RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Barnes612 on Saturday 09 September 17 18:38 BST (UK)
-
Anyone?
I found myself fast forwarding through bits of it. I didn't really warm to Lisa, but nearer the end when she was talking about the countryside and how difficult it was as a disabled person, I felt I understood more where she was coming from.
I also find that when they go back and back and back and back, I'm not so engaged.
-
I'm with you Barnes612 on this one.
-
Quite the opposite.
We found it fascinating and surely the whole point of genealogy is 'going back and back'. These programmes have to be limited in their coverage so covering substantial areas of a tree can be difficult in the time they have. It was also good to see her using some of the basic methods of research herself (good for encouraging newbies) rather than being presented with everything by experts.
Never seen or heard of her before but she came across as a strong, 'real' Eastender and not a victim to disability.
-
I rather enjoyed it. As a person born in London (me) and then moving as a child to rural East Anglia (me again), I was curious to see what she found so appealing about having ancestors that were born and bred for generations in London.
The way she felt about the country is the way I feel about visiting London. So it's where you call home NOW that I think matters - not where you DNA stems from.
I think it was inevitable that there were going to be some rural ancestors in her tree. So many people seem to have gone to London to improve their lot.
-
I don't watch Easrenders so thought I didn't know her, but I do now remember her from the police team in Vera. I thought it was reasonably interesting even though I have no London or Welsh ancestors - so far, anyway!
I agree with Hinso and prefer the episodes when they at least try to go further back than grandparents.
What I do find very interesting is that it took a few days for someone to start this thread. I'm wondering if we're beginning to tire of WDYTYA as it stands or whether the subjects haven't been very rivetting of late (Charles Dance was a great opener but it didn't exactly hit the heights after that, did it?).
My own opinion is that its now more about the subject and their popularity or 'right on-ness' than the ancestry. I should have thought the BBC could come up with a different format, perhaps with a bit more about the actual mechanics of the research, which is how they started out. I can't be the only one who remembers those helpful red button 'how to's' after the initial series of WDYTYA with Adrian Chiles and that genealogist called Nick something who seemed to be omnipresent at one time but we haven't laid eyes on him for yonks!!
Such a programme would have to move back to BBC2 or even BBC4 as a more niche programme but I bet it would get good viewing numbers. There seem to be a lot of us out there and lots more waiting in the wings if someone only gave them a few pointers on where to start and how to continue.
Jill
-
I will have to watch it later as I missed the episode.
Lisa was actually born in Chichester according to Wikipedia. So she is not an East Ender even though she may have ancestors from there. My 3xgreat gran was born in Shoreditch but I am no East Ender.
Also if you are a Londoner tracing ancestors (Or have a parent/grandparent fro London) then you must expect a lot of the lines to not originate in London. When Babs Windsor found she had Suffolk roots she acted very shocked and surprised as she thought all her ancestors came from London right back to the stone age. Welcome to the real world Babs, many Londoners dont come from a long line of Londoners.
-
Wikipedia have got the wrong Lisa Hammond. If you remember her mother was a Hilditch - the one with the Welsh roots, and Lisa herself was born in 1978. She said that she is 39. She was born in the City of London, as was an older sister. Just checked it out in a rudimentary way on Find my Past.
-
My 3xgreat gran was born in Shoreditch but I am no East Ender.
My grandmother was born in Bromley St Leonard and lived there until she married but woe betide anyone who suggested she was an East Ender. ;D You got your head verbally bitten off for suggesting it. Unfortunately my grandmother was probably best described as a bit of a snob, her husband was also born there and her parents were both born in Poplar too. She never went back to visit Poplar or Bromley St Leonard after the war because of the devastation caused and her relatives had all moved out due to losing their houses.
-
Shows that you should never trust Wikipedia. Lisa Hammond is 5 years older than what was originally said, and a Londoner. It is a common name so they probably got their wires crossed. Jason Donovan was once on WDYTYA and Wikipedia says his dad Terence was born in October 1942 but he was born in October 1935, a full 7 years earlier, and his mmn was Arnsby as Jason said in his autobiography. There was a Terence Donovan born in 1942 but a diff mmn. See how those civil reg indexes come in handy.
-
I had never heard of this lady either. However, her poor grandfather must have suffered in those prisoner of war camps to keep so quiet about it.
One thing puzzled me though. An ancestor, greatx3 grandfather(?) William Henry Hilditch (?) was 16 on a census and living with his mother, Minnie, aged 78! Surely this was incorrect? Did anyone else spot this?
Judy
-
In the programme, she said she was "pushing forty".
-
I've just watched this last night, as I couldn't catch it in "real time" - quite interesting, as someone else has said, the "Eastenders" tag put me off - then I realised she was an actor I'd seen in "Vera". It got better, in my view, as it did go further back through the generations.
Don't really feel the series has "lost its way" - but I think many of us have spotted minor errors here and there, or things we thought were worth following up that were not followed up in the programmes, - after all, their researchers haven't got the magnificent mob of Rootschatters on hand to help them out - or have they??
-
William Henry Hilditch (?) was 16 on a census and living with his mother, Minnie, aged 78! Surely this was incorrect? Did anyone else spot this?
I haven't seen it but if you have 'followed up' on it, please tell ;D
I'm now curious who the 'real' mother was & what you've discovered ?
In the programme, she said she was "pushing forty".
Now that beggars belief as that to me would be the 'juicy' bit, the 'skeleton' scenario ???
I wonder why they didn't research it in full after all that's the whole point of tracing your ancestry isn't it :-\
Although as said I haven't seen it, the numbers/ages don't add up i.e. I would have thought any true professional would notice it whether working for tv or otherwise as it's all part of weighing things up....I'm never without pen/paper/calculator or excel when things get complicated.
I think many of us have spotted minor errors here and there, or things we thought were worth following up that were not followed up in the programmes, - after all, their researchers haven't got the magnificent mob of Rootschatters on hand to help them out - or have they??
It was hinted at on another WDYTYA thread that RCrs help but maybe they aren't allowed to say ???
Annie
-
I suppose to be fair there is only so much following up on they could fit into one programme.
-
Pharma...
One thing puzzled me though. An ancestor, greatx3 grandfather(?) William Henry Hilditch (?) was 16 on a census and living with his mother, Minnie, aged 78! Surely this was incorrect? Did anyone else spot this?
It was the 'Ancestor'...is that not who they trace ??? ;D
That's why I'm thinking 'juicy' & 'skeleton' & if it was my ancestor I'd want to know the truth...
They have plenty of time prior to going out for viewing & if they cut out all the showing of people driving from A to B then walking from C to D then driving form D to E etc. then they could soon fit in an illegitimate BC of the ancestor to show the true parent (which we love) ??? ;D
Annie
-
In the programme, she said she was "pushing forty".
Now that beggars belief as that to me would be the 'juicy' bit, the 'skeleton' scenario ???
Sorry to mislead, Lisa admitted that she/herself was pushing forty ... not referring to any ancestor.
-
Sorry to mislead, Lisa admitted that she/herself was pushing forty ... not referring to any ancestor.
;D ;D
Doesn't affect/detract that the mother of the 16 yr old would have been 62 yrs old when she gave birth :o ???
Reminds of films where you're left wondering what happened next :-\
Annie
-
Maybe I've read something which wasn't there at all. Need to watch it again. Just thought I saw 78 on some record. Maybe it was the 1939 Register. Now totally unsure/confused.
Judy
-
This episode was OK. I preferred the second half to the first.
I am really not a fan of history about the World Wars, so when I saw on a preview that her episode was going to be somewhat World War focused I nearly gave it a miss. However there was nothing else on and I was bored so I had a watch. As I thought, the part about her grandad in the war wasn't very interesting (to me), but I loved the part where she ended up in Wales.
If the whole episode was like the last 10 minutes then it would have been briliant.
-
I thought this episode was quite interesting, though I'd never heard of Lisa before.
One thing puzzled me though. An ancestor, greatx3 grandfather(?) William Henry Hilditch (?) was 16 on a census and living with his mother, Minnie, aged 78! Surely this was incorrect? Did anyone else spot this?
Judy
I've only just looked at the episode, it was the 1939 register. The 16 year old William(b. 1923) was living with his mother who was born in 1878, and so was a perfectly acceptable 45 when William was born. It wasn't on screen long though.
-
Thank you Frostyknight. I must have seen 1878 and thought it was Minnie's age. Yes, it wasn't on screen for long.
Judy
-
I thought her grandfather's wartime stuff was quite interesting: we've had lots of WW1 history on other programmes, but I can only think of the Chris Tarrant one where they spent much of the time looking at an ancestor's WW2 history. I can't remember them covering POW records before.
I've never seen any WW2 service records for any of my family (most were either too young or too old to have seen action), but I was struck by how similar they were to WW1 records. I know not a lot of time had passed, but somehow I thought they might have been updated a bit!
I had no idea the Red Cross had wartime records either. Or were they just there for some background? I can't now remember if they actually produced any records relating to her grandfather, other than his service record, which we'd seen twice before without anyone actually reading to the end.