0:00:02 > 0:00:04Crossing the Severn Bridge into Wales
0:00:04 > 0:00:06is television presenter Gethin Jones,
0:00:06 > 0:00:09here in search of his family's past.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13Gethin first hit our screens as a presenter of Blue Peter.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18He later went on to dazzle as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22So, how does Gethin feel at the start of his journey?
0:00:22 > 0:00:27Yeah, I feel a bit apprehensive this morning. Maybe a bit nervous.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Just because I know very little about my mother's side of the family,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33it's always been kept quite quiet,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36for reasons I may find out over the next couple of days.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38It's like the...the unknown, really.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43I have no idea what's in front of me and what I'm going to find out.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46First, he drops in at the Cardiff home of his parents,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50to see his dad, Goronwy, and his mum, Sylvia,
0:00:50 > 0:00:52as well as sister Mererid.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55At this stage, it's his mother Sylvia's story
0:00:55 > 0:00:56that remains the biggest mystery.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02With so many great-aunts and uncles,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05maybe that's why my mum's so confused about her past.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08But uncovering his mother's family
0:01:08 > 0:01:11will lead him to reveal a family secret
0:01:11 > 0:01:13that has remained hidden for more than 80 years.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Gethin Jones is Coming Home.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Gethin's journey begins here in Barry, South Wales.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27For the very first time,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29he's about to learn that Barry was home
0:01:29 > 0:01:31to the maternal side of his family.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35At the Salem Baptist Church,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38he meets with genealogist Mike Churchill Jones.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Hi, Gethin. Welcome to Salem Baptist Church,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47which is in the heart of the Barry Dock community.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52What I've got for you here is your family tree,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and I'll explain why you're in Barry Docks as we go through the tree.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00The story begins with Gethin's mother's side of the family tree.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01My mum, I don't know anything about.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Sylvia Groskop was born in 1941...
0:02:06 > 0:02:09..to Robert Groskop and Lauretta.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13And Robert Groskop is really the reason why you're in Barry Dock.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Pictured here are his Groskop family,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20including Robert Groskop, Gethin's grandfather.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24He and his brother, Levi,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28they were boilermakers and riveters in the shipyards.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30I... I thought they had a...
0:02:30 > 0:02:32just a shop in a market here.
0:02:32 > 0:02:38Robert Groskop was born to a Gershon Groskop and a Martha Robinson.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Gershon, seated in the centre of this family photograph,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45was Gethin's great-grandfather.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47- I've seen a teacup...- Right.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51..with the name Gershon Groskop, I think, in the house.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Well, Gershon was a Polish Jew.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Did you know that?
0:02:58 > 0:03:00I knew there was a Jewish side
0:03:00 > 0:03:01to Mum's family.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06He came to the UK in 1853.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11He worked as a hawker, a travelling jeweller and clothing dealer.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14He was pretty self-sufficient.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Shortly, Gethin will get out into the Barry sunshine
0:03:18 > 0:03:21to follow his Groskop family line.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25But what of his father's side of the tree, the Joneses?
0:03:25 > 0:03:26Um...
0:03:26 > 0:03:30You've got deep Welsh roots in both Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34In Carmarthenshire, it's in the villages of Pontyberem
0:03:34 > 0:03:36and surrounding villages.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37That makes sense.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42Gethin's dad, Goronwy Jones, later came to live in Cardiff.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Goronwy was born to a Thomas Clifford Jones
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and a Jennie Olwen Evans.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I'm Gethin Clifford, so I took my grandfather's name, and I...
0:03:52 > 0:03:54I knew him and I was very, very fond of him.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58It's a lot to take in.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02I mean, before coming here, I probably knew...
0:04:02 > 0:04:05maybe 5 to 10% of what's on this piece of paper.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07It's a fantastic piece of work.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Next, Gethin heads to Barry Docks,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15built in 1889 to accommodate the booming demand for coal.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Gethin's grandfather, Robert Groskop, came here in 1907.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25To help understand what drew him to the town,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Gethin meets with historian Dr John Davies.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33I've just discovered that my grandfather, Robert,
0:04:33 > 0:04:38worked here at Barry Dock as a boiler maker.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41Well, if you came down at the beginning of the 20th century,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44he'd have come when Barry was at its height,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46and by 1901, it had overtaken Cardiff
0:04:46 > 0:04:50as the largest coal-exporting centre in the world.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52If you'd gone to Aden or Port Said,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55you'd have seen ships coming in from Barry, bringing coal.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59And, of course, essential to coal...steam shipping,
0:04:59 > 0:05:02was the boiler, in which you heated the water.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04And it was a very skilled job,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07because it had to face a lot of pressure, it had to be sealed,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10and a boilermaker created the slabs of steel
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and then riveted them together to make the boilers.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15So, he basically had a skill
0:05:15 > 0:05:19and followed it down here because this was where the work was, was it?
