0:00:02 > 0:00:05Actor Trevor Eve is on a journey to Wales and his family's past.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07A journey he's always longed to take.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Trevor rose to fame in 1979
0:00:11 > 0:00:15as the Bristol-based private detective, Eddie Shoestring.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20Most recently, he's recognisable as Detective Supt Peter Boyd
0:00:20 > 0:00:23in the long-running BBC drama, Waking the Dead.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Although thought of as English,
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Trevor's roots run deeply into Wales.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37My mother, who is Welsh, my father wasn't Welsh, I grew up in Birmingham
0:00:37 > 0:00:40but I spent a lot of time here in South Wales for various reasons
0:00:40 > 0:00:43that may or may not become apparent during the course of the day.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Trevor is travelling to the Mumbles, near Swansea,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50where he spent many happy childhood holidays.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54My name, the original spelling of my name was T-R-E-F-O-R.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57That was, of course, the Welsh spelling.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Trevor's father was English but his mother was Welsh,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04and it's her roots he's here to explore.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07My grandpa, Charlie, I remember, who was a miner.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11And I remember the days of the tin bath in front of the fire,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14which, now, just a couple of generations later, sounds so remote.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16But... Yeah, I remember that.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22Here in the Mumbles, Trevor Eve is finally coming home.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28Later in the programme, Trevor discovers a war hero in the family.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Wow! That's something, isn't it?
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Reveals his musical side.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40And discovers an uncomfortable truth about his past.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45I feel sad, sad and excluded, you know.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Trevor is on his way to All Saints Church near Swansea,
0:01:54 > 0:01:56in the heart of the Mumbles.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Now he's finally here, he's more than a little nervous
0:02:01 > 0:02:06about what genealogist Mike Churchill Jones may have uncovered.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Hi, Trevor, welcome to All Saints Church in Oystermouth.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12We've been researching your family tree.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16- Good.- And...here we have it.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Well, I can see that already, in a frame on the wall, that's good!
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- My God.- Right at the bottom is your good self.- OK.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28Right.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Trevor's ancestors are all Welsh on his mother's side,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33beginning with Francis Woosnam,
0:02:33 > 0:02:36his five times great-grandfather from Montgomeryshire.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Woosnam. We're not going to go golf, are we?
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Surprisingly, golf-mad Trevor is right.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50Francis Woosnam was also the seven times great-grandfather of Welsh golf star, Ian Woosnam.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Making them distant cousins.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Oh, OK!
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Apart from the Woosnams, Trevor's family in the Mumbles
0:03:00 > 0:03:02were called the Collier family.
0:03:02 > 0:03:08So, if we come back to your second great-grandmother, Susanna Watts Collier.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14- She was born in 1826 in the Mumbles. - Right here.- Yes, indeed, right here.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17That's why I've always felt comfortable
0:03:17 > 0:03:19in the Mumbles on my holidays.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24And she was born to an Anne Phillips and a William Collier.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25Right?
0:03:25 > 0:03:27William Collier was a postman.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Uh-huh.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33William Collier's story will prove to be very important.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Trevor is also keen to learn more about his grandfather,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Charles Hamer, from his mother's side of the family.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Charles William Hamer, he was born, 1882,
0:03:44 > 0:03:51in Merthyr Tydfil, and he died, 1955, in Neath.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54- He worked in the colliery as hewer and a repairer.- OK.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Trevor's grandfather, Charlie, married Gwladys.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Gwladys was Trevor's grandmother.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04Much later in life, she came to live with Trevor
0:04:04 > 0:04:06and his mother in the family home in Birmingham.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11In trying to unravel the story of Gwladys, his grandmother,
0:04:11 > 0:04:15he will uncover a family secret kept hidden from Trevor
0:04:15 > 0:04:17for more than 50 years.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Trevor's search for his ancestors begins in the heart of the Mumbles.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Records show that his three times great-grandfather lived here,
0:04:30 > 0:04:31from 1818.
0:04:32 > 0:04:38His name was William Collier, and he married local girl, Anne Phillips.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Together, they had 11 children.
