0:00:00 > 0:00:02'Actress, Ruth Madoc, is on a journey
0:00:02 > 0:00:06'to uncover her extraordinary Welsh ancestors.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10'Best known for playing Gladys Pugh in '80s hit comedy...
0:00:10 > 0:00:11Hi-de-hi!
0:00:11 > 0:00:16'..Ruth has longed to know the truth about her Welsh ancestry.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20'Born Ruth Baker, she was brought up in Llansamlet near Swansea
0:00:20 > 0:00:22'by her beloved grandmother, Etta.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'Having spent most of her working life in England,
0:00:26 > 0:00:30'Ruth has no idea how deep her Welsh roots really go.'
0:00:30 > 0:00:35I feel slightly nervous but excited at the same time.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38This is a journey that I'm going to go on
0:00:38 > 0:00:42to find out about my families.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47I've got a confession to make. I wasn't born in Wales.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50I was born in the middle of the Second World War
0:00:50 > 0:00:53so Mum couldn't get home quick enough to have me.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I was born in Norfolk.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Because of that,
0:00:58 > 0:01:03I think that I would like to find out more about my ancestry.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06'Ruth Madoc is coming home.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11'Later in Coming Home - Ruth meets her lost family.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14- Are you related to me? - I think I am.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'Discovers a world famous ancestor.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21That's amazing! You wait 'til I tell my family.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25'And finally uncovers her true Welsh roots.'
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Yes...
0:01:28 > 0:01:32..I'm Welsh to my core.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38'The journey starts in West Wales.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41'Ruth Madoc's surname comes from her marriage
0:01:41 > 0:01:43'to former husband, Phillip Madoc.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45'Her maiden name was Baker,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49'but the story begins with her grandmother's family,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51'the Georges, in Llanwnda near Fishguard.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53'Ruth's come to Harmony Chapel
0:01:53 > 0:01:57'to meet genealogist Mike Churchill-Jones.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01'Many of Ruth's ancestors on her grandmother's side are buried here
0:02:01 > 0:02:03'and it's this branch of her family
0:02:03 > 0:02:08'that will lead Ruth to an extraordinary discovery.'
0:02:09 > 0:02:11We've been researching your family tree
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and this is what we discovered.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17- There's a lot of them. - This is your paternal side only.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21If we start with yourself here and we go back to your father,
0:02:21 > 0:02:27George Llewellyn Baker, who was born 1908 in Farnham, Surrey.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30He was born to Walter Baker
0:02:30 > 0:02:34who was born to George P Baker.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38George Baker had a distinguished military career.
0:02:38 > 0:02:44He joined the Royal Marines and he served for 22 years.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'George Baker was Ruth's great-grandfather.'
0:02:48 > 0:02:51He actually served twice on HMS Trafalgar.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Good heavens!
0:02:56 > 0:03:02'Launched in 1841, HMS Trafalgar replaced Nelson's flagship.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07'Many of her crew served under Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11'The story now turns to the George family.'
0:03:11 > 0:03:15If I can bring you back to your great-grandmother,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20Margaret Elizabeth George, she was born in Cardiff in 1879.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- Right.- She was born to Essex George.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28'The most important name on the tree is that of Essex George.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33'He was Ruth's great-grandfather, born in West Wales in 1840.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38'The Georges were an ancient Welsh family and it's their story that Ruth will later follow.'
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Why do you think he was called Essex George?
0:03:42 > 0:03:47He was called Essex after his grandfather, Essex John,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51who was a farmer and a blacksmith by trade,
0:03:51 > 0:03:57- but why he was called Essex we have no idea.- Good heavens.
0:03:57 > 0:04:02Well, he looks quite a formidable gentleman, doesn't he?
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Got principles, I'd have said, that one.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10We can go back to your oldest relation on the George side,
0:04:10 > 0:04:15which is your fifth great-grandfather, William George,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17and his wife, Mary.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Gosh, you've gone back a long way, haven't you?
0:04:20 > 0:04:25Yes. He was born circa 1747 in the village of Puncheston.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29- And he was a farmer? - He was indeed a farmer, yes.
