0:00:02 > 0:00:04Travelling from his home in Windsor to Wales
0:00:04 > 0:00:09in search of his family ancestry is fashion designer David Emanuel.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15Born one of 11 children, David grew up in Bridgend, South Wales
0:00:15 > 0:00:18and later the Emanuel name was made famous
0:00:18 > 0:00:21for creating Princess Diana's magical wedding dress,
0:00:21 > 0:00:25an iconic image around the world.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31More recently, David's won over a new generation of fans
0:00:31 > 0:00:34on ITV's I'm A Celebrity.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39And now proud Welshman David Emanuel is Coming Home.
0:00:41 > 0:00:43On his journey,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46David will discover his grandfather's love for speed...
0:00:46 > 0:00:49This actually looks like a little corset here.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Learns of his connection to showbiz royalty...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55No more, no more surprises.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57This is too much!
0:00:57 > 0:01:02And did David's grandfather really know the great Lawrence of Arabia?
0:01:03 > 0:01:09Well, my father has mentioned a few times that his father,
0:01:09 > 0:01:14my grandfather, was in the army and he knew Lawrence of Arabia,
0:01:14 > 0:01:15TE Lawrence.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19I'd like to put that to rest. Is that true? I'm sure it is.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22If my father says it's true, it should be true.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26So it's his grandfather's story that David is most keen to uncover.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30So this is the chap I'm intrigued about.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32This is my father's father, my grandfather.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36He actually died before I was even born obviously so I never met him.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40I met my mother's father but not my father's father
0:01:40 > 0:01:42so this is the chap I'm intrigued about.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45This is the one I'd really like to get to know a bit more
0:01:45 > 0:01:49but apart from that, quite a handsome chap I think.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52It's easy to see the resemblance between David
0:01:52 > 0:01:54and his grandfather John.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59The Emanuel family came originally from west Wales
0:01:59 > 0:02:02but later settled here in Merthyr Tydfil,
0:02:02 > 0:02:05then a booming coal and iron town
0:02:05 > 0:02:07and it's to Merthyr that David has come
0:02:07 > 0:02:10to the very imposing and grand old town hall,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13also known as the Red House,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16and it's here genealogist Mike Churchill Jones
0:02:16 > 0:02:20is waiting to reveal David's family tree.
0:02:20 > 0:02:21Are you apprehensive?
0:02:21 > 0:02:24- I'm a little bit appre... But more excited.- Great.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28- Show me, show me, show me. Quick. - I will, I will.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Oh, my goodness.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33- There we go.- Wow. There's quite a lot of us, isn't there?
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Yeah, on your paternal side you've got deep Welsh roots
0:02:36 > 0:02:37- in Carmarthenshire.- Right.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40And on your maternal side you have deep Welsh roots in Ceredigion.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43- Oh, Ceredigion.- Yes.- That's me, gosh. - There's yourself here.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Any other names you instantly recognise?
0:02:47 > 0:02:49- John Lawrence, my father.- Yes, yeah.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53Cos always growing up, they mentioned the word Emanuel.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55- Yeah.- So people used to say, "Is it Spanish?"
0:02:55 > 0:02:57And I used to say, "No, it's Welsh."
0:02:57 > 0:03:01And then people used to say, Emanuel, the last tribe of Israel,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03was there a Jewish side?
0:03:03 > 0:03:08- You really don't know what the truth is, but this is it!- Indeed.
