- 6/24/2025
#CinemaJourney
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00:00By nature I'm quite nosy and by nature I'm quite curious so for my entire life I've always been
00:08the one asking questions. I have spent so long looking at other people's histories it's galling
00:15to me that I know nothing about my own. Award-winning journalist Mark Fennell has
00:21become a cornerstone of Australian television and radio over the past 20 years. Welcome to
00:27The Summer Feed. Forging a successful career as a documentary maker, writer and presenter. It's
00:33almost like this mosaic there's something to hide. Who's making the biggest pizza? Me! Mark lives in
00:42Sydney with his wife Madeline and their two children. What's that? Can we fit two on each
00:47show? I think so. Outside of my kids and my wife family is really kind of a black box to me.
00:54I really don't know very much beyond my immediate family. I really don't. Are you just eating it?
01:02Yeah, he's just eating the pineapple. I can't go out in the world and say the truth of the past matters
01:08when examining the British Empire or other people's DNA. I can't do that and not accept the same lens,
01:14right? There's a real colour palette to this, isn't there? So where do you think you're going?
01:19I hope I go to Ireland. I don't actually know. As far as I'm aware, I am half Irish, half ethnically
01:27Indian. The Irish side of my family is really interesting to me because I really don't know
01:32anything about it. You need a bigger bag. No, this is the perfect amount. The ethnically Indian bit
01:38is confusing because mum is from Singapore. So culturally, it's a lot of Chinese and Malaysian.
01:47I'm so often the only brown person in the room. So you kind of get used to the fact that you're
01:52always a bit different to people. So I feel quite like unique would be the nice way of putting
01:58it, but also like kind of lonely out here by myself with this unusual mixture of backgrounds.
02:03It's done or packed. Seeking to connect with his own family history. Indians get around, don't they?
02:15They do. Mark finds a generation traumatised by war. Shit, I've heard this story passed down before.
02:23It's so much worse than I imagined. And unearthed tales of forbidden love. This is scandalous.
02:29It is Romeo and Juliet. It really is. It is, yeah. And tragic loss. Oh no. She dies in a squalor.
02:37Yeah.
02:38Thank you very much.
02:46Born in Sydney.
02:58Born in Sydney in 1985, Mark Fennell is the eldest of two sons, born to Paul Fennell and
03:23Shirley Vasanthi Nair.
03:24I think I've inherited curiosity and an interest in people from Mum.
03:29I think I've inherited workaholism from Dad.
03:31I think I've inherited a healthy love of drama from all my grandparents.
03:38Mum Shirley was born in Singapore, but Mark knows little of the Indian heritage in her
03:44family line.
03:46I've never felt like I belong particularly to the Indian side of my family, and yet it's
03:52there.
03:52You know, it's on my face.
03:55It's in my DNA.
03:57My grandmother, Amma, didn't speak a ton of English.
04:00I just remember her being really grumpy and angry, and I don't know why.
04:04I don't know what happened in her life to make her that way.
04:08My grandfather, Mum's dad, Atar, I don't reckon he ever said a single word to me.
04:14He wasn't angry or anything like that.
04:16I just don't remember him saying very much.
04:19All we knew about him was that he was cop in Singapore.
04:22So I'd love to understand my Indian grandparents, why they were like the way they were, because
04:30I actually don't understand that at all.
04:32To unravel the mystery of his grandparents' lives, Mark has traveled to the city-state
04:42of Singapore.
04:45Mark's maternal grandparents lived out their lives here.
04:48It's kind of weird being back in Singapore, because we spend so much time here as kids.
04:55You know, I'm an outsider here, right?
04:57I look like people here, but I'm not from here.
05:00My family's hard to get straight answers out of.
05:06You don't know if something's like a real drama or just a perceived drama, because everything
05:11exists in the shadows.
05:17Hoping to shine some light on the family story...
05:20Nice to meet you.
05:21You too!
05:22Mark's meeting researcher Naliza Ibrahim in Singapore's Little India.
05:28There's nothing more terrifying to me.
05:30Then a manila folder.
05:32Is it good news or bad news?
05:33No need to be terrified.
05:36Here, what I've got is the family three.
05:40Oh yeah, it's me.
05:41That's you.
05:42Mum.
05:44And her parents are Gobindanaia, your grandfather.
05:50And that's Gormudhi, your grandmother.
05:53I didn't even know her name was Gormudhi.
05:54Like, I knew her as Amma.
05:56So, I have here a photograph of your grandparents.
06:03Oh wow.
06:05Is mum here?
06:06No, she wasn't born yet.
06:08Oh really?
06:09That would be Gormudhi.
06:11Yes.
06:11And that's Gobindanaia.
06:13That's the closest I think I've ever seen him to smile, by the way.
06:17It's kind of funny to see them as young people, isn't it?
06:20And these are your great-grandparents.
06:23So, Lechmi, your great-grandma, and Krishnanaya, your great-grandfather.
06:29So, now, Lechmi is descended from the Chiti Malacans.
06:36It's a culture that originated in Malacca, in Malaysia.
06:40When these men from Tamil Nadu, India, mixed, mingled, married local women.
06:48Does that mean I'm potentially a bit Malaysian?
06:52Ancestrally, yes.
06:53Yeah, right.
06:55The Chiti Malaccan community emerged in the 15th century,
06:59when Indian traders visiting the port of Malacca
07:02were left waiting for monsoon winds to return home.
07:07During their stay, some formed relationships with local Malay and Chinese women.
07:12And over time, a unique culture developed, blending Hindu and Malay traditions,
07:18reflected in their religious practices, clothing, and cuisine.
07:23Yeah, I feel like the Malacca Straits had been talked about,
07:26but I didn't know what our connection to it was.
07:30Yeah.
07:31So, Lechmi, she is one of three sisters.
07:35Their mother died when they were very small.
07:38So, their father, he left them with his sister
07:44to be looked after by her and her husband in Singapore
07:49because they're very wealthy.
07:52OK.
07:53Lechmi is very rich.
07:55Uncle had occasionally a driver who would come and drive him around.
07:59And this was Krishnanaya.
08:01He became your great-grandfather.
08:05Oh!
08:06Oh!
08:08And that's how they meet.
08:10Yeah.
08:11So, your great-grandmother, Lechmi, fell in love with Krishnanaya,
08:16married him.
08:18And the rich uncle wasn't too pleased about that match.
08:23And he banished them, sent them off to India.
08:29Oh, right.
08:30OK.
08:30So, is that a caste thing?
08:34It's a status thing.
08:35Because he was a driver.
08:37Right.
08:37The aunt and uncle, they were of a certain social standing,
08:42very well looked upon in society at that time.
08:45So, all in all, not a good match at all.
08:49I mean, who doesn't love a good forbidden love story, right?
08:51Yeah.
08:52Gomadi, your grandmother, was born in India.