0:04:29 > 0:04:30Gosh.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38'In West Wales, Ruth is off to visit Tresinwen,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41'the farm where her five times great-grandparents,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45'William and Mary George, lived and worked.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'It's still a working farm,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51'situated a few miles from Harmony Chapel
0:04:51 > 0:04:54'on the Pembrokeshire coastline not far from Strumble Head.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56'Occupied now by Richard Lewis,
0:04:56 > 0:05:01'Ruth wonders if they could be long-lost relatives.'
0:05:06 > 0:05:09- Hello.- Hello, Ruth, is it?
0:05:09 > 0:05:12- Yes. Richard?- Yes. - Lovely to meet you.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16- Lovely to meet you. Come in. - Thank you very much.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20- It's a big house, isn't it? - It is.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24- How long have you been here? - I've lived here all my life.
0:05:24 > 0:05:25It's very interesting
0:05:25 > 0:05:29because I have known nothing about this side of my family.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Are you related to me?
0:05:31 > 0:05:36Yes, I'm a direct descendant of William and Mary George.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39- Are you really? - My mother's a George.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40My mother's a George.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43She came from Trehilyn, by Harmony, there.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47She married my father in 1955, I think.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51'Ruth's family connection with this farm goes back over 300 years
0:05:51 > 0:05:56'and, remarkably, some of the buildings are still standing.'
0:05:56 > 0:05:58It hasn't changed that much.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01That house was there so that would've been here
0:06:01 > 0:06:04at the time that they were here.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07And these... not that one, this building was here.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11These buildings, although the roofs have been changed.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15And there was a house there. That's my mother's house now.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18That bit was a house at that time as well.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20They owned the farm and had about 70 acres
0:06:20 > 0:06:26and they would have employed perhaps 50 or 60 people.
0:06:26 > 0:06:32'Today, Tresinwen Farm is nestled in a quiet and peaceful landscape,
0:06:32 > 0:06:38'but a little over 200 years ago, the farm, owned by Ruth's ancestors,
0:06:38 > 0:06:40'found itself in the frontline
0:06:40 > 0:06:45'of one of the most bizarre episodes in naval history.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53'Britain was at war with France.
0:06:57 > 0:07:02'On February 22nd, 1797, a man-of-war flying English colours
0:07:02 > 0:07:05'was spotted off the West Wales coast.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07'She was leading a flotilla of three gunships.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12'On board was a force of 600 regulars and 800 convicts.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19'Once in sight of the Welsh coast, English colours were struck
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'and the French ensign run up in their place.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25'Ruth's ancestors were about to witness
0:07:25 > 0:07:27'the French invasion of Britain.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32'What happened next has become the stuff of legend.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36'Events in which local historian Hedydd Hughes' own ancestors
0:07:36 > 0:07:38'were involved.'
0:07:39 > 0:07:41It was a Wednesday afternoon
0:07:41 > 0:07:44when four frigates came along the coastline.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47They were spotted by a Thomas Williams of Treleddyd,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49near St David's Head.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Then a girl who was tending to the cattle in the fields
0:07:52 > 0:07:56saw what was happening and people started to realise
0:07:56 > 0:08:01that the flag that was being flown and the rigging didn't match.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05The French came directly to a nearby farmstead called Tre Hywel
0:08:05 > 0:08:10and there they terrorised the family, just about,
0:08:10 > 0:08:14so that the owner, the farmer, took to his heels.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18'As the French advanced, many fled their homes,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20'abandoning them to be looted
0:08:20 > 0:08:23'as the invaders searched for food and alcohol.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28'At St Gwyndaf's Church, a familiar landmark for Ruth's family,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31'the French used precious bibles to make cooking fires.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36Look, you can see the singe marks all around here.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40So they made a fire, or tried to make a fire,
0:08:40 > 0:08:41but it wouldn't burn.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I'm told the prayer books went up very well.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48Did they? They're smaller, aren't they?