0:04:41 > 0:04:42In the Mumbles,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and among the outlying farms dotted along these nearby cliffs,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50as the postman, William would've been a very familiar face.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55To try and help understand what the area was like at that time,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Trevor meets with Mumbles historian, Carol Powell,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01who has been researching Anne and William's story.
0:05:04 > 0:05:05So, William Collier,
0:05:05 > 0:05:11what would be, what would he have, what would it have been like for him?
0:05:11 > 0:05:15He would have come, in about 1818, to a very small village.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The entire parish was only about 1,000,
0:05:18 > 0:05:23- so this corner of the parish would only have several hundred. - He lived...?
0:05:23 > 0:05:26He lived in the Dunns, which is near where the square is now,
0:05:26 > 0:05:31and, by 1841, he was up on the hill, up there.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35We don't know from the census which house it was.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38This is because he had, apparently, 11 children.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- With Anne Phillips, who was a local girl.- Yes, yes.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- He must have liked Anne Phillips, mustn't he?- Yes, he must have!
0:05:46 > 0:05:48THEY LAUGH
0:05:48 > 0:05:52Carol has a painting to show Trevor,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56believed to be the work of the local Swansea artist, JH Robinson.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59It shows the bay, called Oystermouth Bay,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01as it was in William's time.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Dominated then, as now, by Oystermouth Castle.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Where are we standing?
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Just about here or here, one of these.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15I think that's amazing. As William Collier would have known it.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20That's what he would've seen. The main industries at that time would have been oyster dredging,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23quarrying, farming, because all this was surrounded by farms.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27Oystermouth didn't get its name by chance.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Robinson's painting clearly shows the oyster fishermen at work.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35By about 1860-odd, there would have been 600 people
0:06:35 > 0:06:38working in oyster dredging around here. That's a lot of people.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- So, they got oysters here and supplied the rest of the country? - Yes.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46This traditional way of life lasted for centuries in Oystermouth.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50But, over the bay, Swansea's rapid industrialisation
0:06:50 > 0:06:55and pollution from copper smelting, destroyed the oyster beds for ever.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Later, tourism became the mainstay of the town.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01This became quite a sophisticated resort.
0:07:01 > 0:07:02Yes, tourism was on the rise.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06- Yeah, and today, it's spectacular. - Yeah, its wonderful.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15It's easy to imagine why Trevor's three-times great-grandfather,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19William Collier, came to live here, in this beautiful part of the world.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24But Trevor will shortly learn that William was more
0:07:24 > 0:07:27than simply the local Mumbles postman.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30I get the feeling that, on this day of surprises,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32I'm going to find out more about William Collier,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37and I will be extremely interested to do so.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Trevor is heading back to All Saints Church, to learn
0:07:41 > 0:07:46of William Collier's life before he came to settle in the Mumbles.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49He was the postman in the village of Mumbles.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Right.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54But he also did other things. He was also the schoolmaster.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- Yeah.- Which was...
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Which can be echoed here,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02on the baptism of your two times great-grandmother,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Susanna, Susanna Watts Collier, in 1826.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Tells us that her parents were William and Anne,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11and he was a schoolmaster.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15This is believed to be the original school house
0:08:15 > 0:08:18where William Collier taught.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22He was therefore clearly a well-educated man.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Right.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26William had another life before he settled in the Mumbles
0:08:26 > 0:08:30and Trevor is about to find out just how removed it was
0:08:30 > 0:08:34from the tranquillity of this seaside town.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Unfortunately, we haven't got a photograph of William.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40He died in 1870.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45But what we can show you is what he looked like in 1814.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51William Collier. Wow.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55He was in the Prince of Wales Hussars.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59What happened to him?
0:08:59 > 0:09:02He was in all this finery and then he became a postman.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06I've got an extract of his obituary here from the Cambrian News
0:09:06 > 0:09:09which I'd like you to read from the top.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12"Cambrian News, 15th July. 1870.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17"A Mr William Collier died in his 77th year of his age.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21"For many years, he was a schoolmaster of the Swansea union
0:09:21 > 0:09:25"but retired some years ago on superannuation.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27"He served with the 10th Hussars,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31"a crack regiment over the Prince Regent.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35"He was one of the few remaining of those who took part in the Battle of Waterloo."
