ioan at his parents home is genealogist Mike Churchill Jones,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08who's been busy piecing together the family tree and is about to reveal
0:07:08 > 0:07:11the extent of this hard work -
0:07:11 > 0:07:14the biggest tree Mike has ever produced.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Ioan - croeso - welcome to your tree reading.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18- Thank you.- There's a lot of it.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20- Want to give me a hand unrolling it?- Absolutely.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23OK.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27- You're going to have to take it to the end, I'm afraid.- Am I really?
0:07:27 > 0:07:28Well, well, well.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Goodness me, Mike.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36It looks like the accumulation of...
0:07:36 > 0:07:38How many years?
0:07:38 > 0:07:39- Wow!- And again.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40Look at that!
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Well, well, well.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50What do you think?
0:07:50 > 0:07:52That's very impressive.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54The first thing that comes to mind is, "Oh, my goodness,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56"how hard have you been working to do this?"
0:07:56 > 0:07:58This is beautiful.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00- It's been enjoyable. - Oh, I'm glad. I'm glad.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Straight away, the tree reveals Ioan has deep Welsh ancestry on both his
0:08:05 > 0:08:08mother and his father's side.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Ancestry that can be traced back all the way to the late 1500s
0:08:12 > 0:08:15to west Wales and the town of Kidwelly.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18But there's one person on the tree,
0:08:18 > 0:08:23Ioan's seven times great-grandfather Walter Anthony,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25who's proving difficult to track down.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27This man is a bit of a mystery man.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Right.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32In terms of where he came from, who he is, his...?
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Basically, who he is, who he married and when he died.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39At this moment in time, I've no idea.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41- So there's no...?- I can't answer those questions.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45You can't answer those questions as a genealogist,
0:08:45 > 0:08:49even though there are records of other people during that time?
0:08:49 > 0:08:51- Plenty of people have tried to research this man...- Right.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53..and he's been pretty elusive.
0:08:53 > 0:08:58I've played, sort of, Sherlockian sort of characters on television,
0:08:58 > 0:08:59- so I'm...- This might come in handy, then.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04I'm very, very keen to try and put or piece all this together.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07So the tree reveals that some of Ioan's earliest recorded ancestors
0:09:07 > 0:09:10lived in Kidwelly in south-west Wales.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14So, that's where he travels first.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Here, the story begins with Ioan's
0:09:16 > 0:09:20ten times great-grandfather, David Mansell, born in 1590.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28Kidwelly's famous castle would have been a familiar sight to David
0:09:28 > 0:09:30and his wife Mary and it's here
0:09:30 > 0:09:33where Ioan meets with historian Chris Delaney.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36Come inside the castle.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40Chris has been digging deep into the archive to unearth this story and
0:09:40 > 0:09:43straight away wants to take Ioan to the very top of the castle.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Way up here in the ancient turrets,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52he'll discover that his family's ancestry can be directly linked
0:09:52 > 0:09:55to the castle's history and that, in fact,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58he's walking in the very footsteps of his forebears,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01who were a very important family here in Kidwelly
0:10:01 > 0:10:03in its earliest days.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11For the first time, Ioan has the chance to view the land that
0:10:11 > 0:10:14they surveyed more than 400 years ago.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20So, tell me, this vista now, from this vantage point,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24from this height on Castell Cydweli,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26how different may it have looked,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28compared to what we're seeing here today?
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Well, obviously, lots of changes,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33but one of the reasons why I brought your up here is because
0:10:33 > 0:10:36the key elements in the landscape haven't changed since the time
0:10:36 > 0:10:38that your ancestors were here.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41So, obviously, we've got this wonderful, magnificent castle that
0:10:41 > 0:10:44we're standing on top of, we've got the church of St Mary,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- the priory church of St Mary, over there.- Mm-hm.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Out there, you can see the river, the Gwendraeth Fach,
0:10:50 > 0:10:52coming in from the sea,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55which is critical to the development and supply of the castle,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57to the development of the town.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00And down there, is the town we can see and, in the distance,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03you can see the town gate.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06So how does Chris know Ioan's ancestors lived in this area
0:11:06 > 0:11:07such a long time ago?
0:11:09 > 0:11:12He takes Ioan to the nearby Kidwelly Industrial Museum
0:11:12 > 0:11:13to reveal the story.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19In chairs once occupied by former mayors of Kidwelly,
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Chris can reveal that Ioan's ancestors were also very important people.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Your family were powerful, very significant, very, very influential
0:11:28 > 0:11:33people in this area for a period of time in the 17th and 18th centuries.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36So, we're going to kind of explore that a little bit
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and where I'm going to start is with this document,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42which is a copy document of the 1619 charter.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46This is a charter that was given by the Duchy of Lancaster and
0:11:46 > 0:11:48King James to them.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52So, it's carrying a royal seal, a seal of approval,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55so if anybody messes with you, you've got the Crown on your side.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Well, this is, as I said, is the 1619 charter,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03and I'd like you to read out a little bit about it, starting here,
0:12:03 > 0:12:07because it is a very significant document for you personally.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11The original of this charter document was issued over
0:12:11 > 0:12:14400 years ago in the areas around Kidwelly Castle.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20The charter identified the so-called burgesses, important people with
0:12:20 > 0:12:24rights to collect rents on land and to trade and even tax the people.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Ioan is looking for the name of his ten times great-grandfather, David Mansell.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37We have also assigned, nominated, constituted and made and do,
0:12:37 > 0:12:43by these present for us, our heirs and successors assign, nominated,
0:12:43 > 0:12:50constitute and make our beloved Owen Bowen, John Dyer, David Dyer,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54John Phillips, Maurice Fisher, David Mansell...
0:12:56 > 0:12:58- David Mansell! - That's your David Mansell.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01That's your ten times great-grandfather,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04who is appearing in a document of 1619.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05That's incredible.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12Yeah. And he's listed there, in this document, as a principal burgess.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18I see here. First and now principal burgesses of the borough of Kidwelly.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Yeah. These are the people elevated from the burgesses,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25they're elected by the burgesses to become, if you like,
0:13:25 > 0:13:29senior or principal burgesses and it's like a first step on a
0:13:29 > 0:13:34career ladder that can lead them to higher things within the town.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35That's incredible.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37That's incredible.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38And there he is.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41I feel, sort of, much more comfortable and relaxed in this
0:13:41 > 0:13:43position of power!