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Well, with the rate it was growing down here
0:05:22 > 0:05:25and becoming the largest coal port in the world
0:05:25 > 0:05:28meant that there were jobs for people with that sort of skill
0:05:28 > 0:05:30and probably quite well-paid jobs as well.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33I was just going to ask, what would his standard of living have been?
0:05:33 > 0:05:38A boilermaker who understood how ships and how trains worked,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40what pressure was needed to create the steam,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45they would be very esteemed people and probably earning quite well.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46Quite a clever man, then?
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- I would... Well, a highly-skilled man.- Yeah.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- Shame it didn't rub off on me, really!- Well, I don't know...
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Perhaps you have hidden skills as well!
0:05:56 > 0:05:58How different are the docks now,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01compared to how they would have been when my grandfather was working here?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Well, I understand he came down in 1907.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Well, then... Well, by the eve of the First World War,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Barry was exporting over ten million tonnes of coal a year.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14You can imagine here... I've seen pictures.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17You could walk across here, jumping from deck to deck
0:06:17 > 0:06:19- on the ships that were parked here. - Really?- Yes.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21- It would have been that busy? - Oh, yes.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24So, that would mean that...
0:06:24 > 0:06:27You know, this site that we've got now, with hardly a ship in sight,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31would have been abnormal in 1907.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34It was a world-renowned place
0:06:34 > 0:06:38for the work of boilermakers like your grandfather.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I didn't know anything about my grandfather, Robert,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43so my grandfather on my mother's side.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45I didn't know where he came from, why he came to Barry...
0:06:45 > 0:06:48I know that now and so, to go down to the docks
0:06:48 > 0:06:50and have an idea of what he did,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55how he lived his life, what he did for a living...
0:06:55 > 0:06:59I feel a little connection with him and I think that's pretty cool.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05Gethin now knows that his Groskop family settled in Barry,
0:07:05 > 0:07:10but as Jewish immigrants, they came originally from Poland.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12At the nearby Reform Synagogue,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Gethin has come to learn more of their story.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19The building was originally a chapel,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22but after being bombed in World War II,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25it was later converted into a synagogue.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29And it's here that Gethin meets with Jewish history expert
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Dr Nathan Abrams.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36Many Jews came into Britain in the 1880s, like my own family...
0:07:36 > 0:07:41Yours came about 30 years earlier and they would have come here for...
0:07:41 > 0:07:44economic opportunities, to better themselves -
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Britain was far more industrialised than Russia or Poland -
0:07:46 > 0:07:50and they would have come here to seek opportunities.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53With all the Jewish people coming over at that time,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55how were they treated in Britain?
0:07:55 > 0:07:59How would my great-grandfather have been received here?
0:07:59 > 0:08:04Um, well, in the 1850s, there aren't that many Jews coming over.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08So, I imagine they would have been perceived as a curiosity.
0:08:08 > 0:08:09Er...
0:08:09 > 0:08:14As an exotic curiosity, particularly if they adopted, sort of, typical...
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Eastern European Jewish dress.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18You know, the black hat and the long black coat.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Gethin's family were amongst the very early wave
0:08:21 > 0:08:24of Eastern European settlers.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Dr Abrams has a very special document to show Gethin,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30a record of new arrivals to Britain from 1853.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35That's fairly early for Jewish immigration to the UK.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39The big waves were the 1880s, until about 1905.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44And if you look at number 68 here, Groskopf...
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Wow! So this, this is getting off the boat here, the docks here?
0:08:52 > 0:08:55So, if you're coming from Eastern Europe,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58you will come into an eastern port, so, most likely Hull...
0:08:59 > 0:09:01..from this part of the world.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04I'm just fascinated why they moved to Wales. Oh, well... Yeah, no...
0:09:04 > 0:09:07Why HE would have moved here.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Because then his son, my grandfather,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12came to Barry Dock to work,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14because that's where the industry was.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17One of the things to think about is, in the UK,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20immigrant groups like Jews tend to concentrate.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22- Oh, right. - And there are good reasons for that.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26In terms of shared customs, religion, language...