0:03:08 > 0:03:09The tree does indeed confirm
0:03:09 > 0:03:12the Emanuels were a firmly Welsh family.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17David was always brought up to believe that his grandfather
0:03:17 > 0:03:21John Leslie Emanuel was an army officer in World War I.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25- Your grandfather John Leslie Emanuel...- Yes.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29- You have his middle name.- Yes.- He obviously died before you were born.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33Correct, I never met my grandfather or my grandmother on that side.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Obviously on this side I did, but not on that side.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40Records show that David's grandfather
0:03:40 > 0:03:43was the son of a coal miner, John Emanuel,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47who originally came from Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Now John Emanuel is clearly shown there as a collier
0:03:50 > 0:03:51but I can reveal to you
0:03:51 > 0:03:54he's the reason why you're in Merthyr Tydfil today
0:03:54 > 0:03:56because after he was a collier
0:03:56 > 0:03:59he became a serving police officer in Merthyr Tydfil.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02- Oh, really?- Indeed.- Gosh.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04- Quite serious.- Mm.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07An upgrade then from obviously working in the mines then
0:04:07 > 0:04:10to be a pillar of the establishment of society,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13keeping everybody in check.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16So David has a big family tree to explore,
0:04:16 > 0:04:19starting with his great grandfather.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24It's fascinating, it's great to know that I'm from good Welsh stock.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27First, David is off to Merthyr Tydfil police station.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30He's just learnt that his great grandfather
0:04:30 > 0:04:32John Emanuel was a policeman
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and he's here to find specific information on his service record.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Under escort from a Merthyr's Civilian Detention Officer,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44he's joining police historian Ross Mather who's gone back
0:04:44 > 0:04:50to the 1860s to unearth the story of police sergeant 93 John Emanuel.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54That's the period that he would've joined,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56that's how he would've dressed.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Not actually as stylish as the policemen today.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I'm looking at the fashion, of course.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04That's state of the art in the 1860s
0:05:04 > 0:05:06because they were looking for comfort,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08- they were looking for practicality of a uniform...- Sure.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11..whereas prior to that you had the swallow-tailed coat,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13- the top hat.- Yeah.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Ross has built up an important collection of artefacts
0:05:15 > 0:05:17from this period.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18This is what...
0:05:20 > 0:05:23As you can see it's a Glamorgan Constabulary decorated truncheon.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- We recognise the royal crest. - That's the royal crest.- Right.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Actually this is quite smug considering it's quite a tough job.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33So when he joined he would've had that instead of a warrant card
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- because if a policeman...- Oh, so this actually said who he was?
0:05:36 > 0:05:38- It was his staff of office, yeah. - Oh, I see.- Yeah...
0:05:38 > 0:05:41But it was also used I'm sure as well.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46This image from the 1870s is of the Glamorgan Constabulary.
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Although David's great grandfather may be in this photograph,
0:05:50 > 0:05:53it's impossible to know which one he is,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57but Ross has got a wonderful surprise for David.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00And what I'm going to show you now is your great grandfather.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02- No!- Yes.- Really?
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- There he is.- Oh, my God.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Oh, wow.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16And how did you trace it to him? My goodness me.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19- 93 on his collar and that is him. - Oh, I see.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22If you look, I'm sure you can see the likeness, the family likeness.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Jeepers. Actually it's interesting you say that,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28he doesn't look unlike my father but this, all this beard thing...
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- Yes, it's called a curtain beard. - Right.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Obviously it hangs like a curtain underneath.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- You can see he was a big chap.- Yes. - Look at the size of his hands. Wow.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40What they wanted in Merthyr, Aberdare,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43- they wanted big men who could be a presence.- Jeepers.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47- That's a copy and...- Wow, that's really kind. Thank you very much.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50- I haven't finished yet!- Oh, no!
0:06:50 > 0:06:53- There's the original.- Really?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- Oh, my goodness. - And I'd like to give it you.- Oh.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00- It belongs with your family. - That's really kind. God, I'm...