0:08:50 > 0:08:54It was some comfort for them because it was a cold evening
0:08:54 > 0:08:57and I imagine they had plundered from the farms
0:08:57 > 0:09:02and brought some food in but didn't do well on the culinary side
0:09:02 > 0:09:07because they made themselves ill by under-cooking some of their supper.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11That was all to our benefit as Welsh people.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14I wonder if the Welsh actually poisoned it.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16You never know, do you?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18Possibility.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24'At first the invasion was resisted by local farmers,
0:09:24 > 0:09:29'but, finally, a nearby cavalry division provided reinforcements.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34'This tapestry celebrating the 200th anniversary of the invasion
0:09:34 > 0:09:36'depicts the final days of the siege.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39'The cavalry had their ranks swollen by Welsh women
0:09:39 > 0:09:42'in their red cloaks and stove pipe hats
0:09:42 > 0:09:47'who marched to the top of a hill to resemble British guardsmen.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51'After the combination of alcohol and food poisoning,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54'the invasion collapsed and the French surrendered
0:09:54 > 0:09:58'to a local militia on February 25th, 1797.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02'Ruth's ancestors and the people of the tiny parish of Llanwnda
0:10:02 > 0:10:07'had just witnessed the last invasion of Britain.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- Prynhawn da, Ruth. - Nice to meet you, Reg.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11- Croeso to Harmony.- Diolch yn fawr.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15'Dr Reg Davies is an expert on local history.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18'Back at Harmony Chapel, he's going to tell Ruth more
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'about her unusually named great-grandfather, Essex George.'
0:10:21 > 0:10:24I've got something nice to show you here.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29This is the register of members at Harmony Chapel.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35Here you can see Essex George, your ancestor's name, in the book.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38He lived at Garnfolch, OK?
0:10:38 > 0:10:44- It's a small little dwelling very near the chapel.- Right.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49And here you see several other members of the same family.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51David George.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57'The Georges would have made up a large part of the local community,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00'attending Sunday School and all chapel events.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05'The highlight was a Sunday School party on this mountain, Garn Fawr.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08'Young and old, they would trek up with baskets of food,
0:11:08 > 0:11:13'light fires, and enjoy one of the few days of holiday a year.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17'The Georges were farmers and later stone masons by profession
0:11:17 > 0:11:21'but this was not the life for Essex George.'
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Essex went to sea. That was very unusual for his family.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29But you could become very wealthy indeed.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31It wasn't going to be easy
0:11:31 > 0:11:35because the jobs would first go to the seafaring families.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39He's not from a seafaring family. He's from a land family.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44'At nearby Fishguard harbour, Essex found his love of the sea.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49'As stone masons, the Georges built many homes in the harbour.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52'The grandest were reserved for sea captains.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54'Could this have helped fuel Essex's desire
0:11:54 > 0:11:57'to become a captain in his own right?'
0:11:57 > 0:12:00We've arrived at Lower Town which, in Essex's day,
0:12:00 > 0:12:02was called Fishguard Bottom.
0:12:02 > 0:12:07It's very likely that he went to sea here initially.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11They spent time moving goods around the coast of Britain.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14- Probably...- Coal, coal, yes!
0:12:14 > 0:12:19Or iron ore from Barrow-in-Furness down to Newport, Mon.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25So, really, his vision of life...
0:12:25 > 0:12:28- ..would be just more than here? - Absolutely.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31He was beginning to see the world.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34He must have realised that to get on in the world,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38he'd have to pass Board of Trade examinations
0:12:38 > 0:12:41allowing him to become a Mate or a Master Mariner.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44'To follow the next part of Essex's journey,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46'Ruth must leave Fishguard.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50'But before that West Wales has one more surprise for her.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53'Ruth is also accompanied by Lowri,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57'her daughter with former husband, actor, Philip Madoc.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01'Ruth is about to learn of an extraordinary story
0:13:01 > 0:13:03'in their family tree.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10'Ruth's five times great-grandparents,
0:13:10 > 0:13:15'William and Mary George, lived here at Tresinwen Farm.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20'William George may be Ruth's five times great-grandfather,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23'but it appears he was also the great-great-grandfather
0:13:23 > 0:13:28'of another famous member of the George family.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32'His great-great-grandson, David,
0:13:32 > 0:13:36'grew up to be one of the 20th Century's most famous politicians,
0:13:36 > 0:13:41'British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47'This story has taken a team of genealogists to research
0:13:47 > 0:13:49'and Ruth is about to be told the news.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54'The story begins with Ruth's grandmother, Margaret George,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56'the daughter of Essex George.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00'In 1907, she married Ruth's grandfather, Walter.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04'Walter went on to have a distinguished military career,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07'reaching the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09'When he died in 1934,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13'the funeral was attended by a surprise public figure,
0:14:13 > 0:14:17'as reported at the time in the South Wales news.'