08:55Oh, she's born in India.
08:58Yeah.
08:58And then, when they came back to Singapore, they eventually had ten children.
09:04So, I have a photograph here.
09:07Whole clan picture.
09:08Oh, my God.
09:09That's everybody.
09:10So, this is your great-grandmother, Lichmi.
09:14This is Krishnan.
09:16Krishnanaya, your great-grandfather.
09:18He's a driver.
09:21The unapproved match.
09:25And then, this is Gomadi, your grandmother, and Gobinathan, her husband.
09:31It's quite spread out, isn't it?
09:33You've got pockets of the story in Singapore,
09:35pockets of the story in India, pockets of the story in Malaysia.
09:39It's like, they get around.
09:41Indians get around, don't they?
09:43They do.
09:44They say you can find them on the moon.
09:45So...
09:46It was really clarifying today.
09:51When you've got a family where nobody really talks about stuff,
09:53and there's language barriers and all that kind of stuff,
09:55just to be able to have it all laid out
09:56and understand how the pieces sit together
10:01was really helpful.
10:03My history is a very Singapore story,
10:09and it skirts to other countries,
10:11but it comes back to this teeny-tiny, sweaty little island
10:14filled with money.
10:20Looking further into his Singapore story,
10:23Mark wants to know about the world his grandparents lived in,
10:27hoping it will explain why he never developed
10:29a close relationship with them.
10:31I know my grandparents lived through the Japanese occupation of Singapore,
10:34but no-one can pinpoint what's actually happened,
10:37because no-one will talk about it.
10:42Yeah, so I think there was quite a lot of interesting research for you.
10:47Mark's consulting author, Roman Bose,
10:50who has extensively researched Singapore's history during World War II.
10:54Is there anything you can tell me about my grandfather?
10:56Um, actually quite a lot.
10:59Your grandfather and your grandmother,
11:02Gobinathan, Naya, and Gomuthi.
11:06They got married at a very, very young age,
11:08and they were living very, very close to the port area.
11:12He was working in the harbour as a policeman in the harbour police.
11:18We then come to the Second World War.
11:21The outbreak of the war in Singapore and Malaya in December 1941
11:25was quite traumatic.
11:26The Japanese attack on Singapore was part of Japan's broader strategy
11:32to expand its empire
11:33and take control of Southeast Asia from the British.
11:37It began with a devastating bombing assault
11:40that caused widespread destruction to the city and harbour areas,
11:45killing 61 people.
11:47Let me show you a document from that period.
11:51Oh, wow.
11:55Singapore bombed by the Japanese.
11:57First air raid pictures.
12:00At 4am on December 8th,
12:02the air walk first came to Singapore.
12:05Japanese bombers flying high have repeatedly bombed Singapore
12:08without discrimination between military objectives and civilian property.
12:13They did it at 4am in the morning.
12:15Yes.
12:15So all these people would have been asleep and had no idea.
12:18Completely.
12:19And let me show you a map
12:21so you'll get a better idea of what it looks like.
12:27So this is where your grandparents would have been living
12:31and how close it is to the areas that were bombed.
12:36Yeah.
12:37Oh, my God.
12:38Yeah.
12:39When Japanese forces captured Singapore on the 15th of February 1942,
12:44it was the beginning of a brutal occupation.
12:48Due to long-standing hostilities between Japan and China,
12:54the Chinese community suffered the harshest treatment,
12:58with thousands killed on suspicion of being anti-Japanese.
13:02The Indian population were generally treated better.
13:06Those who sought India's independence from Britain
13:09and even collaborated with the Japanese.
13:14The impact of the invasion on Mark's own family
13:17is revealed in a recorded oral history
13:19from Mark's great-grandaunt, Salachi.
13:22So this is Lechmi's sister?
13:25That's right, Salachi.
13:26So I have to warn you, it is in Tamil.
13:28So have a listen, but I'll show you a transcript in English.
13:31OK.
13:40And this is a transcript of that.
13:47Father's house was in Perat Road.
13:49We were there at 12 noon when a mortar fell in Chitty Road.
13:53After the Japanese occupied Singapore,
13:56they came into the house and we all declared we were Indians
13:58and the Japanese left.
14:00The Japanese could not stand the Chinese, Caucasians and Eurasians.
14:05Their heads were placed on stakes.
14:08Jesus.
14:09After the Japanese occupied Singapore,
14:11they came into the house and declared,
14:13oh, shit, I've heard this story passed down.
14:16Damn it, I promised myself there's one on the show
14:18that would make me cry.
14:20I've heard this story talked about in the past.
14:23The Japanese don't disturb the Tamils.
14:26They don't disturb the Indian girls.
14:27Indians took in the Chinese girls and raised them as Indians.
14:32You, I'll finish it in a sec.
14:34I'll finish it in a sec.
14:35But, like, you know this.
14:36Singapore's an interesting place.
14:37It's got all these different cultures.
14:38And they'll pretend like they get on.
14:40But this is a history.
14:41And the history's not fair.
14:43Sorry.
14:44I don't know why I'm reacting like this.
14:46Sorry.
14:48There's always been this sort of unspoken thing
14:52that my grandparents,
14:55we know that they saw terrible things.
14:58But we've never been able to piece together what they saw.
15:01So, life under the Japanese was very difficult
15:05because there was obviously a massive lack of food,
15:09rationing going on,
15:10and they had to do whatever it took
15:12in order to survive the war.
15:15What does a cop do under Japanese occupation?
15:17Your grandfather, we believe that he carried on
15:21as a police officer,
15:23protecting the docks working for the Japanese.
15:26And there was huge amounts of looting going on
15:29because obviously there was a scarcity of food.
15:32So, crime was very, very high.
15:34After the war ended,
15:37there were war crime trials in Singapore.
15:39So, the British were able to identify
15:43the main atrocities that took place.
15:47And nowhere in any of those records
15:50is your grandfather mentioned.
15:53Nowhere.
15:54That's good to know.
15:55Nowhere.
15:56So, from 1947,
15:57we've got records of your grandfather
15:59being promoted
16:00and becoming a plainclothes detective.
16:03JC, that part,
16:04we've always talked about him as a detective.
16:06And not to forget,
16:07he was also awarded a long service award.
16:11Now, if you're given a long service award,
16:13you have to be of good character.
16:15So, that tells us
16:17that basically he was not involved
16:19in any nefarious activities
16:21during the war.
16:23You've got me convinced.
16:25It means a lot.
16:26It really does.
16:26Thank you so much.
16:27Cheers.
16:29Now, my grandparents,
16:31to understand what they had lived through,
16:34it sort of snuck up on me.
16:35I'm not, by nature,
16:37a particularly emotional person.
16:40It's just a really horrific piece of history.
16:44I'm more convinced than ever
16:46that some of the more dysfunctional aspects
16:49of my family are rooted in trauma.
