The Surprising Family History Of Game Of Thrones' Charles Dance | FULL EPISODE | #WDYTYA

[Music] and this is the Rogues Gallery these are the two last plays I did and Henry the 5th was the first thing I did when I joined the Royal Shakespeare company oh here's an aristocrat that I played this is Jos errel the Earl of errel it's it's based on a true story his roles in white mischief and hit TV series The Jewel in the crown made Charles Dance a household name in the 1980s today he's won worldwide Fame playing the baddy Tywin Lannister in fantasy epic Game of Thrones throughout his Stella career Charles has often been cast as an aristocrat I did a film Gosford Park Gosford Park is was the Forerunner of Downtown Abbey that was very much upstairs and downstairs and I can remember saying I should be downstairs not upstairs said there's nothing aristocratic about me at all my mother she was a servant from the age of 13 she was an underhouse parlade you can't get me lower than that but she continued to work either as a waitress or a housekeeper for the landed gentry she didn't talk much about her family at all as far as my father's concern concerned I kind of know even less but my father died when I was four I don't have an image of him in my mind I believe he was an engineer it is the case that I just know very very little why I don't know I have two children who are mature I also have another little girl who's 4 and a half I wouldn't like my children to get to the age that I am now and know so little about where they come from as I do these are the two photographs I have of my mother one photograph of my mother later in life with my stepfather and then I have this family photograph of her when she was a child what her mother's name was my grandfather's name I have no idea would be good to know I'm going to go and talk to my brother Michael hopefully my mother told him a little more than she was able to tell me yo brother hey how you all right okay good good to see you come let's go in here come in all right do you remember my arrival cuz you were 10 years old when I was born I do remember your arrival yeah cuz you we shared a room and I can remember when you Squall him when you were an infant and because nothing happened I picked you up and went stood outside her door to make sure that she could hear you Charles and Michael grew up believing they shared the same father Walter dance but later in life their mother revealed they had different dads right so did she ever tell you who your father was I mean did you find that no I didn't ever find out and no she didn't tell me yeah she was pretty good at keeping secrets she was I have a feeling that that particular secret uh there was an aspect that was Dreadful shame yeah single single mothers it must have been a pretty hard life actually that the family that she came from being a single mother going into service working all the time but she didn't tell either of us very much really I mean what was what was her father's Christian name he was James perks he was James perks and what was her mother's name she was uh I think it might have been Marian I can't remember but she was gold I was led to believe that they came from the East End of London that's my understanding and I'm sorry I can't be right any more helpful than that really right there wasn't discussion between parents and children not in our family it was very much the maximum children were certainly seen and not heard if possible not even seen [Music] I feel I know a little more I know name of my maternal grandfather the maternal grandmother armed with that pretty minimal information I'd like to go off and see if I can build on that Charles has come to The Bishop's gate Institute in East London where he's arranged to meet historian Fern redell Fern what have you got to tell me I've got lots to you oh good right I have found you the marriage certificate oh of your grandparents okay James George perks Maran Elizabeth gold a Timber Sawyer MH and my mother was a waitress my grandmother's father George gold profession insurance agent it's a bit of a step up from the servant class isn't it well it it me he's very trustworthy he would have been someone who had an education so this is a very respectable probably upper workingclass lower middle class family this is your great-grandfather George Gold's birth certificate can you read that I have a transcript oh good the date of this is 1848 and George how did you say that fooy fooy it's a name I've not heard before it's his mother 's maiden name Emma Booth formerly footo his father's listed his father was George Booth why didn't George take father's name then as opposed to George foot voy gold that's a very interesting question to try and figure this out I went and looked at the censuses and we've moved now into 1861 in the London burough of Hackney where we have the family of the Gold's son George gold right your great-grandfather his father's name George gold senior the head of the household and here Emma gold wife but on the birth certificate for little George gold we have the father's name as George Booth yes so has George decided to change his name to Booth or is George booth somebody else I think what these documents show us yeah is a love affair who was having the love affair George or Emma they both are with each other they what do