0:09:26 > 0:09:27But the downside of it is...
0:09:27 > 0:09:29economic opportunities are reduced,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32because too many people do what you do.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35So what we see is that people move off into smaller areas of the UK,
0:09:35 > 0:09:38like Barry, to get away from...
0:09:38 > 0:09:40from a concentration.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43From what I've learnt this morning, that would make complete sense.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Because it turns out my grandfather was quite skilled as a boilermaker,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49and therefore, he was very much needed in...
0:09:49 > 0:09:51- in the docks in Barry, working on the ships.- Yeah.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55For the very first time in his life,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Gethin gets to see the photograph of his Groskop family...
0:10:02 > 0:10:04..including his grandfather, Robert.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11I don't think I've ever seen a picture of my grandfather.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21He's skinny, like me.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28The interesting thing, looking at this picture,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30is how British they all look.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Especially in terms of their dress.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37They are very Anglicised,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39there's nothing to mark them out as Jewish at all.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42Oh, yeah.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Shortly, Gethin will learn a deep Groskop family secret,
0:10:47 > 0:10:51with profound consequences for both Gethin and his mother, Sylvia.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54But first, he heads to Barry's famous beachfront
0:10:54 > 0:10:56to learn of the town in which they lived,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58where there's just time for holidaymakers
0:10:58 > 0:11:00to snap a few photographs
0:11:00 > 0:11:03with the newly-discovered descendant of Barry.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08Gethin's grandfather, Robert Groskop, lived until 1960,
0:11:08 > 0:11:10in a house just yards from the beach
0:11:10 > 0:11:13and would have joined many workers - dockers, as well as miners -
0:11:13 > 0:11:18who flocked to Barry's beaches every summer.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22To learn of the beaches' history as a Mecca for the working man,
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Gethin meets again with historian Dr John Davies.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Well, we are here on the promenade in Barry,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30looking over the delightful sandy bay
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- which, as it's a fine day...- It is, it's amazing, it's fantastic.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36It's one of the nicest bays there is
0:11:36 > 0:11:39and, as it's a nice day, there's a fair number of people here.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42But it's amazing to think that just over 100 years ago,
0:11:42 > 0:11:46there were 87 people in the old parish of Barry.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50There was nothing here except a dovecote, some Roman remains
0:11:50 > 0:11:53- and a little castle, and there wasn't even a parish church.- Wow!
0:11:53 > 0:11:56And then by 1901, it had 27,000,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59and it's got nearly 50,000 now.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01So, the growth has been very remarkable indeed.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04I'm amazed! I haven't seen it for years and years. This...
0:12:04 > 0:12:06You could be anywhere. This could be Los Angeles.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Well, you know, there was no point in having a seaside resort here.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11I mean, we didn't have trains to carry people.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14It would take all day to come from Aberdare in a horse and cart.
0:12:14 > 0:12:15That's a journey!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18So, the coming of the railway to bring in coal
0:12:18 > 0:12:20also brought in people.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26And the great rush in the summer were the Sunday School trips.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30We would have an entire chapel, perhaps 150, coming to Barry.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33All eating candy floss and enjoying themselves hugely.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35So, there was money in it.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37And, of course, people came to stay as well.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41John, would the coal have come on the ships around here?
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- Is this a journey maybe my grandfather...?- No, they'd have...
0:12:44 > 0:12:46Yes, certainly. They'd have come up the Severn Sea,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49or the Bristol Channel... Severn Sea sounds more sensible.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51I can't see a ship in that water.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53There isn't a single ship to be seen,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55and this would be unbelievable.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58I remember staying in Barry in about 1955
0:12:58 > 0:13:01and you could hear the hooters all the time.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03'55.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05So the decline here's been precipitate
0:13:05 > 0:13:07since the mid-20th century.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10It's really hard to believe that just a short time ago,
0:13:10 > 0:13:12it was such a different place.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Gethin has learned a lot about his earlier ancestors in Barry,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21but now back at the Reform Synagogue,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23things are about to become much more personal.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28The next story he will learn concerns his immediate family
0:13:28 > 0:13:32and has profound implications for both Gethin and his mother, Sylvia.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Tell me about my grandfather, Robert.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Well, Robert... He had a good trade.
0:13:41 > 0:13:42Um...
0:13:42 > 0:13:45He married Loretta,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48they had a child in 1925,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51which was named after Robert.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54I thought my mum...
0:13:54 > 0:13:55was an only child!
