Who Do You Think You Are - Joe Lycett 2nd November

[kiterunner]

On BBC1 at 9 p.m. (Although your Sky box may say 10 p.m.!)

[Ann from Sussex]

Looking forward to this one as I like Joe. From the Radio Times I see he has a connection with Nottingham which he visits so that will be very interesting for me as I grew up there and OH's family go back to the 1790s in the city.

[Olde Crone]

I would have enjoyed this more if he hadn't been so embarrassingly silly all the time!

OC

[Margaret in Burton]

I nodded off………. More than once

[kiterunner]

Episode summary:

Joe Lycett grew up in Birmingham, and he and his parents still live there. He went to see his parents, who showed him a photo of his paternal grandparents Douglas and Evelyn Lycett and another one of his maternal grandfather Robert William Wilkinson in his Buffalo regalia. Joe's maternal grandmother was Margaret Annie Wilkinson, known as "Curly", who was a darts champion in Nottingham. Joe went to Nottingham and met the current head of the Order of Buffaloes at the pub where Robert's lodge used to meet. Joe then went to see his aunt Jean who lives in Nottingham, and she showed him the marriage certificate of Robert's parents, dated 10 Jul 1888 - Robert Wilkinson, clothier, son of Henry Wilkinson, a sweep, married Annie Margaret Stocks at Littleport in Cambridgeshire.

Joe went to St Ives and met the director of a local museum, who showed her Robert sr's birth certificate, which said he was born in 1841 in St Ives, the son of Henry Wilkinson, a waterman, and Susannah nee Winters. On the 1851 census, Henry and Susannah had seven children with them, but Robert was at the Bell Inn, St Ives, with his grandparents Daniel Winters, publican and chimney sweep, and Hannah Winters. Robert's occupation, age 10, was also shown as sweep. Joe went to see the Bell Inn, which is now a private house. He then went to Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, and met a chimney sweep expert who told him how young boys used to climb up the chimneys. In 1851 Robert would legally have been too young to do this, following the Act of 1840, but the practice still went on then. The Earl of Hardwicke, who owned Wimpole Hall at the time, had voted against the Act, so may well still have had boys climb up to sweep his chimneys. Joe went out onto the roof to see the chimney stack. He was then shown that on the 1861 census, Robert was listed at sea in the Grecian Archipelago, on the HMS London, age 19, a marine in the Royal Navy.

Joe went to Woolwich and met a naval historian who showed him Robert's attestation form dated 14 Sep 1858 stating that he was 18 (though he would actually have been 17.) He joined at St Ives and the recruiting sergeant's name was Elton. Robert's service record showed that he served on the HMS London for nearly 4 years and then on the HMS Sylvia for a year. The Sylvia went to China. Joe went to Regents Canal in London and met a historian who told him about the Opium Wars and the opium trade. She showed him a report of a Chinese attack on a British ship (not the Sylvia), and the British reprisals in which Robert would probably have taken part. Robert then served on the HMS Donegal which returned from Hong Kong to Portsmouth in 1870.

Joe went to see the HMS Warrior ( built around the same time as the HMS Donegal) in Portsmouth, and met an historian who showed him a newspaper story from 1870 which said that while the HMS Donegal was in dock, Sergeant Wilkinson, who had shown symptoms of insanity a few weeks previously, was in the Sergeants' Mess and fixed his bayonet and rushed at Colour Sergeant Elton, stabbing him, and would have continued his attack if he had not been stopped by others in the mess. Both were taken to the Royal Naval Hospital at Haslar. The report said that Wilkinson and Elton were known to be on bad terms with each other. But a letter subsequently published in the newspaper said that Wilkinson had only just got out of his hammock when he stabbed Elton with his bayonet saying, "Now perhaps you will leave me alone!" and that the two were actually very close friends, not on bad terms at all.

Joe went to the former Royal Naval Hospital, which is being converted into flats, and met an historian who told him that the hospital used to include a lunatic asylum. He showed Joe a report about Robert's court martial, in which the ship's surgeon gave evidence that on the 2nd of August Robert had been highly nervous after drinking too much at the Cape of Good Hope, and had been in the sick bay for 14 days. The verdict was that Robert was insane on the day charged and still insane, and he was sent to Yarmouth Hospital "at Her Majesty's pleasure". The hospital records showed that he was discharged after 6 months, on the 27th April 1871.

Joe went back to Cambridgeshire and was shown that on the 1881 census, Robert was a lodger in Greenwich, age 39, occupation barman. On the 1901 census he was age 59, living at the Swan Inn in Covington St Mary (the very pub that Joe was outside). There was a board at the pub showing the names of the landlords, including Robert Wilkinson, 1898-1906. Robert's death certificate showed that he died in St Ives in 1908, age 67, cause of death softening of the brain and cardiac failure. The burial register of All Saints, St Ives, showed that he was buried three graves from the path, opposite his father's stone. Joe went to the churchyard and found Henry's and Susannah's gravestone, with Robert's grave nearby unmarked.

[kiterunner]

I thought this one was interesting, but also could have done without Joe's jokes.

[kiterunner]

Particularly interesting to see the Royal Naval Hospital since we had been discussing it on here recently.

[Ann from Sussex]

I enjoyed it. I did think he jumped to an unsubstantiated conclusion about the relationship Robert had with the man he stabbed and that if he thought life aboard a Royal Navy ship in the mid-19th century was "nice", he was seriously mistaken. He was very engaged with and genuinely interested in what he was discovering and made more intelligent responses to the historians than a lot of subjects do! It was good to see the story unfolding through the records that we've all used instead of a full tree being produced by an expert without any explanation of how. As for his jokes .... I was just glad he didn't indulge in the sort of innuendo he tended to on the Sewing Bee. I like him as a person but not as a comedian. Oh and I am pretty sure I recognised the part of Nottingham where his aunt lives, if not the actual street which was a bonus for me .

[Durham Lady]

I've just watched the programme as I recorded it. I enjoyed it and felt although he came across at times as embarrassed at what he was being told, he was genuinely interested in the information, although, like a lot of participants in earlier programmes he tended to jump to conclusions.
I was sad to see the inside of Hasler now as back in 1971 while living in Bulford, Wiltshire, I had to take one of our daughter's down there for tests and I remember it well. Such a shame it was left to get into such a state. :(

[Merry]

back in 1971 while living in Bulford, Wiltshire

Oooh, my mum and my grandparents used to live there - 1940-1945, at 44 Baghdad Road!