you mean with each other well I've uncovered that both George and Emma right were married to other people oh oh I see oh right okay George gold scen had a wife called Hannah Who's down in Wiltshire they had a wife called Hannah who was living in Wiltshire Emma yes had a husband called Abraham boo Emma was married to Abraham boo yes which solves the mystery of why we have boo on your great-grandfather George fooy Gold's birth certificate because when your great-grandfather was born MH Emory would have been known as m Mrs Booth there's Mrs Booth oh of course and here on the birth certificate she's combined her lover's name with her husband's name George gold with Abraham boo to make George boo I see George gold and Emma fooy were both married to other people but that didn't stop them having a relationship and a son Charles's great-grandfather George gold Jr born in 1848 so George George gold senior and Emma had little George yep out of wedlock and they don't just have George I have a transcript for you again oh thank you we have George gold right your great-grandfather and then oh a daughter an gold I see right two years later yep and a year before that Edward gold and then oh come on are you telling me these no no no no no George Emily John Alfred Charles blessing seven children yep but they would have wanted to keep the reality of their world a secret right and make sure that no one could ever trace or find out that they had both had affairs and were not legally married blim me I see it's truth well it's all very first and very secretive isn't it I mean how do you live with a secret like that it's Emma here her her place of birth is marabon MHM then she ends up in Hackney yep backward and downward step I would have thought this is quite a complicated life I mean this has had this must have had quite an effect on Emma foot Foy footo I've never heard fooy before what do you know about footo is it a name you're familiar with I know that the foot voy family descendants have done a lot of research into their family history right and there's an archive up in lill's in darer so they might be able to tell me more about fooy I think so I certainly want to find out about Emma footo this peculiar name that I'd never heard of before and her now I do know that she hailed from malabon but before that who knows Charles is on his way to visit an archive held at the John Smedley Mill in darbishire which is set up by other descendants of the [Music] footo he's meeting archist Jane Middleton Smith who's been looking into the footo family tree Jane hello yes hello I'm Charles D nice to meet you so you're going to show me something exciting I am wow look at all these footo before we go on where does the name come from well from Belgium Belgium it's originally from Belgium do we know where in particular they came from Spar well this is all Extraordinary cuz I thought we'd be heading further east down into the East End of London you see here we are in Belgium so the foot voice came over as you can see came to England in 1791 where where on here is my great great grandmother Emma here she is great great grandmother Emma along with her 1 2 3 4 5 six 11 siblings yes she's part of a very large family brother George I can't quite read that what does that say deputy minister of militia in Canada Emma's brother Frederick had an import in Regent Street Edward was aitor the girls were all working as governesses or as teachers of Music they're a well educated family quite an impressive Bunch really what more can you tell me that well I can tell you a little bit more about her parents Char franois and Sarah Cook Emma's parents he was an artist what kind of artist was sha fan I mean was he fine artist Portrait Painter landscape painter I don't know so that would be something interesting to find out do we have any other information about sha franois artist well I do actually I've got something that I could show you yes this is your three times great-grandfather is it Char fris this is sh fris foot for yes good Lord I see absolutely no resemblance whatsoever um I've kind of cornered the market in playing rather auster villainous characters there's nothing villainous about him he looks quite jovial and jolly I think he looks very kindly kind of person yes I guess he does yes something else to show you and this is your three times great grandmother Sarah Cook well um there's more of a resemblance to me yes there is there I think so oh yeah I mean look Shadows under the eyes quite heavy lided long nose well I think he did quite well for himself really so that great great great grandfather and great great great grandmother yes well they're both pretty well turned out they're comfortably off they're people of consequence yes yes that's amazing really is be intriguing if she was painted by him wouldn't it should make that a self-portrait it's um I'd love to know more I really would there is a work that's attributed to him at the Fitz William in Cambridge all right [Music] wonderful I could see so many features in her face that reminded me of my face fact she looked a bit like me in Drag and I could also see a resemblance to my mother too something tells me that possibly these two paintings might have been painted by him I mean it's fascinating because if I'm now going in a completely different direction geographically