0:14:17 > 0:14:20"The funeral was of a semi-military character
0:14:20 > 0:14:24"and the coffin covered with the Union Jack.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28"The principle mourners were, Mrs Baker, widow..."
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Oh, 'eck!
0:14:33 > 0:14:37"Mr David Lloyd George...
0:14:39 > 0:14:41"..the nephew."
0:14:44 > 0:14:48'By 1934, David Lloyd George was in his 70s
0:14:48 > 0:14:50'and must have admired Ruth's grandfather
0:14:51 > 0:14:54'and his military service to journey to Cardiff for the funeral.'
0:14:54 > 0:14:58You and David Lloyd George share the common ancestor
0:14:58 > 0:15:02of William George, who is your fifth great-grandfather.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07Your closest relation is your great-grandfather, Essex George,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10who is David Lloyd George's second cousin.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Well, I'm absolutely delighted.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17That's amazing.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20You wait 'til I tell my family.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24I knew there was politics in the family somewhere!
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Well, well, well.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40'Back on the road, Ruth shares her news with daughter, Lowri.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44'In the car, they mull over an amazing coincidence.'
0:15:44 > 0:15:49Lloyd George is our relation - distant relation.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Your father played Lloyd George,
0:15:52 > 0:15:56I played one of Lloyd George's mistresses in it.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01Well, what do you think? You don't think it's too risque, do you?
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Too daring? Or even too divine?
0:16:04 > 0:16:07- Well?- Dead.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13- What did you say? Who's dead? - My mother.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14Oh, David.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18David, I'm terribly sorry.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22- It's bizarre, isn't it? It's just strange.- And it's really close.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26- It's really close. - Too close to home.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I wonder what Philip's going to think of this?
0:16:29 > 0:16:31I think he'll want to see it written down.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35I think so. I think you're right there!
0:16:37 > 0:16:41'Ruth is thrilled to discover this new family connection
0:16:41 > 0:16:43'and is keen to know more
0:16:43 > 0:16:47'about her new prime ministerial relative, David Lloyd George.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50'She meets political historian, Russell Deacon.'
0:16:50 > 0:16:54Can you give me any information about the man he was?
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Lloyd George is probably the most famous politician
0:16:57 > 0:16:59in the whole of Welsh history.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03The man was a tremendous orator and had a huge fan base.
0:17:03 > 0:17:08If he did a public speech, he'd attract 15,000 to 20,000.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11The he'd go on and do another one of 10,000.
0:17:11 > 0:17:16Speaking to a performer, he was very similar to yourself in that respect.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21He was performing to large crowds. It was scripted often as well.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25He had different colour codes for where he emphasised things.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27He was very much an actor,
0:17:27 > 0:17:31but he came from that tradition of being the lay preacher.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34He was a performer.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38'Still in his 20s, Lloyd George became MP for Caernarfon.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42'Later he rose to Chancellor of the Exchequer
0:17:42 > 0:17:47'then Prime Minister of the First World War coalition government.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50He's widely admired today by politicians.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Gordon Brown put him as one of the top politicians of all time
0:17:55 > 0:17:58for the foundation of the Labour Party.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02It was always the Liberals that were for the working men then,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05but Lloyd George is one of those strange examples
0:18:05 > 0:18:10because, normally, the Liberals came from wealthy backgrounds,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14public schools, Oxford, Cambridge, and he was atypical to that
0:18:14 > 0:18:18and very unusual for any politician, even today.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22Absolutely, absolutely. Thank you very much.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27'For the next chapter in her George family story
0:18:27 > 0:18:29'Ruth must follow the journey taken
0:18:29 > 0:18:32'by her great-grandfather, Essex George.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34'Determined to become a ship's captain,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37'he left Pembrokeshire and followed the sea
0:18:37 > 0:18:39'on an adventure that would first take him
0:18:39 > 0:18:41'to the busy port city of Swansea.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47'In Swansea, Ruth meets maritime historian, Brian Richards.'
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Brian, I've come to ask you
0:18:49 > 0:18:54about this very romantic figure called Essex George.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Have you any information for me?