0:07:00 > 0:07:04That was bought from an antiques shop in Aberdare in the mid-1980s.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07- Really?- A friend of mine who ran a shop,
0:07:07 > 0:07:11- she used to look for bits and pieces. That was...- Goodness me.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12..in an antiques shop.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16And there's no doubt about it, that is your great grandfather
0:07:16 > 0:07:19- because his number's 93. - Wow.- So that deserves to be with you.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Well, apart from the beard, he's a very good looking man. We like that.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- Thank you very much.- You're more than welcome.- Can I get out of here now?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29I want something more... I want a bit more glamour.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31We've got a place especially ready for you tonight.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- I'm not staying there! Thank you very much.- You're more than welcome.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- Cor, fascinating. - It's found its way home.- Absolutely.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42- It's found its way home. - Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45Relieved to be out of the cells and in the sunshine,
0:07:45 > 0:07:50next David's off to find what Merthyr was like 150 years ago
0:07:50 > 0:07:53when his great grandfather policed these streets.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Now in the shopping precinct,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00David is definitely enjoying his new-found popularity
0:08:00 > 0:08:03but he has an appointment to keep with historian Louise Miskell.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10- David, welcome to Merthyr Tydfil. - Thank you very much.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12- God, a beautiful sunny day. - Isn't it? Yes.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18But I've just learnt my great grandfather was a policeman
0:08:18 > 0:08:21here in 18... I think I'm right, 1868? So, obviously,
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Merthyr at that time would be very different to the Merthyr today.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28That's right, yes. Your grandfather John worked here as a policeman
0:08:28 > 0:08:33from that time. Really interesting time in Merthyr's history, I think.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Demand for iron and coal saw Merthyr's population explode
0:08:36 > 0:08:39from just under 8,000 in 1801
0:08:39 > 0:08:42to over 50,000 in the 1850s.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47But by the time of the 1860s when your great grandfather moved here,
0:08:47 > 0:08:52- it had a crisis of confidence in some ways in its economy.- Right.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55- The future of the ironworks was looking uncertain.- Right.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Great grandfather, the policeman, must've had a tough job.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01I think he would've had a very tough job.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03- There was a lot of poverty in Merthyr.- Right.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07- Ironworks employ large numbers of low-skilled labourers...- Right.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10..who would've been paid very irregularly,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13would've worked irregularly and to make ends meet,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15you know, in those conditions with large families
0:09:15 > 0:09:19would've been really difficult in the 19th century.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Alcohol also added to this volatile mix at this time.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Keeping law and order amongst Merthyr's transient workforce
0:09:26 > 0:09:29took a very special type of policeman.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34And the other thing to remember is there weren't that many of them,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37I mean when the police force was established in the 1840s,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39- you're talking about around 13 men...- Wow.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42..for a district that wasn't just Merthyr, it was the wider area
0:09:42 > 0:09:45- and a population of around 50,000.- Wow.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- I mean there was no way they could really...- Police.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- ..police the whole area.- Yeah.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53So they had to try and focus on particular problem areas.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I'm beginning to think he must've been quite some man, I think,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58to take on that task is a big ask, isn't it?
0:09:58 > 0:10:02I think so. He must've had a very well-developed sense of duty,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- you know, and a sense of public responsibility.- That's the Emanuels.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- That's the Emanuels. I like that.- Good. Yes.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14So David's great grandfather was an imposing Victorian policeman
0:10:14 > 0:10:19but what of his wife? David's great grandmother.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23Her name was Mary Wilmott and to learn of her story,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27David is visiting Merthyr's Cyfrathfa Castle Museum.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28Here he's about to learn that
0:10:28 > 0:10:31in fact he was not the first in his family
0:10:31 > 0:10:34to work in the fashion industry in London,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37as expert Meridith Towne can reveal.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44In the census of 1871, she is named here as Mary Wilmott,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46she is an apprentice,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50she's aged 16 and it says here that she's a dressmaker's apprentice.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51As an apprentice,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54she'd have started probably about the age of 14.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Her apprenticeship should've lasted about two years
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- from which she would then move on to be an improver...- Mm-hm.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02..and then she would've slowly risen the ranks
0:11:02 > 0:11:05but she certainly would've stayed long enough to be qualified
0:11:05 > 0:11:08as a dressmaker which can take a number of years.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Meridith has brought along examples of clothes from the period
0:11:11 > 0:11:16when Mary was a dressmaker from the 1860s onwards.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19So where she grew up, her fashions that she would've seen would be
0:11:19 > 0:11:23something similar to this which these massive skirts and dresses.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26- Very old Emanuel with the crinoline skirts.- Absolutely!
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Once she gets to being an apprentice in the 1870s,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31the fashions have substantially changed
0:11:31 > 0:11:34and we're looking more at something like this.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Still rather fabulous, though.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Now these are wonderful. Very narrow skirted,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42it's a period between the two bustle periods that we know of
0:11:42 > 0:11:46but if you look at the amount of decoration, the ruching, the frills.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- The velvet ribbons, the embroidery. - The tucks, the...