16:51But when you get these bits and pieces
16:54of my grandparent's story
16:55and start to put yourselves in their shoes,
16:58you look at them differently,
16:59probably with more compassion.
17:07Following his ancestry to Malaysia,
17:10Mark will discover
17:11a fascinating cultural identity
17:13and a whole new family line.
17:22Documentary filmmaker Mark Fennell
17:25has travelled from Singapore
17:26to Malaysia's historic port city of Malacca
17:29to explore his great-grandmother,
17:32Lechemi's Malaysian ancestry.
17:36Lechemi was raised in Singapore
17:37by her aunt and uncle,
17:39who disapproved of her marriage
17:40to Krishna Naya,
17:42who'd been their driver.
17:45I don't know anything
17:46about my great-grandmother, Lechemi.
17:47I don't know what her life was like.
17:49I don't know where she ended up.
17:52I wanted to find out more information
17:54about what happened to her.
17:57Lechemi was of Chetty Malaccan heritage,
18:00a unique culture formed
18:01through the intermarriage
18:02of Indian traders and local Malays.
18:10Mark has arranged to see
18:11Mr Pashupathi Pillay
18:13from the Chetty Malaccan community.
18:16Hi, Mark.
18:16It's nice to meet you.
18:17Nice meeting you.
18:18Have a seat.
18:20They're meeting at the only
18:21Chetty Malaccan restaurant in Malaysia.
18:25A distinctive part of the culture
18:28is its food.
18:30Is that milky?
18:31Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:31Oh, all right.
18:32It's so good.
18:32I'm hungry.
18:33Okay, okay.
18:34Thank you, thank you.
18:36All right.
18:36So, I was told
18:39that if I wanted to know
18:40about my great-grandmother,
18:41Lechemi,
18:42I should come find you.
18:45Yes.
18:46Lechemi's grandfather
18:47is my...
18:49great-grandfather.
18:51We're related?
18:52Yes.
18:52Oh!
18:55Lovely to meet you.
18:57Oh, wow.
18:59So, maybe I can show you
19:00some photos of
19:02how I remember her.
19:04Wait, so you remember
19:05my great-grandmother?
19:06Yes, very clearly.
19:08I have a photo of her here.
19:10This one.
19:12This is Lechemi.
19:13Oh, really?
19:15Oh, wow.
19:17The lady over here,
19:18this is her elder sister,
19:21Salachi.
19:22That's Salachi.
19:23Ah, that's Salachi.
19:24I've heard her voice.
19:25Oh.
19:26I've heard her voice.
19:26I see, okay.
19:27Yeah.
19:27Lechemi and her sisters
19:29remained deeply connected
19:31to their Chetty Malaccan culture,
19:33travelling regularly
19:34for religious festivals
19:36and to visit family.
19:38They used to come over
19:40to Malacca
19:41from Singapore
19:42quite often.
19:43And they were put up
19:44in my grandfather's house.
19:46Wow.
19:46Yeah.
19:47Ah, and so that's how
19:48we know them.
19:49Mm-hmm.
19:50So what was she like?
19:52The thing I remember
19:53about your great-grandmother,
19:54Lechemi,
19:55is she's really friendly.
19:58Really friendly.
19:59She's very easy
20:01to get along with.
20:02Because we are all kids
20:03at that time.
20:04Yeah.
20:04Actually, I have a transcript here
20:06by your grand-aunt.
20:09Oh, okay.
20:10So this is from
20:11the oral history
20:11that Salachi got.
20:13Yes, correct.
20:14The oral history
20:15recorded by Lechemi's
20:17sister, Salachi,
20:18includes the story
20:19of their upbringing.
20:21I was born in
20:23Kampong Kampo,
20:23which is Singapore now.
20:25Singapore.
20:26After mother died,
20:27father's akka,
20:28older sister,
20:29raised us,
20:30got us married.
20:31We were three sisters,
20:33Lechemi,
20:33Tangam,
20:34Salachi.
20:35I was the eldest.
20:36Lived with relatives
20:37from Malacca.
20:38My mama, uncle,
20:40lawyer,
20:41Pakrisami Pele.
20:43It was his house
20:44and we all lived there.
20:47Life then,
20:48no worries.
20:49Happy,
20:49but even though
20:51parents were not there,
20:53Atai and husband
20:54looked after us
20:54like her own.
20:57So,
20:57what I'm going to
20:59show you next
20:59is,
21:00well,
21:00this person,
21:02Pakrisami Pele.
21:05So this is the man
21:06that raised
21:07my great-grandmother
21:09and her two sisters.
21:11Huh.
21:13Great moustache,
21:14right?
21:15Yeah.
21:16Well,
21:17I have one more
21:18final thing
21:19to show you.
21:19Okay.
21:20Right.
21:22It's the obituary
21:23from my great-grandmother.
21:24Exactly.
21:26And it's from the day
21:26before I was born.
21:28Yeah.
21:31Lechminaya
21:31passed away peacefully
21:33on the 31st of May
21:341985.
21:36Guileless,
21:37loving,
21:38cheerful to the very end.
21:40Her legacy
21:40is a list of names.
21:43Sons,
21:43daughters,
21:45grandsons,
21:46mums there.
21:48There's something
21:49quite powerful
21:49that your legacy
21:51is people.
21:52Yes.
21:52True.
21:53In some ways
21:54it's more powerful
21:55than words,
21:55isn't it?
21:55Correct.
21:56All of these lives.
21:57Yeah.
21:59I wish I'd met her.
22:04Oh,
22:05food.
22:06Oh,
22:06okay.
22:08Finally.
22:08Finally.
22:11To find this
22:15little pocket
22:16of Indians
22:17here in Malacca
22:18that built
22:19something unique,
22:21that built
22:21a culture
22:22all of their own.
22:23It's kind
22:24of a microcosm
22:25of what makes
22:26Indians interesting
22:27to me.
22:28We adapt.
22:29We survive.
22:30We build new things.
22:32I find that inspiring.
22:34Salamamakam.
22:35Salamamakam.
22:36Salamamakam.
22:37Salamamakam.
22:39I think I will always
22:49feel like a latent
22:50sense of not quite
22:51belonging.
22:52I don't think
22:52that's going anywhere.
22:54But one of the things
22:56I love about
22:57night markets
22:57is that I always
22:59feel at home.
23:02It's the melee
23:03that makes it.
23:04You've got Indian,
23:06Chinese,
23:07Malay.
23:07It's all there
23:08and no one's trying
23:09to harmonise it.
23:10You have to embrace
23:11the mess of it.
23:12And it made me think
23:14that that is maybe
23:15how I should view me.
23:17Be the night market.
23:19Embrace the fact
23:20that you are the mess.
23:21Embrace the fact
23:22that there is nobody
23:23who is this unique
23:25combination of cultures
23:27and a sort of traumas.