0:18:56 > 0:19:03Luckily, there are documents here which relate to his sea career.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I've been able to get two documents
0:19:06 > 0:19:09which I think will be very interesting to you.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14'Essex was not only a skilled sailor but, as these records show,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16'an exceptional scholar,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21'passing the Board of Trade's examination as a Mate in 1873.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25'The ship's log records that he risked his life many times
0:19:25 > 0:19:27'sailing around the treacherous Cape Horn in Chile
0:19:27 > 0:19:30'to bring back copper ore to Swansea.'
0:19:30 > 0:19:35How difficult would these voyages have been?
0:19:35 > 0:19:39Where it's recorded that they went to Chile,
0:19:39 > 0:19:41they would have rounded Cape Horn.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45There you've got what's known as the "Roaring Forties".
0:19:45 > 0:19:47When you were going around the Cape,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50you're heading into this strong wind.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54It's very cold and before he became Mate
0:19:54 > 0:19:57he would have had to have gone up the rigging.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Many ships didn't make it, and those that did, on the return journey
0:20:01 > 0:20:05you could have waves 100 foot high coming behind you.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09They would lash the man onto the wheel
0:20:09 > 0:20:11so he wouldn't be washed off the boat.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13'Essex was lucky.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17'He survived and married local Fishguard girl, Ann Llewellyn,
0:20:17 > 0:20:21'in Haverfordwest on May 24th, 1871.
0:20:22 > 0:20:26'So far, Ruth has learnt about the paternal side of the family tree.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30'Essex George's grandson was Ruth's father, George Baker,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33'He married Ruth's mother, Iris Williams,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35'from Llansamlet near Swansea.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40'For Ruth, the story is now becoming personal.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43'She had an unconventional childhood
0:20:43 > 0:20:46'and a distant relationship with her parents.'
0:20:47 > 0:20:53My parents weren't around very much in my formative years.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56You're going to be quite shocked at what I say.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01I'm not actually emotional about them.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05'Her mother was a nurse and father an administrator
0:21:05 > 0:21:08'in the newly created NHS.'
0:21:08 > 0:21:11They were totally dedicated to their...
0:21:13 > 0:21:17..their hospitals, the hospital life that they had.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19I know my mother was.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22'Successive generations of her mother's family
0:21:22 > 0:21:24'had worked underground.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25'In the mid 19th Century,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29'life expectancy among coal miners was less than 40.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33'In Swansea's City Hall, Ruth learns for the first time
0:21:33 > 0:21:37'about the fate of her three times great-uncle, Jacob.'
0:21:37 > 0:21:42Jacob succumbed to a pit accident when he was only 17 years of age.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Poor thing!
0:21:44 > 0:21:46We've got an extract from the Cambrian Newspaper,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49dated August 19th, 1859.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55Would you like to read it?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58"Colliery accident - a fatal accident occurred
0:21:58 > 0:22:04"in the Brithdir Colliery, Llansamlet, on Thursday last,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08"whereby a lad aged 17, named Jacob Evans,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11"suddenly met with his death.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16"The deceased was engaged in his usual occupation
0:22:16 > 0:22:20"when a fall of coal from the roof buried him
0:22:20 > 0:22:23"and inflicted such serious injuries
0:22:23 > 0:22:26"that he died on the following Sunday."
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- Very sad ending for him. - Oh, very sad. Poor boy.
0:22:31 > 0:22:36Seventeen. No life, is it? No life.
0:22:37 > 0:22:38Dear, dear, dear.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Yes, I always get the feeling
0:22:41 > 0:22:46that this part of my family had it pretty hard.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50'It was this side of her family that Ruth grew up with.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53'Born in 1943 in Norfolk,
0:22:53 > 0:22:58'but with her parents, Iris and George, committed to their careers in England,
0:22:58 > 0:23:03'she was brought up in Wales in the coal mining community of Llansamlet
0:23:03 > 0:23:05'by her beloved grandmother, Etta.'
0:23:05 > 0:23:11She really was an integral part of my growing up.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14It must have been very difficult for her
0:23:14 > 0:23:19to have a baby of three weeks foisted on her.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24What do you do? There was no cot for me, no pram for me.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29They were very scarce during the war, these commodities.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34Gran just took me and when she passed away...
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Oh...