0:09:36 > 0:09:38What are your thoughts?
0:09:38 > 0:09:39Wow.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45That's something, isn't it? That's...that IS something.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49"The few remaining of those who took part in the Battle of Waterloo."
0:09:50 > 0:09:52My God.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So you've learnt he was a distinguished man in Mumbles.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00But it's far removed from the elite military man.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04That's a strange move, isn't it? He's a sort of...
0:10:05 > 0:10:12..a war, if not hero, honoured in battle, and then he...
0:10:12 > 0:10:15I would suspect he wanted to be a prominent member
0:10:15 > 0:10:18of a growing community and that's what he became.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Right. So he came here and sort of ran everything,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26so, in those days, if you were delivering the post and teaching at the school...
0:10:26 > 0:10:29- There was no post office here then. But he was the postman.- Right.
0:10:29 > 0:10:33- He probably did it on horseback with his thing.- Indeed, indeed.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40- Well, that's...- Highly regarded. - That's something, that IS something.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42That's...that's fascinating and...
0:10:44 > 0:10:46..a proud moment, that, isn't it?
0:10:46 > 0:10:52In 1815, French emperor Napoleon made his last stand
0:10:52 > 0:10:55against the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57As a cavalry soldier in the 10th Hussars,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01William Collier was in the heart of this famous battle.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06But why was Waterloo so celebrated in history?
0:11:06 > 0:11:11To find out more, Trevor joins expert Professor Chris Williams from Swansea University.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15The Battle of Waterloo takes place in June 1815
0:11:15 > 0:11:19and it's the culmination of what were called Napoleon's Hundred Days.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24Were they heroes after the Battle of Waterloo, that particular regiment?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Anybody that served at Waterloo was regarded as a hero.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31It was the first battle in British history for which all ranks,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34that is, not just the officers but the private soldiers as well,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37were given a campaign medal and to be a Waterloo veteran
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- was something that would have been...- So, I can be proud?
0:11:40 > 0:11:42I think you can be proud.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I think people would have been very impressed to have this man in their midst.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47As a cavalry soldier,
0:11:47 > 0:11:53William would have been thrust into head-to-head combat with the enemy.
0:11:53 > 0:11:54After the defeat of Napoleon,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57William Collier returned a hero
0:11:57 > 0:11:58and back in the Mumbles
0:11:58 > 0:12:01was appointed Ward of Oystermouth Castle,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05a position of great authority and responsibility.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10He became a prominent member of this society.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14He was the postman, he had the responsibility of everything.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18- Absolutely. - And the schoolteacher and... Wow.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- He had quite a position of authority in the community.- Yeah, yeah.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25That's a very imposing man. That's fascinating.
0:12:25 > 0:12:30Trevor has clearly enjoyed learning of this story.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32I'm genuinely thrilled and now, of course,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I will become an obsessive researcher of the battle of the Waterloo.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38I expected some sort of creative,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41maybe an artist or a musician or something, you know...
0:12:44 > 0:12:49..who destroyed themselves through excess of some substance,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53but...something tragic like that, but not a military hero.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56You know, the battle of Waterloo, that's quite something.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Trevor has enjoyed his time here in the Mumbles,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06but very soon he must leave this area
0:13:06 > 0:13:10and move on to the next revelation in his family story.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16He came to the Mumbles on many family holidays as a young boy.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21So this spot has always had a very special place in his heart.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26But now he's anxious to follow the story of his grandparents,
0:13:26 > 0:13:29from his mother's side of the family tree -
0:13:29 > 0:13:31his much-loved grandmother, Gwladys
0:13:31 > 0:13:34and his grandfather, Charlie,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36a coal miner from Merthyr Tydfil.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41So does Trevor know how his grandfather
0:13:41 > 0:13:43came here to Swansea
0:13:43 > 0:13:46from his home in Merthyr, some 40 miles away?
