David Emanuel Coming Home

Travelling from his home in Windsor to Wales

in search of his family ancestry is fashion designer David Emanuel.

Born one of 11 children, David grew up in Bridgend, South Wales

and later the Emanuel name was made famous

for creating Princess Diana's magical wedding dress,

an iconic image around the world.

More recently, David's won over a new generation of fans

on ITV's I'm A Celebrity.

And now proud Welshman David Emanuel is Coming Home.

On his journey,

David will discover his grandfather's love for speed...

This actually looks like a little corset here.

Learns of his connection to showbiz royalty...

No more, no more surprises.

This is too much!

And did David's grandfather really know the great Lawrence of Arabia?

Well, my father has mentioned a few times that his father,

my grandfather, was in the army and he knew Lawrence of Arabia,

TE Lawrence.

I'd like to put that to rest. Is that true? I'm sure it is.

If my father says it's true, it should be true.

So it's his grandfather's story that David is most keen to uncover.

So this is the chap I'm intrigued about.

This is my father's father, my grandfather.

He actually died before I was even born obviously so I never met him.

I met my mother's father but not my father's father

so this is the chap I'm intrigued about.

This is the one I'd really like to get to know a bit more

but apart from that, quite a handsome chap I think.

It's easy to see the resemblance between David

and his grandfather John.

The Emanuel family came originally from west Wales

but later settled here in Merthyr Tydfil,

then a booming coal and iron town

and it's to Merthyr that David has come

to the very imposing and grand old town hall,

also known as the Red House,

and it's here genealogist Mike Churchill Jones

is waiting to reveal David's family tree.

Are you apprehensive?

-I'm a little bit appre... But more excited.

-Great.

-Show me, show me, show me. Quick.

-I will, I will.

Oh, my goodness.

-There we go.

-Wow. There's quite a lot of us, isn't there?

Yeah, on your paternal side you've got deep Welsh roots

-in Carmarthenshire.

-Right.

And on your maternal side you have deep Welsh roots in Ceredigion.

-Oh, Ceredigion.

-Yes.

-That's me, gosh.

-There's yourself here.

Any other names you instantly recognise?

-John Lawrence, my father.

-Yes, yeah.

Cos always growing up, they mentioned the word Emanuel.

-Yeah.

-So people used to say, "Is it Spanish?"

And I used to say, "No, it's Welsh."

And then people used to say, Emanuel, the last tribe of Israel,

was there a Jewish side?

-You really don't know what the truth is, but this is it!

-Indeed.

The tree does indeed confirm

the Emanuels were a firmly Welsh family.

David was always brought up to believe that his grandfather

John Leslie Emanuel was an army officer in World War I.

-Your grandfather John Leslie Emanuel...

-Yes.

-You have his middle name.

-Yes.

-He obviously died before you were born.

Correct, I never met my grandfather or my grandmother on that side.

Obviously on this side I did, but not on that side.

Records show that David's grandfather

was the son of a coal miner, John Emanuel,

who originally came from Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire.

Now John Emanuel is clearly shown there as a collier

but I can reveal to you

he's the reason why you're in Merthyr Tydfil today

because after he was a collier

he became a serving police officer in Merthyr Tydfil.

-Oh, really?

-Indeed.

-Gosh.

-Quite serious.

-Mm.

An upgrade then from obviously working in the mines then

to be a pillar of the establishment of society,

keeping everybody in check.

So David has a big family tree to explore,

starting with his great grandfather.

It's fascinating, it's great to know that I'm from good Welsh stock.

First, David is off to Merthyr Tydfil police station.

He's just learnt that his great grandfather

John Emanuel was a policeman

and he's here to find specific information on his service record.

Under escort from a Merthyr's Civilian Detention Officer,

he's joining police historian Ross Mather who's gone back

to the 1860s to unearth the story of police sergeant 93 John Emanuel.

That's the period that he would've joined,

that's how he would've dressed.

Not actually as stylish as the policemen today.

I'm looking at the fashion, of course.

That's state of the art in the 1860s

because they were looking for comfort,

-they were looking for practicality of a uniform...

-Sure.

..whereas prior to that you had the swallow-tailed coat,

-the top hat.

-Yeah.

Ross has built up an important collection of artefacts

from this period.

This is what...

As you can see it's a Glamorgan Constabulary decorated truncheon.

-We recognise the royal crest.

-That's the royal crest.

-Right.

Actually this is quite smug considering it's quite a tough job.

So when he joined he would've had that instead of a warrant card

-because if a policeman...

-Oh, so this actually said who he was?

-It was his staff of office, yeah.

-Oh, I see.

-Yeah...