0:11:50 > 0:11:51I love the corset shape there.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54It's wonderful but the silhouette as it comes down,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57it's all this very long serpentine silhouette which is lovely.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00- But the work involved in something like this...- Oh, yes.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03But Mary as a young girl and as an apprentice
0:12:03 > 0:12:05would've aimed very high potentially.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07- We know she eventually moves to London...- Mm-hm.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10..and the idea behind that is that she wants to progress
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and fashion houses as they were called,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15though many of them were more like factories,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18was you could have the first class ones which are for your aristocracy.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21- Sure.- And that's your court dressmakers
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and then you go further down the ranks
0:12:24 > 0:12:27and for Mary, she would presumably have really aimed
0:12:27 > 0:12:30to go into one of these fashion houses rather than be an outworker
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- cos as an outworker you were very badly treated.- Yep.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39For many young girls like Mary newly arrived in London,
0:12:39 > 0:12:45life as a dressmaker inevitably meant long hours and poor pay.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Basically what you're saying it was slave fashion.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49It was slave fashion, unfortunately.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52These women are paid... On average, outworkers to these fashion houses
0:12:52 > 0:12:55are paid about nine shillings a week.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Now bearing in mind three shillings has to go on your lodging
0:12:58 > 0:13:02and if you compare that to an unskilled male labourer in London
0:13:02 > 0:13:05gets 20 to 25 shillings a week,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07and you're considering that this is actually skilled labour
0:13:07 > 0:13:11by these women, they are horrendously badly paid for it
0:13:11 > 0:13:14so as much as I love looking at these beautiful items,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- when I think of...- At the back of your mind...- Exactly.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20..you're thinking what would the reality of it all.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26David is now heading from Merthyr across the Brecon Beacons
0:13:26 > 0:13:29to Brecon town itself.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Here at the South Wales Borderers Museum
0:13:31 > 0:13:33they commemorate the regiment's role
0:13:33 > 0:13:36in the defence of Rorke's Drift in South Africa.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41An event which was commemorated in the 1964 film Zulu
0:13:41 > 0:13:44in which another famous Emanuel appeared.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47The celebrated Welsh singer Ivor Emmanuel,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50who in the film leads the regiment in a stirring rendition
0:13:50 > 0:13:53of Men Of Harlech.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56David has always been a huge fan of Ivor Emmanuel
0:13:56 > 0:13:58but knows they're definitely not related
0:13:58 > 0:14:01because they spell their surnames differently.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- Don't tell me I'm related to him. - All right, then, I won't.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09No, I can reveal to you that the man who appeared
0:14:09 > 0:14:15- in the film Zulu in 1964 and sang Men Of Harlech...- Yes.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18- ..rousing all the Welshmen...- Yes.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20- ..is in fact your fourth cousin.- No!
0:14:20 > 0:14:25- He is.- No!- My lord.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27- He's born in Margam, Port Talbot. - That's right.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Like many of the famous Welsh singers...
0:14:30 > 0:14:33You realise I've got to retract that and apologise to all the people
0:14:33 > 0:14:35over all the years, I've said, "I'm not related to him."
0:14:35 > 0:14:37So he had the double M.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40He doesn't come down with the double M, his father decided to add the M.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- Oh, I see. What, to make it more important?- Could be.- Oh.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48So which way...? Where are we? Show me.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50- We're here, you're at the bottom here.- Yeah.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54- And we can go back to your second, third great grandparents.- Yeah.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58- Rees Emanuel and Anne John.- Right. - And they're your common ancestors
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and you come all the way down through his line to him here
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- and you are fourth cousins. - Good heavens.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Even though there's an age difference, you're fourth cousins.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Good lord. No more, no more surprises!
0:15:11 > 0:15:13This is too much. This is too much even for a Welshman.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17- Do you like this one?- No, I think it's great. I've always loved him.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20I don't know where to... I'm speechless.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I'm speechless.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- That's a lovely surprise there. Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:15:28 > 0:15:32Now David is on the trail of his grandfather John Leslie Emanuel.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37He's back in Merthyr at Cyfarthfa Castle Museum
0:15:37 > 0:15:40to meet with military historian Jeremy Banning.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43David was always told by his father that his grandfather
0:15:43 > 0:15:47was a commanding officer in World War I
0:15:47 > 0:15:51but what Jeremy has uncovered from the start of the war in 1914
0:15:51 > 0:15:53does not bode well.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58It says he was discharged under King's regulations,
0:15:58 > 0:16:01and that means he was actually deemed unfit for war service,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- or was not going to be an efficient soldier.- Really?
0:16:04 > 0:16:06We don't know why,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08there's nothing in the records to determine why that was.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15Two years later, John Leslie Emanuel did eventually manage to join up,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19but he was not an officer - he was a Private,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and, by November 1916, was serving with the deadly Machine Gun Corps
0:16:23 > 0:16:26fighting in the Somme, defending the town of Ypres.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29We lost hundreds of thousands of men
0:16:29 > 0:16:33- defending this beautiful Flemish city.- Gosh.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35And he was just around this area, around here...
0:16:35 > 0:16:39- Good heavens.- ..between Werviksestraat and the canal.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43- Good Lord.- This is where he was, fighting through the winter of 1916.
0:16:43 > 0:16:44Can you imagine the conditions?
0:16:44 > 0:16:48And that is the coldest winter in living memory. It gets down to -20.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- HE GASPS - So he's out there in these horrible conditions.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56So, far from being a commissioned officer,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00what Jeremy has found is a regular Private
0:17:00 > 0:17:04who's fighting the enemy, the bitter cold and disease.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09And, by March, 1917, was seriously ill with...
0:17:09 > 0:17:11Trench fever.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15It's caused by the infected bites of body lice,
0:17:15 > 0:17:17and the men were covered in lice.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23But it was trench fever that probably saved his life.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Evacuated from the Front, David's grandfather missed
0:17:27 > 0:17:30one of the bloodiest battles of the war at Passchendaele.
0:17:32 > 0:17:33He's a lucky man, he's lucky
0:17:33 > 0:17:36because he is no longer with them when they are taking part
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- in probably their most savage battle of the entire war.- Yeah.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46And the Army records also reveal another important story for David.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50He'd always believed his grandfather was a commissioned officer
0:17:50 > 0:17:53but, in 1916, he was a Private
0:17:53 > 0:17:55fighting in the trenches of the Somme.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58However, it appears he must have displayed
0:17:58 > 0:18:00exceptional qualities as a soldier.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03As Jeremy is about to reveal.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10Back in March of 1917, his company commander recognises his leadership
0:18:10 > 0:18:14ability, the qualities that he has, and recommends him for a commission.
0:18:14 > 0:18:15Thank the Lord.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Emanuels strive on. Brilliant.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And a story of great success, really.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23If you think at the beginning he was originally, erm,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27- he was told he wasn't going to be an efficient soldier.- Yeah.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- Then, by 1918, he's training to be an officer.- Amazing.
0:18:33 > 0:18:34It's a lot to take in.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36I'm sure it is, actually, but, for me,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39if that was my grandfather, I'd be pretty proud of his service.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42Well, thank you very much. Thank you.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44That's quite some story.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50So, fighting in Europe, John Leslie Emanuel
0:18:50 > 0:18:54may not have a link to the famous Lawrence of Arabia,
0:18:54 > 0:18:57but he was, just as David's father had told him,
0:18:57 > 0:19:02a heroic commissioned officer in the British Army in World War I.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06But what became of him after the war?
0:19:11 > 0:19:14For the answer, David is on the West Wales coast.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18And this is one occasion ever fashion-conscious David
0:19:18 > 0:19:20can't resist dressing up for.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Once suitably attired, here on the famous Pendine Sands
0:19:28 > 0:19:32he can learn of his grandfather's passion for motorcycles
0:19:32 > 0:19:36during the 1920s with expert Anthony Duvall.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38Wow! What fabulous bikes! Hi.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41- Nice to meet you, Dave.- You must be Anthony.- I am Anthony, yes.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44As you can see, I'm dressed for the part. I understand...
0:19:44 > 0:19:47- You look great, by the way. - Thank you very much.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50My grandfather used to ride bikes back in the '20s.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- Yeah.- So is this the sort of bike he would have ridden on?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56This is pretty typical of the sort of thing that would have been
0:19:56 > 0:19:58driven on the beach back in the '20s.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00So along this stretch, across here?
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Yeah, they would have started here
0:20:03 > 0:20:05- and there's a seven mile clear stretch.- Is it seven miles?