0:13:43 > 0:13:44Well, enjoy the seat for a few moments yet.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Yes, exactly! I shall indeed, yes, yes.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49We'll call this meeting to a meeting adjourned, yes, indeed.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50Excellent.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58Before today, Ioan knew nothing of his family connection to Kidwelly
0:13:58 > 0:14:02or of just how important his Mansell family were here in this area.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Something he can reflect on, as he surveys the place that was once
0:14:06 > 0:14:10subject to taxation by his own prestigious ancestors.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14But as Ioan will learn,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17this is by no means the end of his Mansell family saga.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Now the story in Kidwelly moves forward three generations to Ioan's
0:14:33 > 0:14:36seven times great-grandfather, one Walter Anthony.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Apart from his name, little is known of Walter.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44There's no birth record or other official records to explain
0:14:44 > 0:14:47where he came from, but Ioan has discovered,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50from the Carmarthen archive, that there is someone connected
0:14:50 > 0:14:56to the family living in Kidwelly today, who's been researching this mystery for over 40 years.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Come in, come in. Dewch mewn.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Her name is Iris Davis, and Ioan is delighted to be meeting up
0:15:06 > 0:15:09with his long lost relative at her home.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15Well, regarding Walter Anthony,
0:15:15 > 0:15:20I don't know from where he was, unless he came down from the sky!
0:15:21 > 0:15:23He could've happened that way.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27- Yes.- Because I've searched and searched and I've failed,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29so I'm up to a dead-end here. Against the wall.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31You've come to a dead-end.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36I heard that he was such a mystery that we were fearing as much
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- that we might have come to a bit of a dead-end....- Yes, yes.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43..but I'm sure you, with your knowledge and your expertise,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47have some theories, perhaps, maybe?
0:15:47 > 0:15:50One piece of evidence Iris has managed to track down
0:15:50 > 0:15:56is the actual marriage bond of Walter Anthony to an Elizabeth Beynon in 1730.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58- He married in Aberystwyth.- Mm-hm.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03And the funny part about it,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08just Walter Anthony, and then marries Elizabeth Beynon,
0:16:08 > 0:16:1010th of July, 1730.
0:16:12 > 0:16:13No denominations.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19No parents' name, no home name, nothing.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20That's what I say - why?
0:16:22 > 0:16:24He must have come down from somewhere!
0:16:24 > 0:16:26- He just appeared.- Yes, appeared.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28In the history books, as it were.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30- Yes.- But they...
0:16:30 > 0:16:32But his name is on this ledger.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33Oh, yes, definitely.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- But just his name, and her name... - Yes.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38- ..Elizabeth Beynon's name.- Yes.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40But nothing more, you said?
0:16:40 > 0:16:42No. No denominations.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44- Well, well, well.- No home name.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47No father, parents, nothing.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50So, we can only speculate, is what we're saying?
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Let me just get this straight in my...
0:16:54 > 0:16:55So, Elizabeth...
0:16:55 > 0:16:58- Beynon.- Beynon.- And she married a Walter Anthony.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02She married a Walter Anthony, but him, we don't know...
0:17:02 > 0:17:03No.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- He just appears from nowhere. - Yes, yes.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11Now Ioan has learned that his seven times great-grandmother was called
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Elizabeth Beynon,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18and so wants to find out more about this marriage to try and help solve
0:17:18 > 0:17:21the mystery for himself and Iris.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25It would be wonderful if we could continue on our journey
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and see if we can help to put her out of her misery,
0:17:28 > 0:17:31her sort of 40-year long misery, it seems to me!
0:17:31 > 0:17:34And also, shed some light on this mysterious character,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Walter Anthony, who in her words,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41seems to have appeared out of thin air or fallen from the sky!
0:17:45 > 0:17:48Ioan hopes to learn more of this story later, but, for now,
0:17:48 > 0:17:52he's moving forward in time several generations.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55He's particularly keen to learn more of the life of his grandmother,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58known as Eiry, born in 1917.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Eiry trained as a nurse,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06and in World War II, worked through the London Blitz,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09which began on September 7th, 1940,
0:18:09 > 0:18:12when the capital was bombed for 58 consecutive nights.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18As a surgical nurse, Eiry witnessed first-hand
0:18:18 > 0:18:22the horrific injuries of soldiers returning from the front.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26To learn more of her role at that time, there's only one expert
0:18:26 > 0:18:28that Ioan should meet -
0:18:28 > 0:18:30and that's Eiry herself.
0:18:30 > 0:18:36Now aged 99, she is at her favourite cafe in her hometown of Pontyberem,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39accompanied by Ioan's dad, Peter.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44You must have, in your capacity during the war as a nurse,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47you must have come across several
0:18:47 > 0:18:50injured and wounded soldiers, yes?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Oh, some. Oh, they were poor.
0:18:52 > 0:18:58Some had to go to other hospitals for operations and things like that.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59Yeah.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01And then you were sort of in the wards?
0:19:01 > 0:19:03I was working in the theatre.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05No!
0:19:05 > 0:19:08At the time when the operations were going, some of them.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11Not all of them, some of them.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Working in the East End of London,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17Eiry was far from safe from bombing raids.
0:19:17 > 0:19:23One side of the ward, windows come in, all of them.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25This side was safe.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29That was strange, you know.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- So, from a...?- With the impact or the something of the...
0:19:32 > 0:19:34- Of the bomb.- Of the bomb, yeah.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37- And you'd take them, then, away from there, didn't you?- Yeah.
0:19:37 > 0:19:38Take them downstairs.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40My word, we were afraid.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44But, in the end, we'd just carry on as if nothing had happened.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49You got used to it and you had to, in a way, you know.
0:19:49 > 0:19:50You had to.
0:19:50 > 0:19:55To have your perspective on that particular part of history
0:19:55 > 0:19:59that has affected so many people across the UK,
0:19:59 > 0:20:03and so many people here in Carmarthenshire,
0:20:03 > 0:20:06and affected us directly
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and that you were, physically, part of it...
0:20:09 > 0:20:12So, we have all these incredible images from war footage,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17or history footage, but now I'm hearing first-hand somebody who was
0:20:17 > 0:20:20there and I'm directly related and she's sat here next to me.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26Ioan and his family are rightly proud of his grandmother, Eiry.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29And she was not the only member of the family to serve with such
0:20:29 > 0:20:31distinction in World War II.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35To learn of this next story,
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Ioan has travelled to Tenby, on the trail of his paternal cousin,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42David Leslie Griffiths, who was known as Leslie.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49A general labourer before World War II, by June 1944,
0:20:49 > 0:20:5333-year-old Leslie was about to step onto the beaches of Normandy,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55as part of Operation D-Day -
0:20:55 > 0:20:59the Allied effort to free mainland Europe from Nazi occupation.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02An operation practised for here, in Tenby,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05as historian Dr Jonathan Hicks explains.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08And this beach, North Beach in Tenby,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13was used in the spring of 1944, by the American 28th Division,
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- to practise for their landings on the famous Omaha Beach.- Ah.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20So, the exercises took part here,
0:21:20 > 0:21:22on this very beach?
0:21:22 > 0:21:27Because the topography of the land is very similar to Omaha Beach.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29Well, well, well.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33So, it's almost identical to the topography that they would have
0:21:33 > 0:21:35come across in Normandy, at Omaha Beach.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39- So, this is where they did their exercises and their drills...- Yes.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41..in preparation for that historic day.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47This image shows American troops scaling the rocky Tenby cliffs,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49in preparation for D-Day.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53After years of planning,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57the D-Day landings were scheduled for early June, 1944,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01but poor weather and rough seas made the invasion impossible.
0:22:02 > 0:22:07Over 100,000 troops were forced to spend days at sea.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11Amongst their number was a member of Ioan Grufudd's family -
0:22:11 > 0:22:13one Leslie Griffiths -
0:22:13 > 0:22:15just waiting for the green light to land.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20The night before the invasion, Eisenhower issued every man,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23including Leslie Griffiths, with a copy of that.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29"You're about to embark on a great crusade,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32"toward which we have striven these many months.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34"The eyes of the world are upon you.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36"The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere
0:22:36 > 0:22:39"march with you." Oh.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42"I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill
0:22:42 > 0:22:46"in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory."
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Each man would have been issued this from Dwight Eisenhower.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Received one of those. What isn't known, generally,
0:22:53 > 0:22:55is that Eisenhower wrote two dispatches,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- to be issued to the press the following morning.- Mm-hm.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02One - the invasion has been a success, casualties are light,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05the Germans are on the retreat. The second one -
0:23:05 > 0:23:07the invasion has been a failure.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10I'd like to apologise for the heavy casualties we suffered
0:23:10 > 0:23:13and he was going to tender his resignation.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15- Thankfully, as we know...- Yes.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17- ..it was the former that was used, not the latter.- Wow. Wow.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24- So, this was, really, a, sort of, do-or-die mission.- Yes.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28- There was no second chance. - No, this was it. Yeah.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Incredible. Incredible.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34On June 6th, 1944, Leslie Griffiths,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37along with 156,000 other troops,
0:23:37 > 0:23:39stormed the beaches of Normandy.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45His battalion landed on Sword Beach, with over 28,000 other soldiers,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49and support from over 6,000 ships and 11,000 planes.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Thousands of men perished on the beaches.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59But Leslie was when of the lucky ones, who made it inland.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04And we know exactly where he was.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07- He was with F Troop, there - position 324.- Well, well.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12So, you can even see the field that he was in, on Sword Beach.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Leslie's role was arming an anti-aircraft gun,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20to provide protection for Allied troops trying to get inland from the beach.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24His battalion suffered severe casualties,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28with many of their heavy weapons destroyed by the German onslaught.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32What happened next has been recorded in the regimental diary.
0:24:32 > 0:24:38- I have here a copy of the war diary for the regiment.- Yeah.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41And I would like you to read what happened at eight o'clock
0:24:41 > 0:24:43on the morning of the 13th.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47So, the 13th of June...
0:24:47 > 0:24:498.00am.
0:24:49 > 0:24:54"Regiment fired...2,300 rounds -
0:24:54 > 0:24:58"100 rounds per gun against ground targets,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01"with 4 Army Group, Royal Artillery.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06"Three of the ranks wounded by a premature at F Troop."
0:25:09 > 0:25:12So, what had happened was that the barrel became so hot,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15because they couldn't afford to break the firing,
0:25:15 > 0:25:20to allow it to cool down, that when they put a round in to the barrel,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- it exploded inside the gun.- Oh.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27But the war diary doesn't tell the complete story, Ioan,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30because the explosion was so catastrophic,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33- it actually killed Leslie.- No. No.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37And more than that, it was such a large explosion,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39- in such a confined space...- Yeah.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- ..that his body could not be identified.- Hmm.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45- Hmm.- So, he has no known grave.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53And his life was over at the age of 33.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07But he is remembered with honour, because his name
0:26:07 > 0:26:11is inscribed on the walls of the Bayeux Memorial To The Missing.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15And his name will be there forever,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17in commemoration of his sacrifice for his country.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26We are so lucky, aren't we?
0:26:26 > 0:26:27We are.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29So lucky.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Yeah, we know nothing, do we, really?
0:26:45 > 0:26:46When you think about...
0:26:49 > 0:26:51..you know, how...
0:26:52 > 0:26:58The freedoms that we have, you know. The fact that we went...
0:26:58 > 0:27:01One has to volunteer to go out to war...
0:27:03 > 0:27:08..and these young men and women, you know, never had a chance, you know.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Yeah, so we're really hearing these, sort of, personal stories,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19even though, you know, it's a few generations ago.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24It just goes to show that we've all come from that
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- and we've all benefited from those sacrifices.- Yes.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Wow. Thank you. Thank you. Amazing.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Ioan is clearly very moved by this story.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Leslie died over 70 years ago, but remarkably, there is someone
0:27:42 > 0:27:44still living in Wales
0:27:44 > 0:27:46who was there fighting on the same beaches as Leslie.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Private Bill Speak, now 92,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56who Ioan will be meeting tomorrow, to learn more of his story.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06The following morning, and Ioan is looking forward to his meeting with Bill.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09But there's some very sad news.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16Carol, Bill's daughter, rang us up early this morning,
0:28:16 > 0:28:20to say, sadly, Bill had passed away last night in his sleep
0:28:20 > 0:28:27and we were going to have a chance to interview him today.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29Well, I was going to have the chance to interview him today,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34face-to-face, and hear his stories about the landings on D-Day...
0:28:36 > 0:28:41..to tie in with what I'd learnt on the beach in Tenby.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44So...it's a very, sort of...
0:28:45 > 0:28:48..sad bit of news,
0:28:48 > 0:28:49of a young...
0:28:51 > 0:28:55..or who would have been a very young soldier, at the time,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57alongside my ancestor, David Leslie,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00storming the beaches of Normandy.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Ioan may not have met Private Bill Speak in person,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07but he can view, on his laptop,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10an interview our research team did earlier in the year with Bill,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14who clearly had forgotten none of the horrors of that day.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18Soldiers were being bowled over, killed.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22Dying.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27Didn't have to stop, to help anybody.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28You just had to go on...
0:29:30 > 0:29:32..if you were in the same position.
0:29:33 > 0:29:35You just had to carry on, if you could.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41I think we were all very pleased, that evening, to see the sun set!
0:29:43 > 0:29:46It's quite a poignant day today. A very sad day...
0:29:47 > 0:29:51..on our journey, but at least we have Bill here
0:29:51 > 0:29:53and Bill's stories preserved in time.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00Ioan must now leave Tenby, to continue on his journey.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03There's so much more for him to learn,
0:30:03 > 0:30:07including how these ancient Welsh tombs
0:30:07 > 0:30:09contain secrets of his family's past.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16But first, Ioan's homecoming wouldn't be complete
0:30:16 > 0:30:20without a trip to his former school, Glantaf, here in Cardiff.
0:30:22 > 0:30:23Not only was Ioan a pupil here,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26but his father was also the deputy headmaster.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Here we are.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf,
0:30:39 > 0:30:43where I spent, well, seven years, I guess, from the age of 11 to 18.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48But this little area in here is where...
0:30:49 > 0:30:54..the school kids are now doing their examinations.
0:30:57 > 0:30:59It's their GCSEs.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03I remember doing my GCSEs and how intense that period was, you know,
0:31:03 > 0:31:08studying for, well, what should've been weeks on end, but..!
0:31:08 > 0:31:10Yeah.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13I remember, I wasn't very good at maths,
0:31:13 > 0:31:20so I had to get some extra help to pass my GCSE maths,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22because if you didn't pass your maths,
0:31:22 > 0:31:25you couldn't go on to do A-level. So, I scraped a B, in the end.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29I was very proud of my B in maths in GCSE.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31THEY SPEAK IN HUSHED WHISPERS
0:31:36 > 0:31:39This gentleman here, I've just told them,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42was the reason I passed my GCSE maths!
0:31:42 > 0:31:45This gentleman helped me out, to get me over the line.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47- He didn't need much help.- No, no.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52But we spent many an hour together, going over and over and over
0:31:52 > 0:31:55all the angles and...
0:31:57 > 0:31:59- ..the formulas.- Very difficult work it was, at the time!
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And this hasn't changed at all, this corridor here.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06It's all exactly the same.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Some of the staff there.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10The headmaster's office is here.
0:32:12 > 0:32:13Shwmai, Ioan!
0:32:15 > 0:32:18- How are you?- I'm good, thanks. - Neis i weld ti.- Great to see you.
0:32:18 > 0:32:23This is Mr Ceri Evans. He taught me rugby.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28He's always supported everything we've done in the PE Department
0:32:28 > 0:32:31over the years. Always written brochures for us.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34He's always been very, very supportive and we can always rely on him
0:32:34 > 0:32:37- to give us a good word every time.- Yeah.- What a gentleman.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39- What an excellent guy. - Oh, thank you.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42- Diolch, Ceri. - Pleser. Neis i weld ti!
0:32:44 > 0:32:47Even though his father was the deputy head,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Ioan wasn't always such a good boy.
0:32:50 > 0:32:51I used to come running round here.
0:32:53 > 0:32:54Did that...
0:32:54 > 0:32:55Shooooom!
0:32:55 > 0:32:58So that was a sure way of getting yourself into trouble
0:32:58 > 0:33:00with the teachers here at Glantaf.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02See, not bad, eh?
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Still got the old skill of sliding down a banister!
0:33:05 > 0:33:10As Mr Ceri Evans, our PE teacher would say, "Skill is forever"!
0:33:12 > 0:33:15This corridor here is where I got thrown out of a Welsh class,
0:33:15 > 0:33:20for being cheeky and boisterous, and I would stand...
0:33:20 > 0:33:23You'd have to stand outside the classroom door,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27with the shame and humiliation, but because my dad was
0:33:27 > 0:33:29the deputy head here,
0:33:29 > 0:33:33I would just walk up and down the corridor and,
0:33:33 > 0:33:35if I did bump into him,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38I'd have the excuse, "Oh, I'm just on an errand, for the teacher".
0:33:38 > 0:33:42And Ioan's favourite music teacher still works here.
0:33:42 > 0:33:43I can hear her voice.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47KNOCKING
0:33:47 > 0:33:49HE LAUGHS
0:33:49 > 0:33:51Wel, croeso i'r adran gerdd!
0:33:51 > 0:33:54It's a definite warm welcome for one of the music department's
0:33:54 > 0:33:56former star pupils.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01Well, if you call it... Is it too much? Too loud?
0:34:01 > 0:34:02No, it was very beautiful.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Yeah, I remember you, Ioan, as a brilliant oboist.
0:34:05 > 0:34:09- And I remember your Prac A-Level. - That's right, yes.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12- Albinoni, Concerto No. 9. - Yes, Albinoni's Oboe Concerto. Yes.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14- I remember that.- Thank you. Wow, wow. That's great.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17- He was pretty good.- I must have done a good impression, then.- Yes!