But it was also used I'm sure as well.

This image from the 1870s is of the Glamorgan Constabulary.

Although David's great grandfather may be in this photograph,

it's impossible to know which one he is,

but Ross has got a wonderful surprise for David.

And what I'm going to show you now is your great grandfather.

-No!

-Yes.

-Really?

-There he is.

-Oh, my God.

Oh, wow.

And how did you trace it to him? My goodness me.

-93 on his collar and that is him.

-Oh, I see.

If you look, I'm sure you can see the likeness, the family likeness.

Jeepers. Actually it's interesting you say that,

he doesn't look unlike my father but this, all this beard thing...

-Yes, it's called a curtain beard.

-Right.

Obviously it hangs like a curtain underneath.

-You can see he was a big chap.

-Yes.

-Look at the size of his hands. Wow.

What they wanted in Merthyr, Aberdare,

-they wanted big men who could be a presence.

-Jeepers.

-That's a copy and...

-Wow, that's really kind. Thank you very much.

-I haven't finished yet!

-Oh, no!

-There's the original.

-Really?

-Oh, my goodness.

-And I'd like to give it you.

-Oh.

-It belongs with your family.

-That's really kind. God, I'm...

That was bought from an antiques shop in Aberdare in the mid-1980s.

-Really?

-A friend of mine who ran a shop,

-she used to look for bits and pieces. That was...

-Goodness me.

..in an antiques shop.

And there's no doubt about it, that is your great grandfather

-because his number's 93.

-Wow.

-So that deserves to be with you.

Well, apart from the beard, he's a very good looking man. We like that.

-Thank you very much.

-You're more than welcome.

-Can I get out of here now?

I want something more... I want a bit more glamour.

We've got a place especially ready for you tonight.

-I'm not staying there! Thank you very much.

-You're more than welcome.

-Cor, fascinating.

-It's found its way home.

-Absolutely.

-It's found its way home.

-Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

Relieved to be out of the cells and in the sunshine,

next David's off to find what Merthyr was like 150 years ago

when his great grandfather policed these streets.

Now in the shopping precinct,

David is definitely enjoying his new-found popularity

but he has an appointment to keep with historian Louise Miskell.

-David, welcome to Merthyr Tydfil.

-Thank you very much.

-God, a beautiful sunny day.

-Isn't it? Yes.

But I've just learnt my great grandfather was a policeman

here in 18... I think I'm right, 1868? So, obviously,

Merthyr at that time would be very different to the Merthyr today.

That's right, yes. Your grandfather John worked here as a policeman

from that time. Really interesting time in Merthyr's history, I think.

Demand for iron and coal saw Merthyr's population explode

from just under 8,000 in 1801

to over 50,000 in the 1850s.

But by the time of the 1860s when your great grandfather moved here,

-it had a crisis of confidence in some ways in its economy.

-Right.

-The future of the ironworks was looking uncertain.

-Right.

Great grandfather, the policeman, must've had a tough job.

I think he would've had a very tough job.

-There was a lot of poverty in Merthyr.

-Right.

-Ironworks employ large numbers of low-skilled labourers...

-Right.

..who would've been paid very irregularly,

would've worked irregularly and to make ends meet,

you know, in those conditions with large families

would've been really difficult in the 19th century.

Alcohol also added to this volatile mix at this time.

Keeping law and order amongst Merthyr's transient workforce

took a very special type of policeman.

And the other thing to remember is there weren't that many of them,

I mean when the police force was established in the 1840s,

-you're talking about around 13 men...

-Wow.

..for a district that wasn't just Merthyr, it was the wider area

-and a population of around 50,000.

-Wow.

-I mean there was no way they could really...

-Police.

-..police the whole area.

-Yeah.

So they had to try and focus on particular problem areas.

I'm beginning to think he must've been quite some man, I think,

to take on that task is a big ask, isn't it?

I think so. He must've had a very well-developed sense of duty,

-you know, and a sense of public responsibility.

-That's the Emanuels.

-That's the Emanuels. I like that.

-Good. Yes.

So David's great grandfather was an imposing Victorian policeman

but what of his wife? David's great grandmother.

Her name was Mary Wilmott and to learn of her story,

David is visiting Merthyr's Cyfrathfa Castle Museum.

Here he's about to learn that

in fact he was not the first in his family

to work in the fashion industry in London,

as expert Meridith Towne can reveal.

In the census of 1871, she is named here as Mary Wilmott,

she is an apprentice,

she's aged 16 and it says here that she's a dressmaker's apprentice.

As an apprentice,

she'd have started probably about the age of 14.

Her apprenticeship should've lasted about two years

-from which she would then move on to be an improver...