0:13:55 > 0:13:58She wasn't an only child.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03That is the death certificate of Robert Groskop.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Oh, my goodness!
0:14:16 > 0:14:19Death certificate. He's one month.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24How... How did he...? What is this?
0:14:24 > 0:14:29It says, "Gastric Catarrh."
0:14:29 > 0:14:30- OK, so...- Three days.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34So, Robert was born in 1925,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36Mum didn't come along until 1941,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40so Mum never met him and knew nothing of him, really.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43A lot of time had passed. 16 years.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47It's a big gap as well, to try for a baby again, isn't it?
0:14:47 > 0:14:48Well, the...
0:14:48 > 0:14:51They tried again. They had another child after that.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56In 1926, another child was born and they named him Gershon.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- Have a read of that. - So, two brothers.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15That's unbelievable.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Son of Robert Groskop, boilermaker.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23So, they had two sons that died
0:15:23 > 0:15:26within a couple of weeks of being born?
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Indeed.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33- This is so weird. - A sad time for them.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35And he had double tragedies.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38He was trying to produce heirs,
0:15:38 > 0:15:39and they were dying.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45I'm worried that you're going to pull out another certificate now.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- No.- No? That's it? So, there were two brothers?
0:15:48 > 0:15:49Indeed, indeed.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53So, Mum was an only child, really?
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- If... I mean, that sounds awful, but you know what I...- Yeah.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00No wonder there was no chat about it, because they...
0:16:00 > 0:16:03- It was too painful to mention.- Yeah.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09And also, my mum's kind of removed from it as well,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12because 15 years later, it's not something you can...
0:16:12 > 0:16:14as a child, even, you could really relate to.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- No, and the tragedy is... - Why 16 years later, try?
0:16:19 > 0:16:22I have asked myself the same question, tragically.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24But there was no other children born to them
0:16:24 > 0:16:27until your mother came along,
0:16:27 > 0:16:2815 years later.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35A lot of sadness, and then...
0:16:35 > 0:16:38It's so weird, thinking of my mum as one of three.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49Just the most surreal experience, finding out about...
0:16:51 > 0:16:53..what would have been my...
0:16:53 > 0:16:55my two uncles...
0:16:57 > 0:16:59..Robert and Gershon,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02passing away so early in their lives,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05just one month old and the other one was two months old, and...
0:17:05 > 0:17:09despite the fact it's quite separated from me,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13because I didn't know these people,
0:17:13 > 0:17:15it's a family tragedy, so...
0:17:15 > 0:17:18You see your family name in there and it's...
0:17:18 > 0:17:21it's naturally upsetting and...
0:17:22 > 0:17:24..quite sad as well that we didn't know, you know,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and we're finding it out today.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30But that's why I did the show, because I wanted to know.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Next, Gethin is travelling
0:17:37 > 0:17:39to learn of his father's side of the family tree.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42He's heading to the former coal mining village
0:17:42 > 0:17:44of Pontyberem, near Llanelli.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Gethin can trace his father's side of the tree, the Jones line,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51back to the 1600s,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54both in Ceredigion and the village of Pontyberem, in Carmarthenshire.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59But it's in Pontyberem where Gethin will focus his research.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03I remember Pontyberem as being a massive part of my upbringing.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05I remember going there a lot at the weekend.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09I do remember it being a big journey, back then. You know?
0:18:09 > 0:18:12I look at it now and you could commute, if you wanted to.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15What is it, about 60, 65 miles from Cardiff?
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Back then, it was a big journey, a lot of planning going on.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Mum and Dad getting the car ready, getting us ready...
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Pontyberem, in Carmarthenshire.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29The man on the right is Gethin's great-grandfather, Gwilym Jones,
0:18:29 > 0:18:33and on his right, his brother John.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36They may have been humble Pontyberem colliery blacksmiths,
0:18:36 > 0:18:41but as Gethin will later hear, it was their ingenuity
0:18:41 > 0:18:43that would help to save many lives in the village.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Gethin is heading for Pontyberem's Memorial Hall.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50In 1852, his family lived in this small village,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52which was the site of one of
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Wales' earliest mining disasters.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Although Gethin's family didn't perish that night,
0:18:57 > 0:19:01this disaster would affect everyone in this small, tight-knit community,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05which historian Phil Cullen can reveal.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08One night in May of 1852,
0:19:08 > 0:19:1127 men descended into the mine
0:19:11 > 0:19:13in order to work the night shift.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It was a perfectly ordinary shift,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17they left their homes, they left their loved ones,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19fully intending to return in the morning.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Unfortunately, quite soon after they commenced work,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26there was an in-rush of water, an inhalation of water,
0:19:26 > 0:19:31and sand, like a quicksand, flowed into the mine
0:19:31 > 0:19:35and only two people had any chance of survival.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39One actually was near the pit bottom, the shaft bottom,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42and a young lad that was working with him.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46And he actually floated up the shaft on the water
0:19:46 > 0:19:51with the little boy hanging on desperately to his coat as he...