23:30I think it's taught me
23:32to embrace that
23:33rather than bemoan it.
23:35This is what my childhood
23:36actually tastes like.
23:37Having explored his Indian
23:46roots in Singapore
23:46and Malaysia,
23:48Mark's now eager
23:49to look into
23:50the Irish ancestry
23:51on his father's side.
23:52When I was a kid,
23:54I used to kind of
23:55spend every weekend
23:55with my Irish grandparents.
23:57It was the weirdest thing.
23:59I just loved them
23:59because they were so...
24:01They were like
24:01sitcom characters.
24:04You know, like
24:04old married couple
24:05sitcom characters
24:06and I was like
24:06this tiny chubby brown kid
24:08in the middle of it
24:08going,
24:09how am I related to this?
24:13My grandmother
24:14was always just this
24:15warm, bouncy personality.
24:19And I just have
24:20such fond memories of them
24:21but I only ever remember
24:22them talking about Ireland
24:23in tiny bits and pieces
24:24and I remember them
24:25just being grateful
24:26to have left.
24:30Mark's paternal
24:31grandparents were
24:32Patrick Fennell
24:33and Mary Catherine Wool,
24:35known as Maisie
24:36and also nicknamed Pat.
24:39They were both born in Ireland
24:41and migrated to Australia
24:42in 1960.
24:49Before heading to Ireland
24:50to explore more,
24:51Mark's calling his uncle
24:53John in Sydney
24:53who's the family historian.
24:56Mark.
24:58Hello.
24:58How are you?
24:59Really, really well.
25:01How is it in Singapore?
25:02A little warm?
25:04Yeah.
25:05I figure I have to go
25:06to Ireland next.
25:07Yes, indeed you do.
25:09So, I have
25:10Grandma's birth certificate.
25:13The only bits
25:13I have to go on
25:14at the moment
25:14are obviously her name,
25:16Mary Catherine.
25:17Which, by the way,
25:18you probably didn't know
25:19she was called Mary.
25:19No!
25:21My entire memory of her
25:22was being called Pat.
25:23That's the funny parts
25:24about being Irish
25:25and being called Mary.
25:26And then you become Maisie
25:27because every kid in the class
25:29is called Mary.
25:30And then you go to England
25:32and because you're Irish,
25:34you get called Pat.
25:36As you do.
25:36So, just looking at
25:38this birth certificate,
25:40what I've got is
25:41obviously Mary Catherine,
25:42Grandma,
25:43her parents,
25:44Frederick Wall,
25:46Katie Wall,
25:47who used to be Katie Cummins
25:49by the looks of things.
25:50Yep, that's correct.
25:51And the location
25:52is Limerick Junction?
25:54Yeah, which is
25:55in Tiberary.
25:56And if we look
25:58a little further
25:59into her life,
26:00towards the back end
26:01of the war years,
26:03she's in England
26:03and she joins the army.
26:06We've got her
26:07entry documents.
26:08Can you email that to me?
26:10I will email it to you.
26:11I'll do it straight away.
26:12So, looks like
26:13I'm going to Tiberary.
26:14Sounds like a great trip, mate.
26:16I wish I was joining you.
26:26Grandmother Maisie's
26:27military record
26:28includes details
26:29of her early life.
26:32So, these are the notes
26:32down the side
26:33that they keep on her.
26:37Wall is an orphan.
26:40I had no idea
26:41she was an orphan.
26:44She lost her father
26:45when she was three months old
26:46and her mother at 16.
26:49No word of a lie.
26:50This is all news to me.
26:51To further investigate
27:03the surprising revelations
27:04about his grandmother Maisie,
27:07Mark has travelled to Ireland.
27:08I love being in Ireland.
27:13Ireland is sort of this wonderful adventure to me.
27:17It's mysterious
27:18and it's beautiful
27:20and every small town looks like
27:23it's had a murder solved
27:24by a middle-aged woman.
27:27The whole place is magical to me.
27:29Mark has arranged to meet historian
27:40Dr. Dennis Munnane.
27:42Hello.
27:43Hello.
27:44Welcome to St. Michael's Parish Church.
27:47For you, it has been a long way to Tiberary.
27:49It really has.
27:50It's incredible.
27:51I will be able to tell you
27:53some things about your Tiberary heritage.
27:56Which very much hangs on
27:58one particular family,
28:00the Cummins family.
28:01So what we have here
28:02is a simplified family tree.
28:05Yeah.
28:06There you are.
28:07And the member of the family
28:09that's relevant to you
28:11is Catherine.
28:13She's born in 1900.
28:15And because her mother is Catherine,
28:18she becomes known as Dolly.
28:20Okay.
28:20So Dolly Cummins.
28:21Yes.
28:22So that's my great-grandmother.
28:25Yes.
28:25Got it.
28:26Yes.
28:26She moved into Tiberary town
28:28and she meets an English soldier,
28:30Frederick Wool.
28:31Tiberary also had
28:32an important military barracks
28:33because the Irish wanted
28:35to be independent
28:36from the United Kingdom.
28:37So that's why you have soldiers here.
28:40Most Irish people were
28:41nationalists.
28:42We don't know
28:44how Frederick and Dolly met.
28:46We don't know
28:47how the courtship was conducted.
28:49But it would have been
28:50and was very dangerous
28:51because the Lincolnshire Regiment
28:54of which he was part
28:55was hated.
28:59In January 1919,
29:02Irish members
29:03of the British Parliament
29:04assembled in Dublin
29:05and defiantly proclaimed themselves
29:08the Parliament of Ireland.
29:09This act triggered
29:11the Irish War of Independence,
29:14prompting an increase
29:15in British troops
29:16to Irish towns.
29:18One of those soldiers
29:19was Frederick Wool,
29:21Mark's great-grandfather.
29:23So the romance
29:24between Frederick Wool
29:26and Dolly Cummins,
29:28it wasn't just
29:29a kind of a passing fancy
29:31because this is
29:32the church registry here.
29:34If you read that there
29:35at the bottom.
29:36Married
29:37Frederick Wool
29:38to
29:39Catherine Cummins.
29:41Cummins.
29:42And the date
29:43is the 9th of January
29:44and it's 1922.
29:47And they were married here
29:48but not at that altar.
29:50Because the wedding
29:51would have been
29:51very low-key
29:52and quite surreptitious,
29:55it would have been
29:55at that side altar.
29:57But the parish priest
29:58at the time
29:59was unusual
29:59in that he
30:00had a record
30:01of being very partial
30:02to the British Army.
30:03So a secret wedding.
30:06Yes.
30:07Wow.
30:08This is an incredible...
30:09It is Romeo and Juliet.
30:10It really is.
30:11It is, yeah.
30:13But pushing it forward
30:15is of course
30:16the political situation.
30:17Yeah.
30:18And so this is
30:19a newspaper cutting.
30:21So this is
30:22from the Evening Telegraph.
30:24February 15, 1922.
30:26Troops in Tipperary
30:27leaving barracks
30:28and place taken by IRA.
30:30Yes.
30:31The 1st Battalion
30:32of the Lincoln Regiment
30:34is announced
30:34to leave Tipperary tomorrow
30:36for Enniskillen
30:37and the Currar.
30:38Yeah.
30:38That's why the wedding
30:39is taking place
30:40on the 9th of January
30:41because just about
30:42a month later
30:43all of the British Army,
30:45all of the British police
30:46withdraw.
30:47The Brits
30:48go back to Northern Ireland
30:50and the IRA
30:51take over their barracks.
30:52Yes.
30:55The war ended
30:56with a treaty
30:56signed in December 1921
30:57paving the way
30:59for the partition
31:00of Ireland.
31:0226 counties
31:03formed the Irish
31:04Free State.
31:05The other six
31:05formed Northern Ireland
31:07and remained part
31:08of the United Kingdom.
31:11In the midst
31:12of all this
31:13Forbidden Lovers,
31:14Catholic Dolly
31:15and Protestant Fred
31:17were beginning
31:18a family.
31:19And this is
31:19a photograph
31:20of your great
31:22grandparents
31:22John Frederick Wool
31:24and Dolly
31:25and their first child
31:27Lillian
31:28born 1923.
31:30And that's my
31:31grandmother's
31:32oldest sister?
31:33Yes.
31:34And then
31:35in 1925
31:37the regiment
31:38gets moved
31:38back to England.
31:40But when she
31:41then became pregnant
31:42with her second
31:43baby
31:44Dolly came back
31:45to Ireland
31:46and to her parents.
31:48Second baby
31:49is my grandmother?
31:50Yes.
31:50Maisie.
31:51Maisie.
31:52Frederick did
31:52follow them to Ireland
31:54and did see the baby.
31:56But that would
31:57have been the last time.
31:59So my grandmother
32:00had one
32:01meeting with her
32:03father?
32:03That would appear
32:04to be the case.
32:05When she was a baby
32:06and that was that?
32:06That would appear
32:07to be the case.
32:08But we do have
32:09this photograph
32:10which is of the
32:11two sisters
32:12Lillian and Maisie.
32:13Your grandmother
32:14and your grandaunt.
32:16Oh my goodness.
32:17And that was taken
32:17at Limerick Junction.
32:20So that's my grandma?
32:22Yes.
32:23For the record
32:24she made that face
32:25to the very end.
32:26Oh right.
32:28If she wasn't happy
32:29with you
32:30and you knew her
32:31that's the face
32:31I knew her well.
32:32I knew her well.
32:33Yes.
32:37So many things
32:38have been discovered
32:39but in one conversation
32:40like to sit
32:41in the room
32:43where my great
32:44grandmother
32:44got married
32:45in a secret marriage.
32:49You don't expect
32:50this stuff
32:50in your own story.
32:51you just don't.
32:53Then you have to
32:54you have to kind of
32:56take a minute to go.
32:58Grandma's dad
33:00Frederick Wall
33:01only came to see her once.
33:04it's so much worse
33:08than I imagined
33:08in some ways.
33:09It's so much worse.
33:15Mark will soon discover
33:17the shocking truth
33:18about his great
33:18grandfather
33:19Fred
33:20and a heartbreaking
33:21death
33:22that shatters
33:23the family.
33:24documentary maker
33:32and presenter
33:32Mark Fennell
33:33has come to the city
33:35of Limerick
33:35in Ireland
33:36hoping to discover
33:37what became
33:38of his great
33:38grandfather
33:39Frederick Wall
33:40Hello Mark.
33:41who seemingly
33:42abandoned his family
33:43in 1925.
33:45And take a seat.
33:48At the People's Museum
33:49of Limerick
33:50Mark's consulting
33:51genealogist
33:52Katrina Crowe.
33:53Actually if we start
33:54with your great
33:55grandfather
33:56Fred Wall
33:57in 1925
33:59with the birth
34:00of your
34:01grandmother
34:02Maisie
34:03Fred
34:03takes leave
34:05and he goes
34:06and visits her
34:07at the junction.
34:09Now soon after that
34:10then he goes back
34:11to England
34:12and the
34:13Wool family history
34:14report
34:15suggests that
34:16he deserts.
34:17Oh really?
34:18Wow.
34:20And he enlists
34:21with the
34:21Northamptonshire
34:22regiment
34:22but under
34:24an alias.
34:25What?
34:26What?
34:27So he has
34:28a fake name
34:28as well?
34:29So now there
34:30aren't any
34:31official
34:31military records
34:33to confirm
34:33these details
34:35but there
34:36is a
34:37specific document
34:38which gives
34:39us some
34:39information
34:40on where
34:40he was
34:41from 1928.
34:42Okay.
34:44Shanghai?
34:46Okay.
34:48So this is
34:48a
34:49Shanghai
34:50municipal
34:50police record
34:51Frederick
34:52Wool
34:53he joins
34:54the police force
34:55in Shanghai
34:55in 1928
34:56is that what
34:57that means?
34:57Exactly.
34:58And he's there
34:58until 1935.
35:00That's wild.
35:02That's incredible.
35:04Oh I love
35:04this.
35:05Marital status
35:06unknown
35:06children know
35:08so that's
35:09a lie.
35:11My grandmother
35:12when she entered
35:12the army
35:13they listed her
35:15as an orphan
35:15and they said
35:16her father died
35:17when she was
35:17three months old
35:19so she was
35:20abandoned by him
35:22for sure
35:22but he definitely
35:23wasn't dead.
35:26Alright well
35:26I feel like
35:27I'm in a rollercoaster
35:28now so
35:29what happens next?
35:31He returns
35:32to England
35:33and we know
35:33in 1938
35:34that he's in London
35:35and he marries
35:37for a second time
35:38to a lady
35:39called Barbara
35:40Matthews.
35:41Wow.
35:42I think we'll
35:43now move over
35:44to your great
35:45grandmother
35:46Dolly.
35:46Yes.
35:47By the 1930s
35:49she has had
35:50no contact
35:50with Fred
35:51for ten years
35:52and next document
35:55will tell you
35:56what happens.
35:57Is this a marriage
35:58registration?
36:00Catherine Cummins
36:01so this is Dolly
36:02she marries
36:03somebody called
36:04Stephen White.
36:06What is interesting
36:07about it is that
36:08her name is given
36:09as Catherine Cummins
36:11so she's under
36:12her maiden name
36:13and she's described
36:15as a spinster.
36:17Did she ever
36:18actually divorce
36:19for?
36:20Divorce really
36:21wasn't an option.
36:22Okay.
36:23She's keeping
36:23that information
36:24secret.