0:13:47 > 0:13:50I don't know how he ended up in Swansea,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53I don't know whether it's because he...
0:13:53 > 0:13:56No, I don't suppose he'd have met my grandmother Gwladys...
0:13:56 > 0:13:57and followed her.
0:13:59 > 0:14:00No, I don't know.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03I would like to know about... Grandpa Charlie, yeah.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07In fact, Trevor is passing Swansea Prison
0:14:07 > 0:14:11where his grandfather was sent, in 1911.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13It's a story as yet,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Trevor knows nothing about.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17To learn of this episode,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Trevor is heading for the Rhondda Heritage Centre, near Pontypridd.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25His grandfather was a hewer in the South Wales mines.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28As a young man, he lost his father,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32which seems to have had a direct affect on the next part of his life,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35as Mike Churchill-Jones has discovered.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Your great-grandfather, he died a premature death at the age of 45.
0:14:40 > 0:14:41Right.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46And...your grandfather was 16 when this occurred.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50- Mm-hm.- The mother decided to marry again, some eight months later.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53She didn't hang around then.
0:14:53 > 0:14:54- She didn't hang around...- OK.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- ..created a bit of upheaval in your grandfather's life.- Uh-huh.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03He basically...he descended into drink, as far as I can tell
0:15:03 > 0:15:07and it caused him to get in trouble with the authorities.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Mm-hm.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13This is an extract from the assizes in 1910,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16which just outlines three offences.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19Drunk and disorderly...
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- Uh-huh.- ..and he was selling liquor without a licence...
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- Uh-huh.- ..and then finally...
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- Oh.- ..he assaulted someone,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and he was on bail at the time.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32So, he went to prison?
0:15:34 > 0:15:36We find him in 1911...
0:15:38 > 0:15:41- Ah, yes.- ..in the prison in Swansea.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45So this is my grandfather's...?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47No, this is your grandfather.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51This is Charles William Hamer, born 1882 in Troedyrhiw, in Merthyr.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Oh, this is my grandfather?
0:15:53 > 0:15:55If you turn the page, you'll actually find him.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59I'm with it, just takes a bit of time for these stories to sink in.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01So, his father died at 45.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- Yes.- ..and then his mother remarried, he got upset by it,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08turned to drink and started - by all accounts -
0:16:08 > 0:16:11beating people up in the local community.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13He did, by the looks of it.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14He was a tough man.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18He was a tough man and he was known as a boxer and a fighter, wasn't he?
0:16:18 > 0:16:22- He was sentenced to 12 months hard labour.- Oh, my God!
0:16:22 > 0:16:25As if he wasn't going to do enough hard labour in his life anyway.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28But I think that's turned his life around.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31As far as I know, his life was much better from there on.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Well, good for him, good for him.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39Trevor was aged just four when his grandfather Charlie died.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Now, he wants to follow the story of Gwladys, his grandmother
0:16:43 > 0:16:45who came from Glynneath.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Whilst in Wales, Trevor is staying in Swansea,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51but for the next part of his journey
0:16:51 > 0:16:54he's setting off to nearby Glynneath.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Well, I think it's easier for me to make contact with Glynneath
0:16:58 > 0:17:03because that's a place where I... I stayed as a child
0:17:03 > 0:17:06and my memories are there and my mother...
0:17:08 > 0:17:10..although I grew up with her in Birmingham,
0:17:10 > 0:17:15she maintained and kept her Welshness absolutely sacrosanct.
0:17:15 > 0:17:22So...this has a much more direct emotional connection
0:17:22 > 0:17:23than William Collier,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27my great-great-great-grandfather in the battle of Waterloo,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30which is wonderful, but that's more of a sort of...
0:17:32 > 0:17:35..an objective appreciation than an emotional connection.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40Trevor's mother, Elsie, was keen for him to know of his Welsh roots
0:17:40 > 0:17:44and as a young boy he even learnt to sing in Welsh.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49I have a...powerful baritone,
0:17:49 > 0:17:50and I think that...