0:19:51 > 0:19:53as he came up the shaft with the water.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57Unfortunately, the little boy became cold and tired
0:19:57 > 0:19:59and he lost his grip and, indeed,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01he fell back down into the abyss,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04never to be seen alive again.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07They managed to rescue the only survivor
0:20:07 > 0:20:12and that was the only man of the 27 that survived that awful night.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16As time passed, they didn't recover the bodies, it took a long time...
0:20:16 > 0:20:19Months passed, months turned into years, and 18 months later,
0:20:19 > 0:20:24they finally managed to get to the bulk of the bodies.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27But it must have had an horrendous effect on your ancestors
0:20:27 > 0:20:29and, indeed, the whole community.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34This disaster was just the start of the price paid in lives for coal.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Thousands of miners, over many years,
0:20:38 > 0:20:40would go on to lose their lives.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44But Gethin's ancestors were determined to take action.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47His great-great-grandfather, John Jones,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49and his two sons, Gwilym and John,
0:20:49 > 0:20:54set out to invent a very special miner's safety lamp.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57A lamp they built using their skills as colliery blacksmiths.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00A story Phil is about to tell Gethin.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03By far the biggest problem that miners faced was firedamp.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Methane gas.
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Some of these pits in East Wales were like the slaughterhouses,
0:21:10 > 0:21:11where men had no chance.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15Hundreds of men wiped out in seconds of explosions.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18A lot of research was done by the pioneers,
0:21:18 > 0:21:20people like Dr Clanny
0:21:20 > 0:21:23and Sir Humphry Davy, into the Davy lamp.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29Extraordinarily, two generations of Gethin's family -
0:21:29 > 0:21:32his great-great-grandfather, John Jones,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35and great-uncle, also called John Jones -
0:21:35 > 0:21:38created and built their own safety lamp,
0:21:38 > 0:21:43designed specifically for the conditions of the Pontyberem mines.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48And this is known, and this is an original lamp,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53- that your ancestor actually made... - No!- It's a John Jones lamp, yes.
0:21:53 > 0:21:59- It belonged to a John Davies of Pontyates.- Pontyates!
0:21:59 > 0:22:03And it was made in 1899, in another village down the valley.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07So, this John Jones lamp... So that... John Jones Senior?
0:22:07 > 0:22:10We believe that John Jones Junior and Senior
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- were involved in the production of the lamp.- Wow!
0:22:13 > 0:22:16But it's still unclear. It must have been a quality lamp,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20because over the years, in the timeframe we're talking about,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23between them, they made over 2,000 lamps.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27So it must have been a very sought-after item.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Can you give me an idea of how important these lamps were
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and how much they helped miners?
0:22:34 > 0:22:38Well, it would simply be impossible to work a mine
0:22:38 > 0:22:41without the use of these lamps.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43That's how important they were.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47And, indeed, that lamp that you're holding
0:22:47 > 0:22:52became the forerunner of the modern miner's lamp,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56- which is still used in mines throughout the world today.- Really?
0:22:56 > 0:23:00So, if you like, he was a pioneer in the field of lamp making.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04- That's... That's pretty amazing, isn't it?- Yeah, it is. Very amazing.
0:23:04 > 0:23:05So how does Gethin feel
0:23:05 > 0:23:09about this very special chapter in his family's history?
0:23:09 > 0:23:15Just a couple of days ago, John Jones was a name on the family tree.
0:23:15 > 0:23:20He made something that was so crucial to saving the lives
0:23:20 > 0:23:24of so many of his workmates and, not just at the time,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28but in the future as well, and that was the lamp.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32And I can only be proud of him for doing that. It's...