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Cos I remember coming as a child, my father used to bring us here
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and we used to drive onto the beach and have a picnic,
0:20:11 > 0:20:14have a swim and drive off. So they used to race here, did they?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18From the early 1920s,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Pendine was THE venue for car and motorcycle races.
0:20:22 > 0:20:28In 1924, the famous world land speed record of over 146mph was set here.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Thousands of people would have flocked to Pendine
0:20:32 > 0:20:36to watch the racing back in the '20s after the First World War.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38- So that was their fun, really? - It was excitement.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40It was somewhere to get away, a bit of escapism,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43and guys came back from the trenches and, you know,
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- it was a little bit of excitement for them.- Yeah, sure.
0:20:48 > 0:20:49David is keen, but it's clear
0:20:49 > 0:20:53he knows a great deal more about fashion than motorbikes.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57This looks like a little corset here, what's this?
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Yeah, this is just knee pad, so when you're sort of...
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- Is it to stop the heat from here? - No, it's just when you're panicking
0:21:03 > 0:21:06- and your knees sort of clench the tank just to hold on.- Really?!- Yeah.
0:21:06 > 0:21:11David's grandfather not only rode here, but was a winner.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Anthony, tell me, do you know
0:21:14 > 0:21:16if actually my grandfather actually raced on this beach?
0:21:16 > 0:21:20We know for sure that he definitely raced on the beach, and not only...
0:21:20 > 0:21:24- We know because I found him in a book, a fabulous book...- Really?
0:21:24 > 0:21:27And there, tucked away in 1922,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30we find the linage...Leslie Emanuel.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33- Yeah.- So we know from the information on this page that he actually
0:21:33 > 0:21:35raced in a two and a half mile sprint.
0:21:35 > 0:21:36That would have been a straight...
0:21:36 > 0:21:41As fast as you can for two and a half miles, and he actually won.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- Hey!- Yeah. - The Emanuels like to win!
0:21:45 > 0:21:49I love the attire, sweaters, helmets, goggles...
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Well, I should imagine, after all the depression of the war,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55this must have been a lot of fun, I should imagine.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Well, look at the crowds, as well. It was a huge, huge event.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03But there was another champion who also rode here at Pendine
0:22:03 > 0:22:07and would have been well-known to all those who competed here.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10And it was this man on this motorcycle.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12And his name?
0:22:13 > 0:22:17One TE Lawrence. Lawrence of Arabia.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20So it may not have been in the war where these two men met
0:22:20 > 0:22:23but here on the sands of Pendine.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33For the next part of his grandfather's story,
0:22:33 > 0:22:37David is Llandovery, in Carmarthenshire,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and the high street that would have been so familiar to him.
0:22:40 > 0:22:45Here, at the Bluebell Inn, David can read more of his grandfather,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49now aged 45, from a report in the Carmarthen Journal
0:22:49 > 0:22:51dated December, 1939.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56Friends all over Carmarthenshire and further afield
0:22:56 > 0:22:59will read with genuine sorrow of the tragic death
0:22:59 > 0:23:03of Mr John Leslie Emanuel of North Lodge, near Llandovery.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07It appears that on Thursday evening he was walking home from Llandovery.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11After crossing Waterloo Bridge he presumably, in the darkness,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13missed the highway and fell into the river.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Shouts of help were heard, but the night was so dark
0:23:16 > 0:23:20that Mr Emanuel could not be seen in the surging waters.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24He was carried along with the river, which was in full flood.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28Mr Trevor Davis of Llanfair Terrace, Llandovery...
0:23:30 > 0:23:34..saw Mr Emanuel's body in the pool in the Towy
0:23:34 > 0:23:38a distance of a mile from where he had fallen into the river.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39Gosh.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43He saw an old tree in the middle of the river
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and with a man's arm clinging fast to it.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49He could not see the body.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50He returned to Llandovery and,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53with Sergeant McLaren and some other men
0:23:53 > 0:23:56took a lorry and a grappling iron to the spot.
0:23:56 > 0:23:57The deceased's...