-Mm-hm.

..and then she would've slowly risen the ranks

but she certainly would've stayed long enough to be qualified

as a dressmaker which can take a number of years.

Meridith has brought along examples of clothes from the period

when Mary was a dressmaker from the 1860s onwards.

So where she grew up, her fashions that she would've seen would be

something similar to this which these massive skirts and dresses.

-Very old Emanuel with the crinoline skirts.

-Absolutely!

Once she gets to being an apprentice in the 1870s,

the fashions have substantially changed

and we're looking more at something like this.

Still rather fabulous, though.

Now these are wonderful. Very narrow skirted,

it's a period between the two bustle periods that we know of

but if you look at the amount of decoration, the ruching, the frills.

-The velvet ribbons, the embroidery.

-The tucks, the...

I love the corset shape there.

It's wonderful but the silhouette as it comes down,

it's all this very long serpentine silhouette which is lovely.

-But the work involved in something like this...

-Oh, yes.

But Mary as a young girl and as an apprentice

would've aimed very high potentially.

-We know she eventually moves to London...

-Mm-hm.

..and the idea behind that is that she wants to progress

and fashion houses as they were called,

though many of them were more like factories,

was you could have the first class ones which are for your aristocracy.

-Sure.

-And that's your court dressmakers

and then you go further down the ranks

and for Mary, she would presumably have really aimed

to go into one of these fashion houses rather than be an outworker

-cos as an outworker you were very badly treated.

-Yep.

For many young girls like Mary newly arrived in London,

life as a dressmaker inevitably meant long hours and poor pay.

Basically what you're saying it was slave fashion.

It was slave fashion, unfortunately.

These women are paid... On average, outworkers to these fashion houses

are paid about nine shillings a week.

Now bearing in mind three shillings has to go on your lodging

and if you compare that to an unskilled male labourer in London

gets 20 to 25 shillings a week,

and you're considering that this is actually skilled labour

by these women, they are horrendously badly paid for it

so as much as I love looking at these beautiful items,

-when I think of...

-At the back of your mind...

-Exactly.

..you're thinking what would the reality of it all.

David is now heading from Merthyr across the Brecon Beacons

to Brecon town itself.

Here at the South Wales Borderers Museum

they commemorate the regiment's role

in the defence of Rorke's Drift in South Africa.

An event which was commemorated in the 1964 film Zulu

in which another famous Emanuel appeared.

The celebrated Welsh singer Ivor Emmanuel,

who in the film leads the regiment in a stirring rendition

of Men Of Harlech.

David has always been a huge fan of Ivor Emmanuel

but knows they're definitely not related

because they spell their surnames differently.

-Don't tell me I'm related to him.

-All right, then, I won't.

No, I can reveal to you that the man who appeared

-in the film Zulu in 1964 and sang Men Of Harlech...

-Yes.

-..rousing all the Welshmen...

-Yes.

-..is in fact your fourth cousin.

-No!

-He is.

-No!

-My lord.

-He's born in Margam, Port Talbot.

-That's right.

Like many of the famous Welsh singers...

You realise I've got to retract that and apologise to all the people

over all the years, I've said, "I'm not related to him."

So he had the double M.

He doesn't come down with the double M, his father decided to add the M.

-Oh, I see. What, to make it more important?

-Could be.

-Oh.

So which way...? Where are we? Show me.

-We're here, you're at the bottom here.

-Yeah.

-And we can go back to your second, third great grandparents.

-Yeah.

-Rees Emanuel and Anne John.

-Right.

-And they're your common ancestors

and you come all the way down through his line to him here

-and you are fourth cousins.

-Good heavens.

Even though there's an age difference, you're fourth cousins.

Good lord. No more, no more surprises!

This is too much. This is too much even for a Welshman.

-Do you like this one?

-No, I think it's great. I've always loved him.

I don't know where to... I'm speechless.

I'm speechless.

-That's a lovely surprise there. Thank you.

-You're welcome.

Now David is on the trail of his grandfather John Leslie Emanuel.

He's back in Merthyr at Cyfarthfa Castle Museum

to meet with military historian Jeremy Banning.

David was always told by his father that his grandfather

was a commanding officer in World War I

but what Jeremy has uncovered from the start of the war in 1914

does not bode well.

It says he was discharged under King's regulations,

and that means he was actually deemed unfit for war service,

-or was not going to be an efficient soldier.

-Really?

We don't know why,

there's nothing in the records to determine why that was.

Two years later, John Leslie Emanuel did eventually manage to join up,

but he was not an officer - he was a Private,

and, by November 1916, was serving with the deadly Machine Gun Corps

fighting in the Somme, defending the town of Ypres.

