Hi To All, how wonderful to see this message regarding the DNA testing for "Blood of the Vikings" This man is my cousin William HOUSLEY b Hoylake in 1939. If it is the one and the same, he has three sons, Graham, Matthew and Luke. Can someone please find out? Kind Regards from Anne in Australia. > >From the "Daily Mail" Wednesday December 5th > > Found on the Wirral, a man with the blood of a warrior > By Adam Powell > > Bill Housley went to the dentist an ordinary fisherman and emerged a > fully-fledged Viking > > The 63 year old grandfather was asked for a saliva sample as part of > a scientific study into the Norse invaders of Britain > > Amazingly it proved that he is a direct descendant of the sea-faring > warriors who plundered the north of England 1,200 years ago > The whole-sale fish merchants roots only emerged when he recieved a > phone call from Professor David Goldstein of University College > London who tested his saliva sample for the BBC2's Programme Blood of > The Vikings > > Mr Housely's DNA matched ancient records from Norway and also that of > three modern day Norwegians tested for the study > > Only three matches were found-in Scotland- and their genetic heritage > was not as strong > > Mr Housely from Meols Wirral said "I always thought we were an > ordinary fishing family which could be traced back 150 years" "I was > utterly amazed I didn't know what I was going to be told but it > certainly wasn't that I was a Viking. It means that my sons and their > sons are also Vikings which is pretty spectacular when you think most > people don't have that kind of history" "I was told that there are > three people in Norway with similar DNA Sadly I don't know who they > are because they were stopped in shopping centres and weren't asked > for details" "Now I am determined to try to find the rest of my > relatives and ancestors" > Mr Housely was one of 2,000 men from Britain, Ireland, Norway and > Denmark and northern Germany who took part in the random survey. > The Y chromosone, which gives out information about ancestry was > compared to DNA markers common in Scandinavia > The research revealed that Norwegian Vikings settled in Scotland, > Cumbria, the Isle of Man and as far south as Merseyside. > Shetland Orkney and the far north of Scotland are the most Viking > parts of Britain with 60 per cent of men having Norwegian genes. In > England only Penrith in Cumbria has clear evidence of Norwegian > influence, while York has the highest Danish genes. Prof Goldstein > said: "Modern genetics have opened a powerful window on the past. We > can trace movements of peoples that have proved difficult through > history > > ........ > > Thought you would all be interested in the above article > > Caryl > List Owner > > > > > > ============================== > Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp >