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Private Notes
Dambusters tells the story of one of the most daring and iconic bombing raids of WWII through the eyes of the descendants of the key historical figures who played a part in this remarkable event.
Erica Whittaker-Wallis, 17, is the great-granddaughter of Barnes Wallis, the bouncing bomb's inventor. Chloe Straver, 20, is the great-great-niece of Guy Gibson, the experienced young officer who led the raid. Felix Clarke, 20, is the great-grandson of Edward Cuthbert Johnson, the bomb aimer whose expertise enabled his bouncing bomb to breach the Eder Dam.
All three discover the role their ancestors played and celebrate the bravery and skill of 617 Squadron.
In this episode of Find My Past the TV show, our three participants learn how their ancestors were involved in the infamous gunpowder plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
Miranda Barran discovers that her ancestor, Robert Catesby, was actually the mastermind behind the gunpowder plot – not Guy Fawkes.
Cordelia Mayfield's ancestor, King James I's spymaster Sir Robert Cecil uncovered the plot and hunted down the conspirators, including Everard Digby. Will Windsor-Clive, Digby's descendant, discovers that his ancestor also played an integral part in the plot.
Tune in to watch the dramatic conclusion as we unite all three participants and reveal their connection.
We reveal how our three participants are linked to the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb.
Evie Leatham's great-great-grandfather was Lord Carnarvon, an aristocrat with a passion for Egypt who funded Howard Carter's work for 16 years. He was one of the first to enter Tutankhamun's tomb and without him, it wouldn't have been discovered. Lord Carnarvon died suddenly following the opening of Tutankhamun's burial chamber.
Peter Weigall's grandfather, Arthur Weigall, was an Egyptologist and Daily Mail journalist who reported the discovery. Weigall was a former colleague and friend of Lord Carnarvon – they were bitter enemies by the time the tomb was uncovered. Weigall mysteriously predicted Lord Carnarvon's death.
Samantha Blackburn is the great-great-niece of Alfred Lucas. Lucas was the tomb's forensic scientist and was known as 'Egypt's Sherlock Holmes'. Samantha is keen to understand her family history as there isn't anyone else who can tell her about it.
In this episode of Find My Past the TV show, three people learn about their ancestors' dramatic experiences of the Great Fire of London, which consumed four fifths of the medieval wooden city in 1666.
Huthrie Copplestone discovers that her ancestor is famous diarist Samuel Pepys, who recorded the destruction of the fire.
Schoolboy William Taswell also wrote about the fire and witnessed it at close quarters. Taswell's descendant Nigel Milne is keen to learn more about his ancestor and discovers that he lives in the same part of London where Taswell lived in 1666.
Samuel Pepys' boss at the Admiralty where he worked was James Duke of York, later crowned James II. James II is often thought of as a poor monarch, losing the throne after just three years. During the fire, however, he saved many of London's buildings, including the Tower of London.
James II's descendant Dr Simon Claridge knows he's related to royalty, but is amazed to learn that he's doubly related to James II.
In 1914, shortly after WWI had begun, 100,000 British and German troops were involved in an extraordinary ceasefire which lasted from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day: the Christmas truce.
Corporal Walter Sinclair Smith was killed during the Christmas truce when he was caught by sniping from enemy lines. In the episode, his great-niece Lynn Miles learns fascinating – and shocking – new information about Walter's death.
Andy Simm is the great-grandson of lance corporal George Ashurst who served with the Lancashire Fusiliers during WWI. Ashurst was one of the main witnesses of the Christmas truce. During the episode, Andy hears an audio recording of his great-grandfather's first-hand account of the event.
Carolann Smith-Dorrien's grandfather is General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien, one of the most senior commanders of the British expeditionary forces at the time of the truce. Carolann discovers how big a part her grandfather played in ending the truce.
In this episode, our three participants learn how their ancestors were involved in an audacious plan to free prisoners of war from a Nazi camp.
Tanya Millard's ancestor is Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, known as Big X, who proposed one of the most daring escape plans of any war. His aim was to save 200 prisoners of war from a Nazi camp in Eastern Germany.
Bushell worked with Ley Kenyon, who played a crucial role in the plan by using his artistic skills to create forgeries of German documents. Rebecca Goodchild is Ley Kenyon's great-niece.
Gill Owen's uncle, Dennis Cochran, was one of the prisoners who tried to escape from the camp. Both Gill and Tanya will learn how their relatives paid the ultimate price for escaping in March 1944 and how their story inspired a book and Hollywood film.
This episode goes back to the Victorian era to tell the true story of Charles Dickens' life. During the 19th century, Dickens was an international celebrity with journalists camped at his house and fans desperately trying to give him locks of their hair.
Ollie Dickens, the author's great-great-great-grandson, discovers that his infamous ancestor had a dark secret that a fatal rail crash in Kent in 1865 almost exposed.
Travelling with Dickens was Nelly Ternan, a little-known actress. Her descendant, Marcus Allen, discovers that she was Dickens' mistress and that their secret affair could have destroyed Dickens' reputation and the sale of his books.
Joy Hillday uncovers her ancestor Henry Benge's role in the disaster. Benge was in charge of the team of workmen who maintained the track on the day of the crash. An official inquiry reveals the tragic consequences of the crash.
The victory of the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 ensured Britain's mastery of the seas over the French and the Spanish for the next 100 years. Our three participants will find out how they are related to the people who helped Admiral Nelson in his defeat of Napoleon's fleet at Trafalgar.
Alan Abraham discovers that he is descended from Thomas Hardy. Hardy was the captain of the HMS Victory and implemented Nelson's infamous battle plan.
Bridget Tompsett's four times great-grandfather is Master Gunner William Rivers, who was responsible for the training of the gun crews. Bridget also discovers that she had two other relatives on board Victory during the battle, including William Rivers' 17-year-old son, who was saved by having his leg amputated by William Beatty.
Jennifer Marriott's ancestor, William Beatty, was the surgeon that dealt with the terrible injuries during the battle, without the luxuries of modern operating theatres.
Robert Falcon Scott, Britain's most famous and celebrated explorer, died in March 1912 in the icy wastes of the Antarctic, having failed to become the first man to reach the South Pole. This controversial figure's reputation has recently undergone reassessment and this timely episode looks at his legacy and that of the men who followed him.
Lucy Scott, the explorer's great-granddaughter, learns about Scott's early days of exploration and the appalling conditions he would have faced in the Antarctic in one of the coldest winters on record.
Bryony King, the great-great-niece of the chief scientist Edward Wilson, uncovers the deep friendship between her relative and Captain Scott that led to Wilson sacrificing his life to stay with his leader to the bitter end.
Through Caroline Oates, the great-great-niece of Lawrence Oates, we see the huge challenges that Oates faced and celebrate the ultimate sacrifice he made in walking to his death in an attempt to save his comrades.
Within a few months of Edward VIII becoming new ruler of a vast empire in 1936, he brought about a constitutional crisis that threatened the future of the British monarchy. He proposed to marry American socialite and divorcee Wallis Simpson. Both Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin and Archbishop of Canterbury Cosmo Lang opposed the marriage as they argued it would compromise Edward's role as head of the Church of England.
The church's battle with the new King over his role as moral leader of an empire is chronicled in the diaries of Alan Don, chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury. His great-niece, Charlotte Laing, discovers how Don's writing charted the crisis with Wallis divorcing her husband, therefore leaving her free to marry the King.
Alice Ravenscroft learns that her great-grandfather was Wallis' lawyer, tackling one of the most significant divorce cases of the 20th century. He successfully negotiated the minefield that was divorce law between the wars.
The Bishop of Bradford became the greatest whistleblower of the 20th century and ended the press blackout on the story of Edward and Wallis. Fiona Crace hears how her ancestor gave a sermon in December 1936 to his diocese, in which he criticised the moral leadership of the King.