We lost hundreds of thousands of men

-defending this beautiful Flemish city.

-Gosh.

And he was just around this area, around here...

-Good heavens.

-..between Werviksestraat and the canal.

-Good Lord.

-This is where he was, fighting through the winter of 1916.

Can you imagine the conditions?

And that is the coldest winter in living memory. It gets down to -20.

-HE GASPS

-So he's out there in these horrible conditions.

So, far from being a commissioned officer,

what Jeremy has found is a regular Private

who's fighting the enemy, the bitter cold and disease.

And, by March, 1917, was seriously ill with...

Trench fever.

It's caused by the infected bites of body lice,

and the men were covered in lice.

But it was trench fever that probably saved his life.

Evacuated from the Front, David's grandfather missed

one of the bloodiest battles of the war at Passchendaele.

He's a lucky man, he's lucky

because he is no longer with them when they are taking part

-in probably their most savage battle of the entire war.

-Yeah.

And the Army records also reveal another important story for David.

He'd always believed his grandfather was a commissioned officer

but, in 1916, he was a Private

fighting in the trenches of the Somme.

However, it appears he must have displayed

exceptional qualities as a soldier.

As Jeremy is about to reveal.

Back in March of 1917, his company commander recognises his leadership

ability, the qualities that he has, and recommends him for a commission.

Thank the Lord.

Emanuels strive on. Brilliant.

And a story of great success, really.

If you think at the beginning he was originally, erm,

-he was told he wasn't going to be an efficient soldier.

-Yeah.

-Then, by 1918, he's training to be an officer.

-Amazing.

It's a lot to take in.

I'm sure it is, actually, but, for me,

if that was my grandfather, I'd be pretty proud of his service.

Well, thank you very much. Thank you.

That's quite some story.

So, fighting in Europe, John Leslie Emanuel

may not have a link to the famous Lawrence of Arabia,

but he was, just as David's father had told him,

a heroic commissioned officer in the British Army in World War I.

But what became of him after the war?

For the answer, David is on the West Wales coast.

And this is one occasion ever fashion-conscious David

can't resist dressing up for.

Once suitably attired, here on the famous Pendine Sands

he can learn of his grandfather's passion for motorcycles

during the 1920s with expert Anthony Duvall.

Wow! What fabulous bikes! Hi.

-Nice to meet you, Dave.

-You must be Anthony.

-I am Anthony, yes.

As you can see, I'm dressed for the part. I understand...

-You look great, by the way.

-Thank you very much.

My grandfather used to ride bikes back in the '20s.

-Yeah.

-So is this the sort of bike he would have ridden on?

This is pretty typical of the sort of thing that would have been

driven on the beach back in the '20s.

So along this stretch, across here?

Yeah, they would have started here

-and there's a seven mile clear stretch.

-Is it seven miles?

Cos I remember coming as a child, my father used to bring us here

and we used to drive onto the beach and have a picnic,

have a swim and drive off. So they used to race here, did they?

From the early 1920s,

Pendine was THE venue for car and motorcycle races.

In 1924, the famous world land speed record of over 146mph was set here.

Thousands of people would have flocked to Pendine

to watch the racing back in the '20s after the First World War.

-So that was their fun, really?

-It was excitement.

It was somewhere to get away, a bit of escapism,

and guys came back from the trenches and, you know,

-it was a little bit of excitement for them.

-Yeah, sure.

David is keen, but it's clear

he knows a great deal more about fashion than motorbikes.

This looks like a little corset here, what's this?

Yeah, this is just knee pad, so when you're sort of...

-Is it to stop the heat from here?

-No, it's just when you're panicking

-and your knees sort of clench the tank just to hold on.

-Really?!

-Yeah.

David's grandfather not only rode here, but was a winner.

Anthony, tell me, do you know

if actually my grandfather actually raced on this beach?

We know for sure that he definitely raced on the beach, and not only...

-We know because I found him in a book, a fabulous book...

-Really?

And there, tucked away in 1922,

we find the linage...Leslie Emanuel.

-Yeah.

-So we know from the information on this page that he actually

raced in a two and a half mile sprint.

That would have been a straight...

As fast as you can for two and a half miles, and he actually won.

-Hey!

-Yeah.

-The Emanuels like to win!

I love the attire, sweaters, helmets, goggles...

Well, I should imagine, after all the depression of the war,

this must have been a lot of fun, I should imagine.

Well, look at the crowds, as well. It was a huge, huge event.

But there was another champion who also rode here at Pendine

and would have been well-known to all those who competed here.

And it was this man on this motorcycle.