0:23:38 > 0:23:40..my life...
0:23:40 > 0:23:42SHE CRIES
0:23:43 > 0:23:47..went somewhat too.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I loved her so much.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00'Ruth's grandparents took her in during the war.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02'The Llansamlet they knew had been a coal mining area
0:24:02 > 0:24:05'for more than a century.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09'Earlier Ruth learnt of the death of her three times great-uncle,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12'Jacob Evans, in the coal mines of Llansamlet.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16'To learn more of its coal mining past, at nearby Scott's Pit,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19'she meets historian, Richard Bodenham.'
0:24:19 > 0:24:21How many mines were around here?
0:24:21 > 0:24:25In the 1870s there were 17 mines,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29ten of which were in the parish of Llansamlet.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Three were in Skewen including Brithdir,
0:24:31 > 0:24:37where Jacob Evans was killed, two in Neath Abbey and one in Lon Las.
0:24:37 > 0:24:43What other employment would there have been here other than going down the mine?
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Very little. The people who came to work in this area
0:24:46 > 0:24:50came from West Wales, North Wales, Devon and Cornwall,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54other parts of England, Scotland and even abroad.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59Employment in the countryside was poor and the wages were very low,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03they thought, Swansea is becoming a centre of industry
0:25:03 > 0:25:08therefore let's go and work there and see if we can better our lives.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12'Ruth's family pre-dates this influx.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17'They had been settled in the Llansamlet area since the 1700s.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20'Ruth's Welsh roots run deep.'
0:25:20 > 0:25:23They had a very, very hard life, a lot of them.
0:25:23 > 0:25:30But, again, you must remember that I saw some of the aftermath of that
0:25:30 > 0:25:34living here after the war. I saw that.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Not the hardship of going down the mines, of course,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42but the hardship of existing - putting food on the table.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46'Her parents dedicated themselves to their work in England.
0:25:46 > 0:25:51'To try and understand what inspired their commitment to the NHS in the 1950s,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54'Ruth meets medicine historian, Anne Borsay.'
0:25:54 > 0:25:57There was huge commitment to the notion of the NHS.
0:25:57 > 0:26:01Enormous idealism surrounding it.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05We tend to forget that. We take it for granted today.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08We are very critical, often, of health care,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12but looking at it from the 1940s when there had been very little,
0:26:12 > 0:26:15the notion of a comprehensive service
0:26:15 > 0:26:21that was free of charge to everybody was enormously inspirational.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The success very much depended on the commitment of people
0:26:25 > 0:26:29who were willing to support the ideals of the NHS,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31to participate in its management
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and provide a high quality of care to patients.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I think people who were involved in the early days of the NHS
0:26:38 > 0:26:43played a very important role in establishing its ethos and culture.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48Your parents clearly played a role in that.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Well, they did make a difference, my parents.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57They were doing important jobs in England for other people.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02For me to be down here with my grandmother was important
0:27:02 > 0:27:04because I had stability here.
0:27:05 > 0:27:11This is where I have always belonged.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17In Llansamlet.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20It's my world.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25As a child...
0:27:28 > 0:27:30..it was everything to me...
0:27:34 > 0:27:38..because my parents weren't around.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42'Ruth has traced her Welsh roots over 300 years
0:27:42 > 0:27:45'and that has taken its emotional toll.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49'On the Gower coast, she reflects on her journey.'
0:27:49 > 0:27:50What a journey.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55To find out I'm actually related to Lloyd George. Good heavens!
0:27:55 > 0:28:00The romantic idea of a man like Essex George...
0:28:02 > 0:28:05..and the people who were dedicated to their lives
0:28:05 > 0:28:10here in Swansea, in Llansamlet, that lived in Llansamlet,
0:28:10 > 0:28:14that raised themselves in Llansamlet,
0:28:14 > 0:28:20that didn't go very far from Llansamlet, and passed away here.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Yes, I'm deeply proud of them.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26I'm Welsh to my core...
0:28:27 > 0:28:30..and I thank the Lord...
0:28:31 > 0:28:35..that I am Welsh.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38I don't care if I was born in England,
0:28:38 > 0:28:43I am a Welsh woman through and through.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44Thank you.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:50 > 0:28:53E-mail subtitles@bbc.co.uk