wise and also dare I say classwise I want to know about Char franois I want to know how good an artist he was how well known he was Charles is visiting the Fitz William Museum in Cambridge hello Charles I'm s wook welcome to the Fitz Museum thank you do come in thank you he's arranged to see an original work by his three times great-grandfather here so Charles this is the Fitz Willam Museum's foot boy say what do you think good Lord I don't know what to think I shall peer more closely at it absolutely three little Chinese people flying a kite I would have said it was a design for a plate it's possibly a wood cut intricate foliage flowers leaves and so on swirling around the outside how do you know it's by Char fris for well fortunately if you look at the back it gives a very good indication oh there it it foot Foy I see foot Foy 83 High Street Malone well we kind of know about the Malone connection from earlier documents that we've seen so what was I mean what was he actually up to Sally I mean you know this is not a man who's being commissioned to paint portraits this is something else he was not the conventional painter as far as we can tell were no we have come across another reference to fooy which I think you'll find interesting this is the account book of Charles Robeson and he was an artist supplier to pretty much everyone from Queen Victoria roal Academy to Charles fo boy because he actually was one of Ron's customers this is a page of his um purchases he has two grows four dozen pencils 18 duck Sable brushes yeah I mean this is good stuff and quite large quantities I mean you know three gross brushes that's 60 the day before he's bought two gross and four dozen so getting on for 100 brushes in 2 days which is quite a lot Ian it's almost as if he's running a factory I want a clearer picture of this man working so where can I go to get those answers do you think who's going to tell me that I think your next bet is a specialist at his sum in this period but particularly in this sort of world of decorative art okay well isn't that amazing I assumed because he just is described as an artist that actually he might have painted those two paintings I have a feeling not that [Music] no to solve the mystery of what his three times great-grandfather was up to Charles has come to clayon house in buckinghamshire where he's meeting art historian Alexandra losk hello hello Charles I'm Alexandra how do you do how do you do let me show you clyton house please oh wow what an extraordinary room I say I feel as if I guess i' woken up in the middle of some extraordinary dream about I don't know China by the look of it this is one of the best examples of shinaz style in this country Shin Shin style and it was effectively a vision of the East certainly is yes but all of course made by Europeans who had probably never visited the Far East never been to China never been to China Shin wazer was an early form of interior decoration inspired by British trade with Asia wallpapers fabric ornaments and Furniture were all adorned in this exotic new style this is a great example of copying something Oriental and here we have the European version of lacquering which is often referred to as japaning japaning japaning you see all these Oriental uh motifs on here and Charles food for you he had a lot to do with this fashionable style in fact that was his stock and trade was it now really I found quite a few materials that tell us what he did and how he was involved oh excellent so would you like to see some of the materials we found pleas I mean this has blown me away this place should we sit down are we going to sit on here I think we can sit on here yes W okay so here's a copy of a paper yeah from 1829 and here is Charles footo Mr fooy begs leave to acquaint the nobility and gentry that he continues to give instruction in the art of painting in imitations of old India Japan marble inlaid Ebony and Ivory specimens of the above Arts may be seen at Mr F's repository number 83 High Street Malone where every material requisite for drawing may be had ha H so good businessman and hugely skilled as well he knows how to imitate Oriental laa but he was actually teaching people and he was providing all the materials so what kind of people were Charles's Cleon it was reasonably wealthy people it was considered an accomplishment suitable for ladies of course uh japaning things an alternative to needle point yes absolutely Charles fvo repository would have been quite similar where you the kind of thing this is the kind of thing he would have run so this little print that you saw in Cambridge that is just a wonderful example of something that he would have sold in his shop and that ladies would have bought and transferred to maybe a little wooden box uh varnished it and then at the end it would have looked like a piece of Oriental lacer work he can buy the box at his shop too and you can buy the box as well how fantastic [Music] here I am in leafy malabon I know this neck of the woods quite well not not far from where I live in North London and this is where Char franois foot boy had his repository God knows what's happening in number 83 malburn High Street now but hopefully we're going to find out oh heavens above this is 83 this picture that Alexandra gave me it would have been very like this especially the the the Skylight up there I can see racks and racks of kind of paint brushes inks paints materials for lack of stuff like that kind of smell it you know all the materials needed for the daughters of gentle folk to pursue their new hobby of Oriental art it's fascinating it really [Music] is I still don't know why the foot boys came from Belgium this is town of spa to London Charles knows that his three times great-grandfather left Spa with his parents and came to London in 1791 to discover why he's meeting historian William O'Reilly so Spa was this pearl of Europe and tourists particularly wealthy Aristocrats and Nobles teamed into what was the the prize spart town and holiday destination for people at that time really gambling dancing listening to music carousing sounds like Sodom and gomorra having a wonderful time good Lord Spa was famous across Europe for the health-giving properties of its natural spring waters all other Spas are named after it there were many artists and artisans in Spar attracted by the popularity of the town and the foot boys were one of these families they were involved as you know already in japaning so a particular form of um Elite upper class if you like souvenir making which Spa became very famous for so they were they were already doing that I mean they were doing that back in Belgium as well before any of them ever came here and very successfully they had a thriving trade which sounds like a pretty lively place kind of Vegas of Europe why did they leave they had to I'm afraid for political reasons the foot voys were caught up in a violent Uprising in Belgium in 1789 it was part of the same revolutionary wave that would topple the monarchy in neighboring France with the aristocratic way of life on which they depended under threat the foot voy family fled Belgium they set up shop in London so when the footboys came to London um which is a pretty big place why did they come to Marone especially is there a particular reason the the well healed migrants from across Europe had begun to move to better areas in London including here in marbon your family the foot Voice already a comfortable amount of money that allowed them to settle into the neighborhood quite quickly and in fact I found something in one newspaper from the very early 19th century that sets out some of that family history in a little more detail right from the London morning post from June 1814 is a small ad placed by the Widow of your fourth great-grandfather right Matthew Char Fran's father exactly Char francois's father Matthew Futo a fooy widow of the late Mr fooy senior imitator of Japan Chinese work and teacher to the royal family excuse me well I knew they were teaching kind of daughters of gentle folk but the royal family almost by Royal appointment they fled turbulent Belgium but here they are in rather a smart part of London running a very successful business and being patronized by the royal family not bad is it really it's an incredible story of success [Music] well we've come a long long way from where I thought we would be going to find out about my mother we've been talking pretty principally about sha franois which is my three times great grandfather an enterprising artistic cultured man and his family miles away from the East End of London and the kind of world that I assumed my mother had come from especially as you know my mother started Life as a servant and spent her life mostly as a waitress or working as a housekeeper in smarter people's houses I suspect she had absolutely no idea that her ancestors were living a totally different kind of life and it's all come as quite a surprise to me and a very pleasant surprise now I need to know about my father because I know well possibly even less about my father than I knew about my mother Charles's father Walter dance died in 1949 all I know about my dad was that he died when I was about three and a half to four I mean he didn't die of old age I think he was in his 50s my mother used to refer to him as WD he was a divorce when she met him that's all the information I have I know absolutely nothing about his personality what kind of man he was this is the only photograph I have of my father I'm on my way now to meet somebody who might be able to enlighten me as to what the uniform is what regiment he was in all of the things that I need to know to start piecing together this particular jigsaw puzzle you must be Peter hello Charles nice to meet you Charles is meeting historian Peter Donaldson this photograph is the only image I have of my father it looks a little bit like a first world war uniform yeah that's what I thought but there are a couple of clues that tell us it's not from the first world war okay so there no breast pockets on Walter's tunic here by the first World War soldiers had breast Pockets to slip their paybook in and also he's wearing a rather fancy belt with a Brass Buckle those had disappeared by the first world war we could date this pretty precisely to 15 years or so before the first world war 15 back to 1900 blim me something immediately occurs to me what's that this might not be my father oh gosh why why do you think that well because he died in 1949 when my father was about 50 let's say that's 1900 yeah he would have been a baby this is not a baby well we've got another document and that gives us a little bit more information about this man in the photograph this is Walter dances form he filled in when he enlisted in the army this is this man yeah oh thank God for that I thought we were right okay right what's the date of this document 23rd of January 1900 but what what is your age 25 years 8 months oh blind me so in 1900 he was nearly 26 he was nearly 26 yes so he was born in 18744 1874 exactly yes wow okay Charles now knows that his dad was born 26 years earlier than he previously thought he would have been 72 when Charles was born if we go over the page we can see a little bit more about Walter's service record was posted on the 30th of April 1900 if we look on the first page again he signed up for either the duration of the war in South Africa oh I didn't know that war in South Africa this is his ter oh for a ter of one year unless the war in South Africa lasts longer is this the B War the B War that's right Charles's father Walter enlisted to serve in the bu War which was fought in South Africa between the British and Dutch settlers known as boers after the war broke out in 1899 heavy British losses led to an appeal for volunteers Walter answered that call his service record contains details about his family at the time he joined up name an address them next of kid oh right name oh wife Lou relly Morris particulars as to Children Nora Nora so Louie and Walter have a child Nora she was born on the 11th of December 1898 so I have a sister I see right Charles has discovered that his dad Walter had a wife Louie and daughter Nora Charles's half sister who was born nearly 50 years before him young daughter's born 1898 and a year later he signs up for active service in South Africa rather odd thing to do don't you think I mean was there a great kind of recruiting drive at this point there was a a huge recruiting drive so Walter would have um gone forward to do his patriotic duty to serve his country in the moment of Crisis but for some men it would have been a sense of adventure excitement I see actually we do have some more information about Walter and his uh and his War record up at the r fusers his Museum uh where he his regiment was based so we could go there and have a look at that if you'd like excellent feel the hairs going up on the back of my neck wonderful Walter dance was in the Royal fusers Charles is on his way to the regimental archives held in the Tower of London Charles what we have here is the metal Ro from the RO fuselier so this is the Battalion that your father was in right and here are the names of those who were from your father's Battalion who were awarded the South African medal sheber Riley style 8953 Sergeant Dance w and we have to go with the road of honor the actual medal that your father would have been awarded so good Lord so this is campaign medal that all those who served in the war in South Africa the B War would have received and then the clasps tell you the campaign s that they were engaged in transval Orange Free State Cape [Music] Colony by the time Walter reached South Africa the war had entered a brutal Guerilla phase the boers adopted hit and run tactics launching surprise attacks on British bases and blowing up supply lines and Communications we know from uh from the regimental Diaries that Walter and the second Battalion or the of the royal fuselier spend a lot of their time hunting down B gorillas and that would involve him in day after day of arduous route marching at night time he'd be on Camp Duty maybe picket Duty out 1,000 M beyond the camp perimeter in the dark on high alert waiting for a bore Ambush possibly so really physically and psychologically demanding work pretty tough pretty tough absolutely very tough for him and it would taken a huge amount of endurance and courage well I have to say this is quite moving Peter you know because um because I know so little see so gradually bit by bit um we're finding out about the life of a man who I just knew his name WD and you've been able to tell me an enormous amount and I think these artifacts do connect don't they to the person yeah they do yeah thank you you're welcome H it's rather extraordinary to know that here in my 70th year I'm only finding out about all this now there's something about this that um [Music] I do find quite moving Charles's father returned from South Africa in 1901 Charles wants to know what happened next to Walter his first wife Louie and their daughter Nora well after the revelations of yesterday which left me reeling somewhat and back in the relative peace and tranquility of my own home and I thought I'd delve into the Census records which were which are published every 10 years I believe so I think if I look in 1911 because Dad would be back from South Africa then hopefully this will give me a start anyway much as I can find out off my own bat here we are Walter dance head family 37 mhm Louie dance oh she was 41 four years older than him total children born alive two children still living one children who have died one I hope it wasn't Norah who died no no no no Norah's 12 at the time and she was at school well thankfully Nora is still with us sister Nola I wonder if is anybody can tell me a bit more about my other brother or [Music] sister I'd found out that I had not one but two other siblings one of whom died Charles wants to know more about his sibling who died he's agreed to meet genealogist Judy Lester in Acton I hope you're Judy otherwise I'm approaching a total stranger in the street indeed I am very pleased to meet you and you I searched for a birth registration for any other child of Walter and Louie and I did find that they'd had a daughter oh another daughter then this document explains a little bit about her born on the 13th of May 1903 name if anything Mary Ry so little Mary Rowley I think probably Walter moved around a lot as work opportunities arose for him yeah he was in a profession that was in great demand at that time an electrical engineer so tell me do you know what happened to Mary I've have got another document which will show you what happened to Mary death in the subdistrict of Acton 16th of July 1908 at 100 gold Smith Avenue Mary Ry Dan female five years old fracture of the [Music] skull caused by being accidentally struck by a scaffold Pole good God so what do you think happened well Acton was an expanding suburb at this time there was a lot of building work going on and the houses in this street had been completed by about 1907 yeah but the surrounding streets would have been very much like a building site oh my God yeah so she might have been playing on the building side yes especially as it was the Sumer days from school she could have out playing in the street but we do know that she died in the family home so it's possible she was taken back to the house from wherever the accident happened this is Goldsmith Avenue is it yes just up here these houses number 100 number 100 so I'm trying to find number 100 where are we now 84 okay few more to go and 100 [Music] H that you might have been playing laying on a building site little Mary comes back here and this is where she [Music] died it' be nice to know what she looked like have an [Music] [Music] image of a pretty little girl I have a very pretty little girl um I have a very pretty bigger girl um and thank God they're all right horrible absolutely horrible don't really want to think about it but I am thinking about it um it is overwhelmingly sad and I don't think as a parent one would ever get over something like [Music] that evening God hi darling can I have a glass of Pino I'll I'll be over there yeah thank you thanks Charles wants to know what happened to his dad after Mary died he's checking the Electoral register Walter dance the Brin Keith Road Hayes middlex so they've moved now from Goldsmith Avenue to Keith Road middlex and they were there from 1912 19113 194 1922 1923 24 my mother did tell me that Walter and his first wife were divorced but in 1924 it was still living under the same roof and it's still Louie dance and Walter dance so I assume they were still married but their names do not appear after 1924 it seems that they weren't around not in London [Music] then [Music] to discover why his dad disappeared from the records Charles has Enlisted the help of genealogist Laura Barry hello Charles lovely to meet you you please thank [Music] you since Walter dropped off the radar in 1924 I decided to have a look through newspapers and magazines and I did actually find this entry in the surveyor Magazine from 1923 appointments wanted engineer electrical mechanical and constructional desirous of settling in South Africa yeah cuz he'd been there for a while during the B War so he's looking for a job in South Africa which was a brilliant lead because I then went to have a look at some passenger lists and I found this ship and the date is just about a year after the ad was posted the SS baradine names of passengers dance Walter and Mrs Louise Louie dance so basically selling up in England and going to South Africa why did they decide to go out to South Africa well Nora married a South African man really okay 's sister Nora married Hugo Hugo brunt in 1921 Walter and his first wife Louie moved to South Africa to be close to them 3 years later so I would love it if you could shed a little more light on Walter and Lou's life after boarding this vessel to South Africa well having found the whole family going out to South Africa I then did a troll of the the archives in South Africa and discovered that Nora died in 1993 unfortunately did she died in 1993 blim me she was born in 1898 that's a pretty good Innings isn't it really yeah the only thing that I found was a will for Nora yeah in uh dated from 1993 right she named her executive as nonin Knox who was her granddaughter and that would be your great niece nonin noox my great niece I have actually managed to find an address for nine so that's where she's living in petorian oh is she really no is living in ptor yeah so hopefully I can find out a fair bit more didn't know anything about this whole other life in South Africa now I have a great niece in South Africa does Nanine who I'm going to go and see did she know of my relationship to Nora her grandmother does she realize that the fact that I am Nora's half brother we share this not that usual name dance why no attempt has been made um to get in touch with me anyway maybe I'll find out Charles has traveled thousands of miles to meet his great niece in South Africa he's heading to ptor where she [Music] lives I hope the me he's going to be able to tell me about her grandmother my sister and hopefully a little if not a lot more about my [Music] father you must been the need pleased to meet you I'm very pleased to meet you too well I've come a long way for this can we go somewhere and talk thank you Charles doesn't know if nonin realizes that he is her great uncle we've been trying to put the story together um not quite sure where we fit in the story I was led to believe you were a cousin I'll tell you you if you don't know look other than the fact that I know that your surname is Don yeah and my grandmother's made name was Don indeed and my boys have watched all your movies really mhm well they have impeccable taste that's all I can say and your granny that's my half sister is that your half sister that's Nora that's absolutely amazing yeah bring it in nonin has a chest of memorabilia passed down to her by Nora that's Nora I don't know her age at that photograph hello Nora Nora wrote her autobiography she what oh well done Nora okay glasses woof okay Norah huk Brun chapter one in her autobiography Norah writes about her and Charles's dad who was one of five brothers father used to recount that when they arrived in broadstairs the word went round look out the dance boys have arrived H they were a gay young crowd and in their youth had the Good Fortune of living in a townh house in London and a Country House in broadstairs Kent where they spent most of the summer months dear I don't know why this is quite so overwhelming but it is uh my father had a great sense of humor good for him much too much sometimes when in a mischievous mood often amongst strangers this caused me considerable embarrassment yeah I think I do that to my children he was a strong swimmer I swam Keen shot fisherman tennis and Cricket player and boxer in fact one could call him a pretty good allrounder well I'm you know I wasn't great academically at school but I was quite sporty did all these things he was tall about 6 ft in height broad shouldered ruddy complexion that goes with red hair his eyes were greeny blue and he liked to refer to his nose as Roman I'm tall I'm broad shouldered I have a ruddy complexion I used to have red hair I've got a kind of Roman nose he was a lovable and a generous man and slow to anger yeah it takes a lot to wind me up I mean really for me to have a temper somebody has to really put my nose out a joint seriously ly before I lose my temper he had a weak streak like to be considered a ladies man I think that's a quality not a fault um I think I've inherited quite a lot of that really Charles wants to know about his dad's life in South Africa and how he ended up returning to London and marrying his mom father became the electrical engineer for the little town of hum dor that's right they adored their grandchildren H so that's why they came out of South Africa but they came back I wonder why in 1936 I went through the agony of having to say goodbye to my beloved parents father had had a serious illness necessitating an operation I expect too he never really got it out of his system that he'd fought the BS there was only one thing to do return to their Homeland my mother died very shortly after she returned that's quite something isn't it so they didn't divorce no they went back to England together and unfortunately she died now Walter married my mother really not long after Louie died so um I wonder if Nora had a bit of a problem with that probably did you know the time lapse was too short well it's kind of not surprising but then that kind of explains why I don't know our relationship no no well we're starting yeah all right this is day one day one okay chapter one yeah Nora also kept albums of photog graphs which include pictures of Charles's dad is this the old man yes that's him wow 1921 so he was 47 here do you see a resemblance yes I do do you yes okay so there he is pipe clamped firmly between his teeth now I've got one more have you okay I'm going it's hidden in the back of the book here very Dapper indeed very Dapper I don't know what the occasion was got a bit of a twinkle in his eye isn't he naughty twinkle well you say you only have one photograph of him yes yeah and it's um there you go oh my God thank you very much Dan thank you I think that's very special I is it is it is indeed this is great thank you thank you thank you you're welcome Charles would you like to meet the rest of my family come on in hello how' you do what's your name Fraser Fraser hi nice to meet you I'm Ramsey hi Ramsey I'm Dar hi I'm Daren I'm your great great uncle okay take it or leave it I think I'll take it eh good excellent [Music] there was more than an element of surprise of course to find out that I had a whole other family Nanine who I've met and nin's family so I have a a great niece and I have great great nephews I've made contact with them now a whole other world wonderful the understanding that I now have of my father and his life in some peculiar way has given me more of an understanding about me what I feel about Walter dance my dad is quite proud dare I say quite good-looking man he was well turned out he was upright he swam he played tennis he fish I kind of do all those things so that's come down to me it's a very revealing process overall I think I'm pretty proud of him actually I wish I'd known [Music] him

Channel: Who Do You Think You Are?

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Published: Sat Apr 13 2024