36:26Strictly speaking
36:26it's a case of bigamy.
36:28Oh my god
36:29it is isn't it?
36:30Jesus.
36:31Right.
36:32She did believe
36:33that Fred
36:34was dead
36:35and generally
36:37in the Woolf family
36:38that was the belief.
36:39Yeah I mean
36:40it's not an unreasonable
36:41conclusion is it?
36:43So your next document
36:45will tell you
36:46what happened
36:47next for Dolly
36:48your great grandmother.
36:49This is a death certificate
36:51from 1943
36:53for
36:55Catherine White
36:57Dolly
36:58my great grandmother.
37:00She dies at 43
37:01what is that?
37:04What is she
37:05dialed?
37:07Thysis.
37:08Hmm.
37:09It's referring to
37:10consumption
37:11or tuberculosis
37:12TB.
37:14TB.
37:15Really
37:16throughout the
37:1619th century
37:17and as late
37:18as the 1940s
37:19tuberculosis
37:20it's rampant
37:21in Ireland.
37:22Hmm.
37:23one of the main
37:27reasons
37:28was the living
37:29conditions
37:30of the poorer
37:30classes
37:31they were living
37:32in these lanes
37:33these back lanes
37:34off the main streets
37:35and the lanes
37:37were overcrowded
37:39in damp
37:41dirty
37:41dilapidated
37:42houses
37:42they're poorly
37:43ventilated
37:44there's poor
37:45sanitation
37:46and all of this
37:47encourages the
37:49spread of TB.
37:50so
37:54she dies
37:56in squalor
37:57yeah
37:58so shortly
38:02after
38:02the death
38:04of your
38:04great grandmother
38:05Dolly
38:05the news is
38:07broken to
38:08her daughter
38:09Maisie
38:09your grandmother
38:10so she's just
38:1217
38:13and she's
38:14recently
38:14moved to
38:15England
38:16for work
38:17hmm
38:17so who's
38:19this sent from?
38:20from Mary
38:21I think she's
38:22a neighbour
38:23from Limerie Junction
38:24Dear Maisie
38:26I'm sorry
38:27for the sad news
38:28I have to send you
38:29your mother
38:31died about
38:328 o'clock
38:33on the 30th
38:34of March
38:35in the evening
38:35so then do
38:37do not fret
38:39and do not fret
38:39about her
38:41as she
38:42is better dead
38:43than to be
38:45lying there
38:46waiting
38:47on death
38:48and looking
38:50at those
38:51dying around her
38:52so she was
38:53conscious to the
38:54last
38:55she died
38:56a happy death
38:58so this is how
39:00my grandmother
39:02found out
39:02how my God
39:03oh God
39:06and a horrific
39:09way to find out
39:09your mother's dead
39:10hmm
39:12I can't
39:15I can't get over
39:15do not fret
39:18about her
39:18as she was
39:19better dead
39:20so it really
39:23was
39:23an awful
39:24way to die
39:25I wonder
39:31how she reacted
39:32her
39:33this is death
39:36by poverty
39:36and there is
39:39no greater
39:40lie
39:41than a happy
39:42death
39:43we followed
39:47the life of
39:49Dolly to its
39:49natural end
39:50but you might
39:51like to look
39:52in further detail
39:53at the Wolfe family
39:54okay
39:55Fred has proven
39:57to be an interesting
39:57character
39:58character and
39:58likewise his
39:59father Charlie
40:00would be
40:01worth looking
40:02at
40:02Charlie was
40:04born in
40:04Yorkshire
40:05in 1872
40:06I guess I'm
40:08going to
40:08England
40:08looking back
40:13another generation
40:14to Fred's
40:15father
40:15Mark's beginning
40:16the search for
40:17his two times
40:18great-grandfather
40:19Charles Wool
40:20in the online
40:21records
40:211872
40:23okay
40:24well there's
40:25only one
40:26Charles Wool
40:27born in
40:28Yorkshire
40:28in 1872
40:29looks like he
40:31was registered
40:32in a place
40:32called
40:32Beverley
40:33East
40:34Riding
40:35so I guess
40:36that's where
40:36I better go
40:37Marcus travelled
40:43to Yorkshire
40:44England
40:45in the town
40:46of Beverley
40:47he's meeting
40:48genealogist
40:49Grace Tabern
40:50should we go
40:50go in
40:51yes
40:51who's been
40:53examining the
40:54life of
40:54Charles Wool
40:55your second
40:56great-grandfather
40:57Charles
40:58was born in a
40:59little village
40:59called Beswick
41:00which is about
41:0115 minutes
41:02north of
41:03Beverley
41:03his dad was
41:05a farm
41:05labourer
41:06and Charles
41:08worked on
41:08the farms
41:09as well
41:10see what you
41:11think of that
41:12it's a document
41:13where he enters
41:14military service
41:15that's right
41:16we can see here
41:17that he's 19
41:18years old
41:18and a farm
41:19servant
41:20and he enlisted
41:22in 1892
41:23so we know
41:24that in 1895
41:26he was posted
41:27down to
41:28Devonport
41:28which is
41:29600 kilometres
41:31south
41:32so right on
41:32the south coast
41:33and we know
41:34according to the
41:35Wool family history
41:36he met a girl
41:38there called
41:38Fanny Cloak
41:39who he was
41:40close to
41:41but he didn't
41:42stay with
41:43Fanny Cloak
41:44okay
41:45so I'm going to
41:47give you another
41:48document
41:48see what you
41:49think of it
41:49okay
41:50so in 1903
41:52your second
41:53great-grandfather
41:54Charles
41:55marries your
41:56second great-grandmother
41:58Lillian
41:58in Beverley
42:00here
42:00and five months
42:03later
42:03your
42:05great-grandfather
42:06Fred was born
42:07shock-gun wedding
42:09probably
42:10I'm going to
42:11show you
42:12something else
42:12which will
42:14make you
42:15even more
42:16puzzled
42:17so here we've
42:18got
42:19Charles
42:21and Lillian
42:21with his
42:22children
42:22and this is
42:24the timeline
42:24for Charles
42:25and Maryam
42:26Wallace
42:27so this is
42:29here in
42:29Beverley
42:30this is in
42:30Beverley
42:31and where is
42:32this all
42:32happening
42:32this is in
42:32Sunderland
42:33hold on
42:37there's
42:38has he got
42:41multiple
42:42relationships
42:43going on
42:44at the same
42:45time
42:45it would
42:46appear so
42:46in 1905
42:49in July
42:50Eleanor
42:51Wool is
42:52born