And his name?

One TE Lawrence. Lawrence of Arabia.

So it may not have been in the war where these two men met

but here on the sands of Pendine.

For the next part of his grandfather's story,

David is Llandovery, in Carmarthenshire,

and the high street that would have been so familiar to him.

Here, at the Bluebell Inn, David can read more of his grandfather,

now aged 45, from a report in the Carmarthen Journal

dated December, 1939.

Friends all over Carmarthenshire and further afield

will read with genuine sorrow of the tragic death

of Mr John Leslie Emanuel of North Lodge, near Llandovery.

It appears that on Thursday evening he was walking home from Llandovery.

After crossing Waterloo Bridge he presumably, in the darkness,

missed the highway and fell into the river.

Shouts of help were heard, but the night was so dark

that Mr Emanuel could not be seen in the surging waters.

He was carried along with the river, which was in full flood.

Mr Trevor Davis of Llanfair Terrace, Llandovery...

..saw Mr Emanuel's body in the pool in the Towy

a distance of a mile from where he had fallen into the river.

Gosh.

He saw an old tree in the middle of the river

and with a man's arm clinging fast to it.

He could not see the body.

He returned to Llandovery and,

with Sergeant McLaren and some other men

took a lorry and a grappling iron to the spot.

The deceased's...

HE SIGHS

..watch had stopped at 5:29pm,

coincident with the time his shouts were heard.

It is understood the deceased was a strong swimmer.

The police were notified and the body was recovered.

Although tragic, this article does go on to offer David a unique

insight into the personality of the grandfather he never met.

Of a very genial disposition, he made a large set of friends in Carmarthen,

and was very popular in the town.

His generous and carefree nature

made him a favourite with the men who served under him.

David wants to take that same walk along the river bank

that claimed his grandfather's life over 70 years ago...

..then in full flood but today a much gentler scene.

After surviving the horrors of World War I,

this tranquil spot seems an unlikely place for him to have lost his life.

I mean, it's hard to believe.

This is tranquil. This is beautiful.

This is now, it's real, it's life.

Then it was hard, it was death.

It must have been desperate.

A high river, darkness and fighting for your life.

Desperate.

For such a brave man, erm,

what a cruel way to go, you know?

Cruel.

When John Leslie Emanuel died on that fateful night,

he left behind an only child,

an 11-year-old boy who grew up to be David's father

who, in turn, told David stories of a heroic grandfather.

So what my father said all those years ago to me as a young boy

was absolutely true.

So that piece of the jigsaw is now solved and, erm...

And I shall just remember - I wish I'd met him, obviously -

but I shall remember him as a great, wonderful grandfather,

who I never met.

It's clearly been an emotional experience for David,

one he would have loved to have shared with his dad.

So, that's precisely what he's about to do.

Although his father, John, has not been well,

he's been determined to take part.

And now David is travelling to his brother Joshua's house

in the Vale of Glamorgan

for a specially-arranged gathering of the Emanuel family clan.

Here to complete the gathering is David,

excited to share his experience with his only sister, Margaret,

and his many brothers from a family of 11 children.

Where's Daddy? Hi, Dad.

And, of course, David's father,

86-year-old John Lawrence Morris Emanuel.

All the little bits you were telling me when we were young...

Was there some truth in it?

Some of the truth! LAUGHTER

David can now share everything he's learned with his dad, John,

including that obituary of his father from the Carmarthen Journal.

I don't know if you've seen this, Dad.

This was in the Carmarthen Journal.

-Carmarthen.

-Carmarthen Journal, dated December 8th, 1939.

-And there's the picture of your father.

-Yes.

-This is obviously a photocopy.

-John Leslie. Yes.

And I didn't realise...

Did you realise how well loved he was and how popular?

Oh, everybody seemed to have known him.

And I think it was a lot to do with his Army career and everybody...

-And look at the size of this article, Daddy.

-Oh, it's tremendous.

This is a huge, I mean...

Oh, tremendous.

So I think, Dad, out of all this now,

now that all this has come out, this is evidence here,

you've always....

When we were children you only told us little bits,

so now, the age you are, you should tell us a bit more.

-You should share with us, Dad, because...

-Yes.

..you know, it's important.

David's quest to learn of his family's ancestry

is nearly at an end.

It has just been the most amazing experience.

We're kind of tight family, but when we get together

it's like we've never been apart, and they were waiting, weren't they?

They wanted to see what we found.

But, more than that, revealing the family tree,

it's now given me a licence to discuss with my father.

He has to tell us more.

You know, he's now of a certain age,

and perhaps now it will allow him to talk more freely about it,

which is wonderful.