0:17:52 > 0:17:54..I think that...
0:17:55 > 0:17:57..probably in ancient times...
0:17:58 > 0:18:01..my ancestors had that echoing around the valleys,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04yeah, I sense that.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09In fact, his singing voice will later be put to the test
0:18:09 > 0:18:13as waiting to surprise him is the Glynneath Male Voice Choir.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17CHOIR SINGS IN WELSH
0:18:19 > 0:18:22But how much Welsh does Trevor really understand?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25The Welsh speaking used to happen on the phone.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29You'd hear, "Oh, no. Oh! No!"
0:18:29 > 0:18:31And then the next lot would be Welsh,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34cos that's where the secrets were always -
0:18:34 > 0:18:38that's why I sort of associate the Welsh language with secrets.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Trevor is about to learn of one of those secrets.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50He's finally arriving in Glynneath
0:18:50 > 0:18:52and the small village of Pontneddfechan,
0:18:52 > 0:18:57the place that has been home to generations of his family.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It's here that his mother Elsie lived
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and where his grandmother Gwladys ran the local pub.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Being here in this village is very important to Trevor.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Still nestling on the banks of the Nedd Fechan river,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16in the heart of the village,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18is the White Horse Inn,
0:19:18 > 0:19:23the home of his mother and grandmother to whom he was so close.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Here, he will learn of a secret involving his grandparents
0:19:28 > 0:19:31that his family never shared with him.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38Growing up, Trevor always knew that his grandparents had two children.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43His mum, Elsie and his much-loved Uncle Jack.
0:19:43 > 0:19:44- They had two children.- Yes.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47They had your mother, who was born in 1915.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- That's right. - And Jack was born in 1920.- Yeah.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- But there were other children born to them.- Ah.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55In between...
0:19:57 > 0:20:01..there was a child, called Alban Charles Hamer...
0:20:01 > 0:20:03born in 1918.
0:20:05 > 0:20:07And that's his death certificate.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18- So, he died when he was...? - Five months.- Five months.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28That's interesting because there's always been talk of an Alban.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30- Has there?- Yeah, but...
0:20:32 > 0:20:34..not that he died as a child.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37He was five months old.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40And there was another child...
0:20:40 > 0:20:44born in 1925, called Maud,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46who only lived...
0:20:48 > 0:20:49One hour!
0:20:56 > 0:20:58Premature birth.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Two children you never knew anything about.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09No, I never knew anything about them.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Your aunt and uncle.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16Well...
0:21:17 > 0:21:20I've learnt about that in front of
0:21:20 > 0:21:23however many hundreds of thousands of viewers there are.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26That's kind of...
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Hmm.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37It's funny how people never tell you these things, isn't it?
0:21:37 > 0:21:40Poor people. That's a tragedy, isn't it?
0:21:44 > 0:21:45Well!
0:21:47 > 0:21:49That's something.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52That's something.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54So, my mother was...ten.
0:21:55 > 0:22:00It's interesting because I don't know if this goes anyway to explaining my mother's...
0:22:01 > 0:22:05..departure from this part of the world when she was 16.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10I don't know that that does, but it's interesting,
0:22:10 > 0:22:13cos no-one ever really knew and she never talked about
0:22:13 > 0:22:16why she left this part of the world when she was...
0:22:17 > 0:22:23..16, which is 1931, which was quite something to do, in those days.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Well.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29Yeah.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36I wonder if my auntie knows of these...
0:22:37 > 0:22:40..and my brother doesn't, my...
0:22:42 > 0:22:43How extraordinary.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Clearly not having his mother or grandmother
0:22:54 > 0:22:57to share this story with him has deeply affected Trevor.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Learning for the first time of an auntie and uncle
0:23:01 > 0:23:03he knew nothing about.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09I just feel...
0:23:11 > 0:23:13I feel excluded, really. You feel sad.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Sad and excluded.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23God, 1918, 1925, here.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27The isolation and the fact that they lived with that pain and...