0:34:17 > 0:34:20- Made a good impression, yeah.- The school orchestra was accompanying
0:34:20 > 0:34:24you and you had full marks, as well. I remember.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28And before Ioan leaves,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30there's just enough time to say goodbye to new friends,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32as well as old.
0:34:32 > 0:34:37- Hyfryd iawn.- Wy'n credu bod llun tebyg gyda dy dad.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41And even to tell a few stories about young, mischievous Ioan.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46We'd get, sort of, cress, and we'd pour cress seeds down the sink,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50so as the term progressed, you know, the cress would grow.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55And with one last goodbye, it's time for Ioan to complete
0:34:55 > 0:34:58the final leg of his journey.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Now, for the next chapter in his family tree,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Ioan is back in Carmarthenshire
0:35:07 > 0:35:10and the small former coal-mining village of Pontyberem.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15Joined by his father Peter, they are visiting Caersalem Church,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18on the trail of Ioan's paternal great-great uncle,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Rhys Griffiths,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23who worshipped here in the period before World War I.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27On the outbreak of the Great War,
0:35:27 > 0:35:29there was no compulsory military service.
0:35:30 > 0:35:36But in 1916, all single men, aged 18 to 41, were conscripted.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39But Rhys's strong religious beliefs led him to becoming what was known
0:35:39 > 0:35:44as a conscientious objector - those refusing to bear arms.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49There were around 16,000 known objectors in the UK,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51with religion being the primary reason.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Although Rhys strongly believed "thou shalt not kill",
0:35:56 > 0:35:59he did make a contribution to the war effort,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01by joining the Royal Medical Corps,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04as historian Jeremy Banning explains.
0:36:05 > 0:36:07After his training,
0:36:07 > 0:36:10he was sent over to France,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12in January 1916...
0:36:14 > 0:36:17..and went into a quiet sector of the line, at that time.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19- I've got some images here to show you...- Gosh.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21..whereabouts they were.
0:36:22 > 0:36:27An area between the villages of Neuve Chapelle and Festubert,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31both of which had been assaulted in the spring of 1915.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34So, the British had moved forward and the lines had then stabilised.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39The trenches Rhys experienced in Artois were unusual,
0:36:39 > 0:36:43because they were built up, rather than dug down.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45This was due to the high water tables.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48A mere two feet below the ground and digging would've released
0:36:48 > 0:36:51hazardous water among the troops.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53Rhys knew these trenches well.
0:36:53 > 0:36:58Now, his role within the Royal Army Medical Corps,
0:36:58 > 0:37:00he joined a unit called 106 Field Ambulance.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04And they were there to look after particular men
0:37:04 > 0:37:09of a certain division. And his role in that was to form, or their role,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13was to form various points along a casualty-evacuation chain.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16So, if a soldier was wounded in the front line here,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18let's say by rifle fire, shot through the shoulder,
0:37:18 > 0:37:20he would be there. They'd call, the call would go up,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23"Stretcher bearers!" and the medics would rush in
0:37:23 > 0:37:27and he would be there to, hopefully, put an iodine, pour iodine onto
0:37:27 > 0:37:29the wound, a dressing on there, ideally a, sort of, tourniquet,
0:37:29 > 0:37:31to stop the bleeding in some way,
0:37:31 > 0:37:35wrap them up, and then get those men, the wounded man,
0:37:35 > 0:37:36from down these trenches
0:37:36 > 0:37:39and out through the casualty-evacuation chain.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42So, you have stretcher bearers and an aid post a little bit
0:37:42 > 0:37:46further back and, then, if that man was OK,
0:37:46 > 0:37:48being taken back again and through a recognised
0:37:48 > 0:37:52casualty-evacuation chain. So, he's integral to what is going on
0:37:52 > 0:37:55at the front, but the critical thing is, he's not bearing arms, at all.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58- He's rescuing men.- Yeah. - He's helping them.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03Jeremy has the war diary from the battalion Rhys was looking after.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08It records a major German bombardment on May 30th, 1916,
0:38:08 > 0:38:10as Ioan can now read for himself.
0:38:12 > 0:38:18"W Company held onto the trenches till, as far as can be ascertained,
0:38:18 > 0:38:23"about 8:15pm, when all three officers doing duty with the company
0:38:23 > 0:38:27"having been wounded, the company commander, Captain Ainsworth,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31"who, at that time, had been twice wounded
0:38:31 > 0:38:35"and who refused to be removed, gave orders for all men who could move,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40"or be removed, to close on flanks and take up fresh positions."
0:38:40 > 0:38:41Oh, gosh.
0:38:43 > 0:38:44That's incredible.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Because of the artillery bombardment,
0:38:47 > 0:38:51the British suffer a great deal of casualties, in this bombardment.
0:38:53 > 0:38:55And one of them...
0:38:56 > 0:38:58- ..is Rhys.- Rhys. Ah, well...
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Quite emotional, yeah. Quite touching, really.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07- I can see a bit of my father in him.- Yes. Yes.
0:39:10 > 0:39:11What a waste.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14- Yes.- Absolute waste.- Yes.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Jeremy has discovered a letter to Rhys's father,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21written by the battalion chaplain.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27"Field Ambulance, France, June 1st, 1916.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31"Dear Mr Griffiths, I have to break the sad news to you of the death of
0:39:31 > 0:39:34"your son, Rhys, on the night of the 30th of May.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38"In the bombardment of the trenches, there were many wounded
0:39:38 > 0:39:41"and he and his friend, Dugdale, were together giving first aid
0:39:41 > 0:39:45"and carrying the wounded back into safety.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47"As I understood it,
0:39:47 > 0:39:51"it was while Rhys and Dugdale were attending a wounded officer
0:39:51 > 0:39:57"that a shell burst which killed Rhys, but left Dugdale unharmed,
0:39:57 > 0:39:58"except for a severe shock.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01"When he is well enough, he will be writing to tell you about it,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05"but there is no doubt that Rhys showed great bravery
0:40:05 > 0:40:10"and thought not of himself, in his noble devotion to duty.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12"I knew him and loved him.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17"He was known to be a splendid comrade and a true Christian."