0:23:32 > 0:23:34It's a fantastic feeling to be here,
0:23:34 > 0:23:40knowing that your blood managed to invent and to make
0:23:40 > 0:23:44this lamp that was so important, an integral part of any miner's life.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46As blacksmiths,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50the Joneses made over 2,000 of their famous Pontyberem lamps.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Now Gethin will have a go at making part of one lamp,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57to help understand some of the skills used by his family.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01He's at a nearby forge, to meet with blacksmith Toby Petersen.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04- Toby? Gethin. Nice to meet you. - Hello, welcome to the forge.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Where does one start, then?
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Well, I think you probably have to start with the tools
0:24:09 > 0:24:11that he had at his disposal.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15What we have here is an arrangement of tinsmith stakes,
0:24:15 > 0:24:20and all these, he would have been familiar with.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24And they're the perfect starting point for working the brass,
0:24:24 > 0:24:25to make a lamp.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29The number of different components in making the lamp,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I found quite awe-inspiring, actually.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35- Really?- It's a very complex thing to put together, yeah.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Wow, that's really, really cool to hear.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40OK, well, we'll do our best, eh?
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Where do we start? Show me.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44- This one?- No, this side.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48John Jones worked at his forge with his father, John Jones Senior,
0:24:48 > 0:24:52who, of course, was Gethin's great-great-grandfather.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56He is greatly credited for helping his son design and make
0:24:56 > 0:24:58these life-saving lamps.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00They leave an incredible legacy,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03of which Gethin is right to be proud.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Lots of little taps.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07As a skilled man yourself,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10are you impressed with what he was able to achieve?
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Given the time in history, yeah, absolutely.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16I mean, he was an inventor. There's...
0:25:16 > 0:25:21there's no doubt in my mind that people like...
0:25:21 > 0:25:23John Jones...
0:25:27 > 0:25:30..were part of the British spirit of invention.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33He made it possible for men to work underground
0:25:33 > 0:25:35with a light and not rely on a candle.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38As a humble colliery blacksmith,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42John Jones was an extraordinary visionary and pioneer.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45But Gethin may not have quite inherited
0:25:45 > 0:25:47his skill and flair with metal.
0:25:47 > 0:25:53And that's my effort on my great-grandfather's brother's...
0:25:54 > 0:25:56..John Jones lamp.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59What d'you reckon, for a first effort?
0:25:59 > 0:26:02It's coming, it's nearly there.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04I think the top's a bit dodgy.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Yeah, there you go.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Toby, thank you so much for showing me how to do it. It's fascinating.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13I'm so proud of the fact that he did this, it's incredible.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Very, very fine work. Yeah.- Thank you.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- "Very fine work," I think he meant his, not mine.- Yeah.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28John Jones had a grandson, Thomas Clifford,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32who grew up to be Gethin's grandad,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35someone Gethin was very close to, until his death in 1989.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Gethin is nearly at the end of his journey,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41but can never come home to Pontyberem
0:26:41 > 0:26:44without visiting his grandfather's grave.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47Yeah, their house was just up the road,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49and his gravestone is...here.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05That... That line there,
0:27:05 > 0:27:08"Ynghanol bywyd yr ydym mewn angau,"
0:27:08 > 0:27:11always reminds me of him, and...
0:27:14 > 0:27:18..always puts a bit of a lump in my throat, actually.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23In English, it says, "In the midst of life, we are in death."
0:27:23 > 0:27:25I haven't been here for a while, but, weirdly,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27I used to come here quite a lot,
0:27:27 > 0:27:29especially when I was working up in North Wales
0:27:29 > 0:27:30and coming back and forth.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I always used to pass by and sit here and have my lunch.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40Maybe it's because it's the only relative I knew,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42and I was quite young when he...when he died.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45I remember my dad coming into my bedroom in the morning
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and telling me that he'd passed away,
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and I was devastated. I was...
0:27:50 > 0:27:53absolutely gutted. It was so unfair, you know,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56for someone so small to lose someone so important.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59I just used to come here and talk to him, really.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00He was always a good listener.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Gethin is now coming to the end of his journey into his family's past.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09But how does he feel about all that he's learned?
0:28:09 > 0:28:12It's been the most wonderful experience.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15I was a bit nervous at the beginning because, obviously,
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I'm going into the unknown, I didn't know what I was going to discover.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21But more than anything, it's been brilliant to know more
0:28:21 > 0:28:23about my mother's side of the family
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and to get to know my father's side of the family a bit better.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Both sides of the family had different struggles,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35but they were determined, they had a brilliant mindset and...
0:28:35 > 0:28:37and...
0:28:37 > 0:28:39thanks to them, I'm here today,
0:28:39 > 0:28:42and I realise I have a lot to be grateful for.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd