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Old 29-06-22, 22:02
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Default Who Do You Think You Are - Ralf Little 30th Jun

On BBC1 at 9 p.m. Or maybe not, depending on Wimbledon coverage! If BBC1 is showing Wimbledon at that time, try BBC2! The repeat is on Wednesday night / Thursday morning 6th / 7th Jul at 1:15 a.m. on BBC2.
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Old 30-06-22, 22:06
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I liked that one . My 3 x great grandmother came from Hoveringham in Nottinghamshire
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Old 30-06-22, 23:11
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Episode summary:

Ralf Little grew up in Bury, Lancashire. His father now lives in Greece, his brother in Liverpool, and his mother and sister in Devon. Ralf went to see his uncle Alan Bailey, his mother's brother, who lives in Radcliffe, Lancashire. Alan showed him various photos of Arthur Bailey and Olive nee Lockley, Ralf's grandparents. Olive was Welsh and was one of 11 children. Arthur left school at the age of 14 and trained as a butcher, but the 1939 Register showed him working as a mental health nurse at Prestwich Hospital, living in Prestwich with his parents and siblings. Alan said that Arthur wanted to work as a butcher at the hospital but took a job as a nurse while waiting for a vacancy to work as a butcher. Ralf went to Prestwich Hospital and met an historian who showed him a photo of Arthur working there, and also showed him that on the 1939 Register Olive is shown as a laundry-maid also working at Prestwich Hospital.

Arthur's records showed that during WW2, he worked at the Royal Navy Haslar Hospital, and then on HMS Proserpine, a naval base in Orkney. Ralf went to Hoy, one of the Orkney Islands, and visited the Scapa Flow museum, which is on the site of HMS Proserpine. He met a local historian who told him that Scapa Flow was a very important naval base in WW2. Records showed that Arthur qualified as a sick berth attendant, and there was a photo of him with his colleagues. Ralf saw where the hospital and staff quarters used to be, but not much remained of it. Arthur and Olive's marriage certificate showed that they married in Prestwich on the 12th Oct 1943, aged 24 and 26 respectively, with Arthur's occupation given as Fleet Air Arm.

Ralf went to the site of the former Royal Naval airbase, HMS Tern, on the main island, and met an historian, who showed him Arthur's service record which said that he qualified as an air mechanic in Jul 1943, and as an air mechanic 1st class in 1944. Arthur worked on armaments on Seafire III aircraft on the aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable. Ralf was shown a photo of Arthur and his colleagues, taken in Sri Lanka. HMS Indefatigable joined the British Pacific fleet in Nov 1944, (two months after Ralf's mother was born), and took part in the Battle of Okinawa on the 1st Apr 1945. HMS Indefatigable was hit by a kamikaze pilot with a bomb. 21 people were killed and 27 wounded but the Indefatigable was able to continue with its mission.

Ralf then went to Chirk in North Wales, where Olive grew up. He met his mother's cousin Heather (her father Bernard Lockley was Olive's brother) at the house where Olive was born. Olive's parents moved to the house in 1905 and it was then the family house for 100 years. Heather showed Ralf a photo of Olive's parents and some of her siblings, taken before Olive was born. The parents' names were Albert and Martha Lockley. Albert was a miner, deceased by the time Olive got married. Ralf went to the site of the nearest mine, Brynkinalt Colliery, and met a mining historian who showed him the 1891 census entry for the Lockley family - the father, William Lockley, was a coal miner, and 17 year old Albert was a general labourer. The Wrexham Advertiser dated 5 Sep 1891 had a report of a colliery accident in which roof coal fell on Albert, injuring him about the head and back.

Ralf went to see the local football club, Chirk FC, known as "the Colliers", and met a sports historian who told him that Chirk was an important team in Albert's time, and showed him a photo of Albert as a centre forward for Chirk. A newspaper report of the Wales and Borders Cup Final (now the Welsh FA Cup), dated Mar 1894, said that Chirk beat Westminster Rovers 2-0 with Lockley scoring one of the goals. Ralf got to hold the original Welsh FA Cup trophy. He was told that six of Chirk's team went on to play for Wales, and a report of the Wales v Ireland match from 1898 said that Lockley was one of the team and that he played well despite Wales losing 1-0. There was a photo of the Welsh team. A Western Mail report from 1904 about the Religious Revival in Wales mentioned that Albert Lockley had given up football, having been converted in the revival. Ralf went to Capel Mawr in Rhos and met an historian who told him about the Religious Revival of 1904/5 which was led by Evan Roberts, a former miner. The Chepstow Weekly Advertiser dated 31 Dec 1904 said that some young men had burned their football clothes because football was taking up too much of their lives. In 1905 crime had drastically decreased in the area, but the religious revival only lasted about 18 months, and a report in a Llangollen newspaper dated 4 Aug 1905 said that Albert Lockley had won a prize in a penalty kick competition.

Ralf then went back to Manchester to find out about his father's family. He met a genealogist who had done some work on his family tree and had found out that one of his 4xg-grandfathers was John Woollam, a cotton merchant who married in 1819. John Woollam also owned property and was elected as Constable in 1838 and as Borough Reeve in 1842 and 1843. Ralf went to John Rylands Library in Manchester and met an historian who explained that Constable was a ceremonial post overseeing the local police and Borough Reeve was the chief civic official, similar to a mayor. A report on the municipal elections in 1844 showed that John Woollam ran as a Conservative, and minutes of the Sanitation Committee showed that he was a member of that committee. John's daughter Lucy Isabella Woollam married into the Noll family of Hoveringham Hall in Nottinghamshire. Ralf went to Hoveringham Hall and met the current residents, his fourth cousin once removed Sir Edward Noll and his wife Lady Helen Noll. They showed him a portrait of John Woollam, and also showed him John Woollam's ceremonial truncheon.
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Old 30-06-22, 23:23
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He seemed to be one of those who is determined to judge his ancestors. Maybe he would have judged John Woollam differently if he had found out more about the cotton trade.
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Old 30-06-22, 23:47
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I was bored, frankly and his constant amazed "wows" got on my nerves.

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Old 01-07-22, 07:23
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Very judgemental and a few leaps.

His ancestor wasn't posh, he was rich and it was his daughter who married posh and got the big house. Although I liked those relatives more than Ralf.
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Old 01-07-22, 08:12
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I cringed a bit when he asked Sir Edward if he had already known they were related and I could feel Sir Edward thinging, 'No..... who are you?'!! lol
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Old 01-07-22, 20:55
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I fell asleep quite early in the programme and only came round when it had finished. I thought what I did see was a bit mundane: the war, yet again. Is the rest of it worth watching on catchup? I didn't know who he was.
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Old 02-07-22, 10:16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ann from Sussex View Post
I fell asleep quite early in the programme and only came round when it had finished. I thought what I did see was a bit mundane: the war, yet again. Is the rest of it worth watching on catchup? I didn't know who he was.
The Royale family and Death in Paradise
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Old 02-07-22, 10:30
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Lol Marg, I still don't know who he is!

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