0:40:22 > 0:40:24- He certainly sounds a... - A decent chap.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28A pretty decent chap. Well thought of. I should say,
0:40:28 > 0:40:32- he was only 23 years old when he was killed.- Mm.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Rhys's body was buried in France,
0:40:35 > 0:40:40but he is remembered on his father's grave in the Caersalem cemetery.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43It's quite emotional, really.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47In the futility of war, obviously, but also, he held his beliefs.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49During the war, everybody knew what his beliefs were,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51that he had thought of going to the ministry,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54but he did go to the war, to save people's lives,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58and although he was killed himself, he did carry out that.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01He accomplished what he wanted to do, in a way.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05And I'm sure that whole path of Flanders Fields are littered
0:41:05 > 0:41:08with these sort of stories, you know,
0:41:08 > 0:41:13- which probably affected every single family in the UK.- Mm.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23Now comes the most extraordinary story of all.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27Is it possible that Ioan is descended from royal blood?
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Earlier, he learnt of his ancestors, the Mansell family.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35Their extensive wealth and power can be seen here,
0:41:35 > 0:41:37at Margam Abbey, near Neath.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40But can their ancestral line be traced even further back?
0:41:40 > 0:41:44The story Ioan is about to learn begins in the 16th century,
0:41:44 > 0:41:49when his ancestor, David Lloyd, married into the Mansell family.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Historian Gerald Morgan takes up the story from here.
0:41:53 > 0:41:58He was a David Lloyd, but he took the name Mansell from his wife.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02- That's unusual, isn't it? - Not when money comes in.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05- Oh, there's money involved? - Yes.- Right!- Yes.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Men were willing to change their surnames,
0:42:07 > 0:42:12if money came with the heiress or the well-endowed wife.
0:42:12 > 0:42:17So, it's Ioan's ten times great-grandmother, Mary Mansell,
0:42:17 > 0:42:21that has interested Gerald. But what of her ancestry?
0:42:21 > 0:42:24We can trace, from Mary Mansell,
0:42:24 > 0:42:29we can trace back through a number of interesting people,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32which explains why we're in this great church.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36We have here Sir Rhys Mansell, died 1559.
0:42:36 > 0:42:41He, I regard as the real founder of the Margam Mansell family,
0:42:41 > 0:42:45because he was a great servant to Henry VIII.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47He fought in Ireland, on Henry's behalf.
0:42:47 > 0:42:53His sons were a pretty turbulent bunch, on his behalf.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56But he was quite a character,
0:42:56 > 0:43:01and he was able to buy the Margam Abbey estate from Henry VIII
0:43:01 > 0:43:04when the monasteries were dissolved.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09In the early 1500s, the Pope was the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales,
0:43:09 > 0:43:13but when the Pope refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine
0:43:13 > 0:43:16of Aragon, Henry split from Rome and began selling off
0:43:16 > 0:43:19the monasteries, for his own financial gain.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Margam Abbey was one of the richest abbeys in Wales
0:43:22 > 0:43:26and was sold to Ioan's ancestor, Rhys Mansell.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29In this church, the Abbey Church of Margam,
0:43:29 > 0:43:32much restored, but still a very fine church,
0:43:32 > 0:43:36has got a wonderful collection of family monuments,
0:43:36 > 0:43:37the Mansell's monuments.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40And we can go over and see them.
0:43:40 > 0:43:43- Fantastic.- And introduce you to some of these people who have contributed
0:43:43 > 0:43:46a tiny, tiny percentage to your...
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- Yes.- ..genome.- Yes, yes. Indeed, indeed.
0:43:50 > 0:43:55These extraordinary ancient monuments have been laying here
0:43:55 > 0:43:58for centuries. Ioan's family have driven by this abbey many times
0:43:58 > 0:44:03over the years, with no idea of the connection this place has to them.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07This is the Mansell Memorial Chapel,
0:44:07 > 0:44:10with the tombs of two generations of Mansells.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13Sorry, you are saying this is their own chapel?
0:44:13 > 0:44:18- Well...- The Mansell's... - Yes, yes.- ..chapel within...
0:44:18 > 0:44:20- Within the church. - Within the church.- Yes.
0:44:20 > 0:44:24We are very privileged to be able to go and look at them.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26Normally, they are roped off,
0:44:26 > 0:44:30because they have been damaged in the past, simply by carelessness,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33and we have to be very careful not to break anything,
0:44:33 > 0:44:36because we'd be liable for a large sum of money.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39But, because I'm family, I'm allowed to go up there?
0:44:39 > 0:44:42Provided you've inherited the family wealth!
0:44:44 > 0:44:46- Well, shall we?- Yes.- Yes.
0:44:48 > 0:44:53Here you have Sir Rice - or Rhys - Mansell,
0:44:53 > 0:44:57the... really the doyen of the place.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00The pater familias, the great ancestor.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04This is Lady Jane Somerset, wife of Sir Edward Mansell,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07the eldest son of Sir Rhys.
0:45:07 > 0:45:11And she is a great lady, in her own right.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13He was very fortunate to marry her,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16because she comes from a major family.
0:45:16 > 0:45:17She's the daughter of an Earl of Worcester
0:45:17 > 0:45:20and she is our key to the next part of the story.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25So, the mystery is slowly unravelling.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31There is still one more surprise to reveal about Ioan's Mansell family.
0:45:31 > 0:45:36But before that, there is one other story still waiting to be resolved.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Now, Ioan is returning to the mystery of his seven-times
0:45:42 > 0:45:45great-grandparents, Elizabeth Beynon and Walter Anthony.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Earlier on his journey, he met with his relative Iris Davis,
0:45:50 > 0:45:51who has spent the last 40 years
0:45:51 > 0:45:54trying to discover who Walter Anthony really was,
0:45:54 > 0:45:58as there are no official records of where he came from.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Ioan is now visiting the Glamorgan Archive, in Cardiff,
0:46:03 > 0:46:07to meet up again with genealogist, Mike Churchill Jones.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11Ioan has already learned that his seven-times great-grandmother,
0:46:11 > 0:46:13Elizabeth Beynon married the mysterious Walter Anthony,
0:46:13 > 0:46:18but it seems she originally intended to marry another man,
0:46:18 > 0:46:20one Thomas Rhydderch.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Clearly, Elizabeth's father thought she would marry Thomas Rhydderch,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26as he left them money in his will.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28"I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth
0:46:28 > 0:46:31"one-third of my goods and chattels,
0:46:31 > 0:46:33"provided she marries Thomas William Rhydderch.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37"If not, I name, constitute and appoint my daughters
0:46:37 > 0:46:41"Elizabeth and Anne to be my joint executors to this,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43"my last will and testament."