42:52in Sunderland
42:53and in
42:55August 1905
42:56Lawrence
42:57is born
42:57in Beverley
42:58Lawrence
43:01his mother
43:02was Lillian
43:03and then
43:05Eleanor
43:05his mother
43:06was Mary
43:07this family
43:10honestly
43:11okay wow
43:13so
43:13this is
43:14170
43:15kilometres
43:16apart
43:16it's not
43:17round the
43:18corner
43:18I shouldn't
43:20laugh
43:20I shouldn't
43:21laugh
43:22this is
43:22scandalous
43:23so he's
43:25got two
43:26families going
43:27on at the
43:28same time
43:29in different
43:30parts of the
43:31country
43:32oh my god
43:33so okay
43:34forgive me
43:36I'm a
43:37gog
43:37these
43:38random
43:39wool
43:40children
43:40sprinkled
43:41across
43:42the British
43:43hands
43:43would they
43:45have known
43:45about each
43:46other
43:46that's
43:47something
43:47we don't
43:48know
43:48wow
43:50did he
43:52stay with
43:53Mary Ann
43:53did he
43:54stay with
43:54Lillian
43:55oh yeah
43:56you need
43:59to do
43:59some
44:00digging
44:00what is
44:06my reaction
44:06to my
44:07great-great-grandfather
44:07um
44:08I don't know
44:10like it would
44:11have just been
44:11an unbelievably
44:12complicated
44:13thing to
44:14manage
44:15how he
44:18managed
44:19to have
44:19these
44:20multiple
44:20kids
44:21in two
44:21families
44:22separated
44:23by hundreds
44:23of kilometres
44:24is mind-boggling
44:25to me
44:25it's entirely
44:28possible that
44:29he was a
44:29cat
44:30and a
44:30charmer
44:30and capable
44:31of it
44:31it's also
44:32possible that
44:33he was young
44:33and he got
44:34in over his
44:35head and he
44:35just tried
44:35to make
44:36it work
44:36did Fred
44:39know
44:40about
44:41his dad's
44:42two families
44:43if he did
44:44does that
44:45shape his
44:46attitude to
44:46family
44:46does that
44:47make it
44:47easier for
44:48him to
44:48walk away
44:49from
44:50Maisie
44:50and Lily
44:51all you
44:53can do
44:53is try
44:54and fill
44:54in the
44:55gaps
44:55filling
45:01in the
45:01gaps
45:01of his
45:02Irish
45:02ancestry
45:03an
45:04unexpected
45:05twist
45:05will rock
45:06Mark
45:07to the
45:07core
45:08journalist
45:14Mark
45:15Fennell
45:15is in
45:15Beverly
45:16Yorkshire
45:16piecing
45:17together
45:18the story
45:18of his
45:19two times
45:19great
45:20grandfather
45:20Charles
45:21Wool
45:21who led
45:22a double
45:23life
45:23juggling
45:24families
45:25in different
45:26parts of
45:26the country
45:27Mark
45:29has arranged
45:29to meet
45:30historian
45:30Dr Laura
45:32King
45:32I am
45:33curious to
45:34know
45:34what you
45:35can tell
45:36me
45:36and terrified
45:38by the way
45:39we found
45:40a bit more
45:41about the
45:41family
45:42in 1911
45:44they were
45:44living here
45:44in Beverly
45:45so Charles
45:47Charlie
45:47was living
45:47with
45:48Lillian
45:48and their
45:49son Fred
45:50your great
45:51granddad
45:51and Mary
45:53Anne is
45:54still living
45:54up in
45:55Sunderland
45:55so we've
45:57got a
45:57document
45:57from the
45:58following
45:58year
45:58to give
46:00you a
46:00sense
46:00of what
46:00they're
46:01up to
46:01The Beverly
46:03Recorder
46:04from
46:041912
46:06prize
46:07baby
46:08a competition
46:10for the
46:11healthiest
46:11and best
46:12kept
46:12child
46:13has been
46:14won by
46:14Cyril
46:15Wool
46:15an 8
46:16month's
46:17child
46:17of
46:17Mr
46:18and
46:18Mrs
46:18Charles
46:19Wool
46:19what do
46:20you have
46:20to do
46:20to be
46:21considered
46:21the
46:22happiest
46:22and
46:23healthiest
46:23child
46:24in
46:24Beverly
46:24who knows
46:25quite what
46:26the
46:26criteria
46:26were
46:27right
46:27but
46:27probably
46:28a
46:28nice
46:29chubby
46:29healthy
46:30looking
46:31baby
46:32so
46:36Cyril
46:37would
46:37be
46:38great
46:39grandfather
46:39Fred's
46:40younger
46:40sibling
46:40is that
46:41right
46:41his younger
46:42brother
46:42to Lillian
46:43and Charles
46:44but it
46:45didn't
46:45continue
46:46quite
46:46so
46:46nicely
46:47if we
46:48have a
46:49look at
46:49the next
46:49document
46:50oh
46:50what is
46:50this
46:51oh
46:53is this
46:54a
46:55death
46:55certificate
46:561919
46:58Lillian
46:59Wall
47:00female
47:0034
47:01years
47:02can I
47:03ask you
47:04what that
47:04is
47:04acute
47:05salpingitis
47:06so
47:07that's
47:08an
47:08infection
47:09to her
47:09reproductive
47:10system
47:11and there's
47:11a number
47:12of reasons
47:13we don't
47:13quite know
47:14what happened
47:14but that
47:15can be
47:15to do
47:16with
47:16a
47:16miscarriage
47:17or
47:17an
47:18attempted
47:19abortion
47:19brilliant
47:20that's
47:22very sad
47:22really sad
47:23yeah
47:24so
47:24Frederick
47:25is 15
47:25years old
47:26when
47:26Lillian
47:26his mum
47:27dies
47:27and they've
47:29got Cyril
47:29who's even
47:30younger
47:30so he's
47:31about
47:32seven
47:32seven
47:33oh that's
47:34awful
47:34the sadness
47:35continues
47:36I'm afraid
47:36oh no
47:39yeah
47:40oh no
47:42Cyril
47:44Wall
47:44male
47:45seven
47:45years
47:46son
47:48of Charles
47:48Wall
47:48fracture
47:49of the
47:49base
47:50of the
47:50skull
47:50accidentally
47:51killed
47:52how
47:53he's
47:54seven
47:54years
47:54old
47:55how did
47:55that
47:55happen
47:55so
47:56what we
47:57know
47:57is that
47:58he was
47:58playing
47:58with his
47:58friends
47:59on
48:00we think
48:01an iron
48:01gate
48:02and he
48:03unfortunately
48:04got trapped
48:05his head
48:05got trapped
48:06between the
48:06wall and
48:07the gate
48:07and unfortunately
48:08he died the
48:09next day
48:10in hospital
48:10so in the space
48:12of one year
48:131919
48:13Frederick's
48:14mother and
48:15younger brother
48:15die
48:16yeah
48:17oh that's
48:17awful
48:18and for
48:19Charles as
48:20well right
48:20he's lost