0:23:57 > 0:23:59HE SIGHS
0:23:59 > 0:24:03..watch had stopped at 5:29pm,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06coincident with the time his shouts were heard.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09It is understood the deceased was a strong swimmer.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12The police were notified and the body was recovered.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18Although tragic, this article does go on to offer David a unique
0:24:18 > 0:24:22insight into the personality of the grandfather he never met.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Of a very genial disposition, he made a large set of friends in Carmarthen,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28and was very popular in the town.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30His generous and carefree nature
0:24:30 > 0:24:33made him a favourite with the men who served under him.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41David wants to take that same walk along the river bank
0:24:41 > 0:24:45that claimed his grandfather's life over 70 years ago...
0:24:46 > 0:24:49..then in full flood but today a much gentler scene.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53After surviving the horrors of World War I,
0:24:53 > 0:24:57this tranquil spot seems an unlikely place for him to have lost his life.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04I mean, it's hard to believe.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08This is tranquil. This is beautiful.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11This is now, it's real, it's life.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Then it was hard, it was death.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16It must have been desperate.
0:25:16 > 0:25:21A high river, darkness and fighting for your life.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Desperate.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26For such a brave man, erm,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28what a cruel way to go, you know?
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Cruel.
0:25:30 > 0:25:34When John Leslie Emanuel died on that fateful night,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36he left behind an only child,
0:25:36 > 0:25:41an 11-year-old boy who grew up to be David's father
0:25:41 > 0:25:46who, in turn, told David stories of a heroic grandfather.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So what my father said all those years ago to me as a young boy
0:25:49 > 0:25:51was absolutely true.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56So that piece of the jigsaw is now solved and, erm...
0:25:56 > 0:25:59And I shall just remember - I wish I'd met him, obviously -
0:25:59 > 0:26:02but I shall remember him as a great, wonderful grandfather,
0:26:02 > 0:26:03who I never met.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10It's clearly been an emotional experience for David,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13one he would have loved to have shared with his dad.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16So, that's precisely what he's about to do.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Although his father, John, has not been well,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23he's been determined to take part.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28And now David is travelling to his brother Joshua's house
0:26:28 > 0:26:29in the Vale of Glamorgan
0:26:29 > 0:26:33for a specially-arranged gathering of the Emanuel family clan.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Here to complete the gathering is David,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42excited to share his experience with his only sister, Margaret,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46and his many brothers from a family of 11 children.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50Where's Daddy? Hi, Dad.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55And, of course, David's father,
0:26:55 > 0:26:5886-year-old John Lawrence Morris Emanuel.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01All the little bits you were telling me when we were young...
0:27:01 > 0:27:02Was there some truth in it?
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Some of the truth! LAUGHTER
0:27:08 > 0:27:12David can now share everything he's learned with his dad, John,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16including that obituary of his father from the Carmarthen Journal.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20I don't know if you've seen this, Dad.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24This was in the Carmarthen Journal.
0:27:24 > 0:27:29- Carmarthen.- Carmarthen Journal, dated December 8th, 1939.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32- And there's the picture of your father.- Yes.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- This is obviously a photocopy. - John Leslie. Yes.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37And I didn't realise...
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Did you realise how well loved he was and how popular?
0:27:40 > 0:27:43Oh, everybody seemed to have known him.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47And I think it was a lot to do with his Army career and everybody...
0:27:47 > 0:27:51- And look at the size of this article, Daddy.- Oh, it's tremendous.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53This is a huge, I mean...
0:27:55 > 0:27:56Oh, tremendous.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58So I think, Dad, out of all this now,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01now that all this has come out, this is evidence here,
0:28:01 > 0:28:03you've always....
0:28:03 > 0:28:05When we were children you only told us little bits,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10so now, the age you are, you should tell us a bit more.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13- You should share with us, Dad, because...- Yes.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16..you know, it's important.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20David's quest to learn of his family's ancestry
0:28:20 > 0:28:22is nearly at an end.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27It has just been the most amazing experience.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30We're kind of tight family, but when we get together
0:28:30 > 0:28:34it's like we've never been apart, and they were waiting, weren't they?
0:28:34 > 0:28:36They wanted to see what we found.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40But, more than that, revealing the family tree,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44it's now given me a licence to discuss with my father.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46He has to tell us more.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48You know, he's now of a certain age,
0:28:48 > 0:28:53and perhaps now it will allow him to talk more freely about it,
0:28:53 > 0:28:54which is wonderful.