0:46:43 > 0:46:47So, according to the terms of her father John Beynon's will,
0:46:47 > 0:46:51if Elizabeth Beynon married Mr Rhydderch she would inherit
0:46:51 > 0:46:53only one-third of his estate.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57But if she chose to marry anyone else, she would get more money -
0:46:57 > 0:47:00a full half-share of his will.
0:47:00 > 0:47:02Thomas William Rhydderch...
0:47:04 > 0:47:07..is the gentleman that she...
0:47:08 > 0:47:11- ..wants to marry, it seems to me.- So it seems, yes.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14So this name, Rhydderch, it doesn't make any sense to me,
0:47:14 > 0:47:19because Iris told me that she married a Walter Anthony.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25- So, I'm... Please enlighten me. - This is how I see it.- Right.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28John Beynon is telling us that, if his daughter chooses to marry
0:47:28 > 0:47:30- Thomas William Rhydderch...- Right.
0:47:30 > 0:47:35..she can inherit one-third of his estate.
0:47:35 > 0:47:38- Right. - But if she chooses to marry another,
0:47:38 > 0:47:40she can share the estate with her sister.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44So, rather than marry Mr Rhydderch and inherit only a third
0:47:44 > 0:47:48of her father's estate, Elizabeth Beynon chose to marry
0:47:48 > 0:47:50a Walter Anthony, instead.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52On the 10th of July...
0:47:54 > 0:47:55..1730.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58And there it is, it's in Latin,
0:47:58 > 0:48:01- but it's Walter Anthony and Elizabeth Beynon.- Uh-huh.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04And they paid seven shillings and four pence.
0:48:04 > 0:48:10- Right.- So, what this is telling me is that Mr Rhydderch
0:48:10 > 0:48:14wants more money than he will get
0:48:14 > 0:48:18if he chooses to marry Elizabeth Beynon.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Mike has been studying this case,
0:48:21 > 0:48:25trying to work out why Elizabeth didn't marry Mr Rhydderch,
0:48:25 > 0:48:27but instead, married Walter Anthony -
0:48:27 > 0:48:32a man with no past and no family witnesses to his marriage.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37It's impossible to know for certain, but Mike himself has come up with
0:48:37 > 0:48:41an intriguing theory - that Mr Rhydderch and Walter Anthony
0:48:41 > 0:48:44are, in fact, the same person,
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and that Ioan's seven-times great-grandfather changed his name
0:48:47 > 0:48:52from Mr Rhydderch to Walter Anthony, in order to inherit more money.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55So, he's going to change his name to someone else
0:48:55 > 0:48:58and persuade the probate that he is someone else.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00That he is someone else.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03- I suppose there's no...- He has a marriage licence to prove it.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07He's Walter Anthony. And he's paid seven shillings and four pence
0:49:07 > 0:49:09- to prove it. - He's already paid for the privilege.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13So, because there's no ID, there's no background check or whatever...
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Indeed. And before 1750...
0:49:16 > 0:49:19- Yeah.- ..this marriage would not have been...
0:49:19 > 0:49:23Had to be solemnised in the parish church, to become a legal marriage.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28- Right.- It was legal from the moment he paid that money.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32So, he's now become Walter Anthony.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35Your ancestor's not Walter Anthony, he's Thomas William Rhydderch.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38He's Thomas William Rhydderch.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40One thing that is coming to my mind now is, I'm feeling...
0:49:42 > 0:49:47..sort of, duty-bound to tell Iris about this,
0:49:47 > 0:49:51because I remember distinctly she said to me that she was
0:49:51 > 0:49:54so frustrated that she's been spending 40 years of her life
0:49:54 > 0:49:59trying to piece this together, about this mystery man,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02this Walter Anthony. She said that he'd fallen from the sky
0:50:02 > 0:50:04or from wherever he came, she didn't know.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07So now, for the first time,
0:50:07 > 0:50:10Iris can see the will left by Elizabeth Beynon's father
0:50:10 > 0:50:14and consider, for herself, the conclusions Mike has drawn.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19It seems to us,
0:50:19 > 0:50:27didn't want Elizabeth to marry a one Thomas William Rhydderch.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30- If she did, she'd get a third. - A third, yes.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33If she didn't, she'd get half.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37So, our conclusion, it seems to us, is...
0:50:37 > 0:50:43Which will solve the mystery of 40 years of your life,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47it seems to us that Thomas William Rhydderch...
0:50:47 > 0:50:52- Yes.- ..changed his name... to Walter...- Anthony.- ..Anthony.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Well, that explains a lot of things.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02- Yeah.- Yes. A lot of things.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07So, we've come to the conclusion
0:51:07 > 0:51:12that Walter Anthony was there the entire time...
0:51:12 > 0:51:15- Yes.- ..as Thomas William Rhydderch.
0:51:19 > 0:51:20Good gracious.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25That explains a lot of things now.
0:51:25 > 0:51:28- Does it? Does it give you some sort of relief...- Yes, yes!
0:51:28 > 0:51:31..of all this work that you've put into this mystery?
0:51:31 > 0:51:34No wonder I could never find him.
0:51:34 > 0:51:36No. No, because he was hiding in plain sight.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Yes. Yes, he was.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40- Yes, yeah.- He was.
0:51:42 > 0:51:43Well, well.
0:51:45 > 0:51:46Earlier on his journey,
0:51:46 > 0:51:51Ioan was able to trace his Welsh roots back to 1590
0:51:51 > 0:51:53and his Mansell family.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57But now for the final part of this story, he has one last,
0:51:57 > 0:52:00extraordinary chapter to share.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04One that takes him back over 700 years.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07We're back in the time of royalty.