48:21his wife
48:22and his
48:22son
48:22yeah
48:23that's
48:24awful
48:24but there
48:26is a
48:26twist
48:26to the
48:27tale
48:27Charles
48:28does
48:28marry
48:29again
48:29right
48:30in
48:311932
48:33this is the
48:34last will
48:35and testament
48:35of me
48:36Charlie
48:36Wool
48:36in contemplation
48:38of my
48:38marriage
48:38with Fanny
48:39Cloak
48:39I give
48:41to the
48:41said
48:41Fanny
48:42Cloak
48:42the sum
48:43of 150
48:44pounds
48:44have you
48:45come across
48:45Fanny
48:46before
48:46yeah
48:47Fanny
48:47Cloak's
48:47come up
48:48before
48:48she was a
48:49sweetheart
48:49when he
48:50was down
48:50in
48:50Devonport
48:51that's it
48:52that one
48:52so all
48:53his
48:53different
48:53relationships
48:54and he
48:55ends up
48:55with Fanny
48:55Cloak
48:56I give
48:58to Dolly
48:59Wool
48:59of Railway
49:01Cottage
49:01Limerick
49:02Junction
49:02the balance
49:03standing
49:04to my
49:04account
49:05so
49:06Charlie
49:09Wool
49:09my great
49:10great
49:11grandfather
49:11gives
49:12money
49:13to his
49:14son's
49:15wife
49:17that's it
49:18Dolly
49:19my
49:20abandoned
49:21great
49:22grandmother
49:22of
49:23Tipperary
49:24that is
49:26very
49:27intriguing
49:27what do
49:29you think
49:29is going
49:29on here
49:29with this
49:30well it's
49:31an interesting
49:31one he's
49:32not giving
49:32money to
49:32his son
49:33Fred
49:33he's not
49:33giving
49:34money to
49:34Fred
49:34is he
49:34yeah
49:35Fred's
49:35nowhere to
49:36be seen
49:36and assumed
49:37dead by
49:37the family
49:38he's not
49:38giving any
49:39money to
49:40any of his
49:40other children
49:41but he's
49:42giving money
49:42to Dolly
49:43his daughter
49:44in law
49:44trying to
49:45make sure
49:45she's okay
49:46with her
49:46two children
49:47in Ireland
49:47I think
49:48Charlie
49:49may think
49:50Fred's
49:50dead but
49:50I've seen
49:51records of
49:52Frederick
49:53Wall being
49:54a police
49:54officer in
49:55Shanghai
49:55until
49:561935
49:57yeah
49:58unfortunately
50:00just seven
50:01weeks after
50:02they got
50:03married
50:03he made
50:03this will
50:04Charles
50:05dies
50:06aged 59
50:07of a
50:09heart
50:09infection
50:10I don't
50:12know what
50:12to feel
50:12about
50:12Charles
50:14and
50:14Frederick
50:14Wall
50:15I really
50:16don't
50:16so we've
50:18got one
50:18last document
50:19for you
50:19to have
50:20a little
50:20look at
50:20do you
50:21want to
50:21see
50:21this
50:22photo
50:22that's
50:30my
50:30grandmother
50:30who
50:33was that
50:34no
50:36no
50:36what do
50:37you think
50:38she did
50:44get to
50:45meet him
50:45how does
50:48this happen
50:48how does
50:49this happen
50:49so
50:50what we've
50:52pieced
50:52together
50:53is that
50:53Fred
50:54returned
50:54to
50:55Beverly
50:55in
50:571959
50:58your
50:59grandmother
50:59was on
51:00the cusp
51:01of
51:01emigrating
51:02to
51:02Australia
51:02her
51:04relatives
51:04got hold
51:05of her
51:05and said
51:06your
51:07dad
51:07he's
51:08turned
51:08off
51:08he's
51:09not good
51:10it's
51:11so weird
51:12this
51:13photo's
51:14from a bit
51:14later
51:14this is
51:15from the
51:1570s
51:15when she
51:16returned
51:16to
51:17England
51:17on a
51:18holiday
51:18see her
51:19family
51:19that's
51:23the woman
51:23I remember
51:24that one
51:25there
51:25big
51:26toothy grin
51:27that's
51:27that my
51:27grandma
51:28yeah
51:28I've
51:29thought
51:30this whole
51:30time
51:31that she'd
51:31never
51:31seen him
51:31again
51:32oh that's
51:33wild
51:34thank you
51:37thank you
51:39for this
51:39this is
51:42very
51:42special
51:43so I
51:43appreciate
51:44it
51:44I'm
51:48just
51:48speechless
51:49there's
51:52a lot
51:52of
51:52awful
51:53things
51:53that
51:53have
51:53happened
51:53in this
51:54family
51:54on both
51:56sides
51:56of my
51:56family
51:57but I
52:01got one
52:01happy ending
52:02she got
52:03what happened
52:03you can't
52:11do this
52:13process
52:13and not be
52:15changed by
52:15it
52:15you can't
52:17it's
52:18humbling
52:18to realise
52:20that
52:21you are
52:22one small
52:22thread
52:23in a
52:23very big
52:23tapestry
52:24it's just
52:28a recognition
52:29that some
52:30really wild
52:31and possibly
52:33ill-advised
52:33decisions were
52:34made that
52:34resulted in
52:35me
52:35I wouldn't
52:38be here
52:38had a
52:39young English
52:40soldier not
52:41padded off
52:42with an
52:42Irish girl
52:43at the
52:44peak of
52:44the war
52:45of independence
52:45in Ireland
52:46I wouldn't
52:47be here
52:47if the
52:48Japanese
52:48soldiers in
52:49Singapore
52:49had decided
52:50to kill
52:50the Indians
52:51instead of
52:51the Chinese
52:52and you
52:54cannot help
52:54but see
52:55yourself
52:56and your
52:57own children
52:58differently
52:59for that
53:00all of
53:05these
53:06threads
53:06that have
53:07taken me
53:08all around
53:09the world
53:09they just
53:11tie together
53:12in a knot
53:12around this
53:13one picture
53:13for me
53:13they really
53:14do
53:14and that
53:16one face
53:17next time
53:28on who
53:29do you
53:29think
53:29you
53:29are
53:30so he
53:30just
53:30deserted
53:31he left
53:31we're 14
53:32kids
53:33Matt
53:33Mabel
53:34discovers
53:34tales of
53:35desertion
53:36and hardship
53:36he's lost
53:37everything
53:38again
53:38okay so
53:39he's
53:40going to
53:40jail
53:40and a
53:42stunning
53:43secret
53:43none of
53:43these guys
53:44said anything
53:44like my
53:45father
53:45nothing
53:46that will
53:47rewrite
53:47Jesus
53:48his whole
53:49family story
53:51did not see
53:52that coming
53:52at all
53:53he's
53:58coming
53:58because
53:58he still
53:59ready
54:00to
54:01You
Recommended
53:04
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