Who Do You Think You Are?

Fitting In

The First World War dominated the lives of Robert Lindsay's grandfathers. His paternal grandfather was wounded while serving with the Sherwood Foresters in 1916. His maternal grandfather took part in the ill-fated Gallipoli landings of 1915, while serving aboard HMS Prince of Wales. Further research into his mother's side of the family threw up some surprises, including children born out of wedlock and bigamous marriages. Robert's investigations laid bare the rigorous social strictures operating in Victorian Britain: it wasn't difficult to earn a bad reputation if you didn't fit in.

Cockney Connections

Barbara Windsor's onscreen persona sums up the resolutely cheerful spirit of the East End. But what does a cockney heritage really mean? Barbara's investigations revealed that her 19th-century ancestors must have needed every ounce of their resolve to survive the hardships of East End life. Unemployment, hunger, alcoholism and disease all played a part in the lives of her forbears. Barbara also discovered that she has Irish ancestry. Her great grandmother's family fled to the East End to escape the potato famine ravaging Cork in the mid-19th century.

A Forgotten War

Nicky Campbell took an unusual decision at the outset of his Who Do You Think You Are? project. He had been adopted at birth and had already spent some time researching his biological heritage. So he decided to learn more about his adoptive family. He started by looking into the war record of his father, who served in Burma during the Second World War. His quickly learned why Burma's "forgotten war" came to be regarded as one of the conflict's bitterest campaigns. Nicky also travelled to his grandfather's birthplace, Brisbane in Australia, where he uncovered some shocking revelations.