0:52:07 > 0:52:14The family who had descended from Henry II were known as Plantagenets.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18From Gerald's research,
0:52:18 > 0:52:22he has shown how Ioan's direct ancestor, Sir Edward Mansell,
0:52:22 > 0:52:25married Lady Jane Somerset and, through her,
0:52:25 > 0:52:29has taken Ioan's direct line back through 300 years,
0:52:29 > 0:52:33all the way to the Plantagenets.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35And, if you look here,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38you'll see that we've got an Earl of Lancaster, here.
0:52:38 > 0:52:45Father of Eleanor. And he is the son of Edmund Plantagenet,
0:52:45 > 0:52:49known as Crouchback, not because he had a round back,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52but because he wore a cross on his back,
0:52:52 > 0:52:54to show that he'd been on Crusade.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58- Right.- And he is a very significant figure.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02He's the man who supervisors the building of Aberystwyth Castle.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05And we find, of course,
0:53:05 > 0:53:08that he is the son of Henry III.
0:53:11 > 0:53:12No.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14Yes.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18- The King of England? - The King of England.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20- A major figure.- Yes.
0:53:20 > 0:53:24The man who made the Treaty of Montgomery,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28with Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf, the last Prince of Wales,
0:53:28 > 0:53:32which gave Llywelyn the title, Prince of Wales,
0:53:32 > 0:53:35as acknowledged by the English crown.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38He was the first, and last, Welsh Prince of Wales,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42- in any serious sense.- Right. - But the title derives from him...
0:53:44 > 0:53:46..and was the gift of Henry III.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51And further, when Alice FitzAlan married Ioan's ancestor,
0:53:51 > 0:53:55Thomas Holland, Gerald's tree contains one last surprise,
0:53:55 > 0:54:00showing Ioan can also claim his direct ancestry to Edmund's brother,
0:54:00 > 0:54:02Edward I.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05The man who conquers Wales.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08No. Edward I?
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Yeah. Now, I...
0:54:11 > 0:54:14I hope that that raises a certain conflict in your mind.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19Well, it does. So, here we have Henry III, the King of England,
0:54:19 > 0:54:23- that had...- That dies in 1272. - Dies '72.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26Who'd made the Treaty with...
0:54:26 > 0:54:29- Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf. - Who became...the Prince of Wales.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32- The last, sort of, true Prince of Wales.- That's right.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36Who gave birth, then, to Edward...
0:54:36 > 0:54:40- Yes.- ..the first, the king of England, who then was...
0:54:42 > 0:54:44..the cause of...
0:54:44 > 0:54:47Well, he's the man who finishes the conquest of Wales
0:54:47 > 0:54:50and attempts the conquest of Scotland.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54But that's a much tougher nut to crack even than Wales
0:54:54 > 0:54:57- and it took them 200 years to conquer Wales.- Yes, yes.
0:54:59 > 0:55:00That's... That's extraordinary.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07- So, I'm a direct descendant... - Yes.- ..of...
0:55:07 > 0:55:08Edward I.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13So, what Gerald is telling Ioan is that he is the direct descendant
0:55:13 > 0:55:18of the man who conquered Wales and dethroned the first and last
0:55:18 > 0:55:20true Prince of Wales.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23When one is raised in Wales
0:55:25 > 0:55:30- and through, most specifically, through the Welsh language...- Yes.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32..we are...
0:55:34 > 0:55:36..sort of, educated to, you know,
0:55:36 > 0:55:42that Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf was the last true Prince of Wales.
0:55:42 > 0:55:46So, that has, sort of, big significance to me, personally,
0:55:46 > 0:55:50you know, from what I learnt as a child and what you, sort of,
0:55:50 > 0:55:53feel in your bones, as it were.
0:55:53 > 0:55:54But, to...
0:55:55 > 0:55:58There is a direct conflict, as you said,
0:55:58 > 0:56:02that he was, you could argue, sort of, related to
0:56:02 > 0:56:06the King of England, who had signed the treaty...
0:56:06 > 0:56:10- Yeah.- ..who then gave birth to the...
0:56:10 > 0:56:14- The man who conquered Wales.- ..the man who conquered Wales, as well.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17- You've got feet on both sides of the boundary.- So, I'm on the fence!
0:56:17 > 0:56:20- Yes, yes. - Inconveniently, on the fence.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21I hope it isn't too uncomfortable.
0:56:21 > 0:56:25You could call it very smart, though, couldn't you?
0:56:25 > 0:56:28- Well, you could. - Hedging my bets.- Yes, you could.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40It's, kind of, stunning, really. A stunning revelation that I'm...
0:56:40 > 0:56:45..descended to somebody who wanted to...
0:56:47 > 0:56:51I don't know, to cause so much ill to the Welsh and the, sort of,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54the Welsh history. Who wanted all the power and the control
0:56:54 > 0:56:56all to himself.
0:56:57 > 0:57:04So...something to digest on my journey home.
0:57:05 > 0:57:07Something quite significant.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11Ioan's journey is coming to an end.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15But before heading back to his life in America,
0:57:15 > 0:57:19Ioan can share what he's learnt, of over 800 years of family stories
0:57:19 > 0:57:20with his parents
0:57:20 > 0:57:23and then take them home to his American-born children,
0:57:23 > 0:57:25to learn of their Welsh roots.
0:57:25 > 0:57:30This is where I learned about one of my ancestors, Leslie Griffiths,
0:57:30 > 0:57:33who was one of the soldiers in the Second World War.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Ioan's been on the journey of a lifetime.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41He has discovered two war heroes...
0:57:43 > 0:57:46..and that he has a direct connection to the Royal line.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51I think it's gone beyond my wildest dreams, really.
0:57:53 > 0:57:55I knew that there were interesting stories to tell.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57I knew...
0:57:57 > 0:58:00I think every family has an interesting story
0:58:00 > 0:58:02somewhere in their lineage.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05But to have so many interesting stories,
0:58:05 > 0:58:07it's, kind of, blown me away a little bit.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13My eldest, Ella, is only six now and she's forever asking me
0:58:13 > 0:58:16about where I came from and where we came from.
0:58:16 > 0:58:22And this is going to be a wonderful, sort of, tool and opportunity,
0:58:22 > 0:58:25to present her with some significant, sort of,
0:58:25 > 0:58:29historical background to...to my heritage.