0:23:29 > 0:23:33..there was no-one to counsel them or get them through it, you know?
0:23:34 > 0:23:37I think those things are important to pass on.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Cos experience helps people live... with their present.
0:23:48 > 0:23:49Extraordinary.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06HE SNIFFS
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Back at the White Horse Pub, the Glynneath Male Voice Choir
0:24:14 > 0:24:17are busy rehearsing a homecoming performance for Trevor.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Trevor did have a much-loved uncle in Wales
0:24:21 > 0:24:24who made it into adulthood - his uncle Jack.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Sadly, Jack died a few years ago
0:24:27 > 0:24:29but his widow, Glenys
0:24:29 > 0:24:33still lives nearby, with first cousin, Nigel.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37I don't know whether you know about Elsie's...
0:24:37 > 0:24:39there was Uncle Jack...
0:24:39 > 0:24:41and there were two other children.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Oh, yes.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46I knew you would.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Well, I don't, but I remember your...
0:24:51 > 0:24:52..one of them died...
0:24:54 > 0:24:55..in the flu epidemic.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57There was Alban...
0:24:57 > 0:24:59- That's right.- We knew about him.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02..who was five-months-old and he died of pneumonia...
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- That's right.- ..in 1918.- Hmm.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07No-one ever told me this, though.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10And there was Maud, who was...
0:25:10 > 0:25:13born in 1925, lived for one hour.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16A premature birth.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19- Yes.- Well, our grandmother was Gwladys Maud.- Yeah.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Yes.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25But I do remember her talking about this when the epidemic...
0:25:25 > 0:25:29So, you knew about that? I told you my auntie Glenys would know.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31She knows everything.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Em...now, what else was there?
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Well, you can see that I'm...
0:25:38 > 0:25:41..strongly Welsh. HE LAUGHS
0:25:41 > 0:25:45- We always thought you were, Trev. - It's amazing, I think.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51There's one final treat in store at the White Horse Inn,
0:25:51 > 0:25:52Trevor's family pub...
0:25:52 > 0:25:56a performance from the Glynneath Male Voice Choir.
0:25:57 > 0:25:58Hello.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00- ALL:- Hello.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02Joined by his auntie Glenys and cousin Nigel,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04Trevor is about to learn
0:26:04 > 0:26:07that he's not just here to listen.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10They tell me you've got a fine, baritone voice.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- Would you like to join the choir for Calon Lan?- Of course?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16THE CHOIR LAUGHS I don't know...
0:26:20 > 0:26:22I don't know the words.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29What are we going to sing then, lads?
0:26:29 > 0:26:32- CHOIR:- Calon Lan.- Oh, God!
0:26:36 > 0:26:40# Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus
0:26:40 > 0:26:45# Aur y byd na'i berlau man
0:26:45 > 0:26:51# Gofyn wyf am galon hapus
0:26:51 > 0:26:56# Calon onest, calon lan... #
0:26:56 > 0:26:59'I feel...defined,'
0:26:59 > 0:27:01sort of character and personality-wise,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03by a Welsh temperament.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06I recognise myself through my mother
0:27:06 > 0:27:09in terms of emotional expression.
0:27:09 > 0:27:15# Calon lan yn llawn daioni
0:27:15 > 0:27:20# Tecach yw na'r lili dlos... #
0:27:20 > 0:27:23It is important to pass it on to my children
0:27:23 > 0:27:26and I think they're very aware of their heritage.
0:27:27 > 0:27:40# Canu'r dydd a chanu'r nos. #
0:27:40 > 0:27:41CHOIR APPLAUDS
0:27:41 > 0:27:45I must say, I was really honoured to be asked
0:27:45 > 0:27:48to have my Welsh connections recognised
0:27:48 > 0:27:51by somebody other than myself
0:27:51 > 0:27:56cos I've obviously always been... totally aware of them.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59So I've felt very flattered by that and...
0:28:05 > 0:28:09Yeah, it feels that I've made a kind of public display
0:28:09 > 0:28:11about my Welshness,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13and that I'm proud of.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:22 > 0:28:26E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk