I have just watched tonight's episode of Who Do Think You Are? about the actor Patrick Stewart, born at Mirfield in 1940. I don't think I have ever seen such a superb and moving programme in this entire series (and I mean all series ever since it started). Possibly Stewart being such a brilliant actor made it all the more watchable, however I thought the fact that the entire programme revolved around his search for the psychological truth about his war hero father - who was also in later life a violent wife-beater - was utterly compelling television. It just went to show that you don't have to take someone's ancestry back centuries and many generations to make family history utterly fascinating. Do listers agree? When I looked him up with Google I realised that Patrick Stewart was born just nine days after me! -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Famous family trees blog: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/tag/roy-stockdill/ "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE

I agree entirely and at my more modest and less dramatic level, I have had to revise my opinion of at least two of my forebears in the light of my researches. One omission did strike me; no mention was made of any war decoration that Patrick's father may have received?   The whole series has got off to a cracking start and I am looking forward to Annie Lennox next week.   Adrian. ________________________________ From: "roy.stockdill@btinternet.com" <roy.stockdill@btinternet.com> To: "YORKSGEN@rootsweb.com" <YORKSGEN@rootsweb.com> Cc: WEST-RIDING@rootsweb.com Sent: Wednesday, 29 August 2012, 22:20 Subject: [YORKSGEN] WDYTYA? Patrick Stewart I have just watched tonight's episode of Who Do Think You Are? about the actor Patrick Stewart, born at Mirfield in 1940. I don't think I have ever seen such a superb and moving programme in this entire series (and I mean all series ever since it started). Possibly Stewart being such a brilliant actor made it all the more watchable, however I thought the fact that the entire programme revolved around his search for the psychological truth about his war hero father - who was also in later life a violent wife-beater - was utterly compelling television. It just went to show that you don't have to take someone's ancestry back centuries and many generations to make family history utterly fascinating. Do listers agree? When I looked him up with Google I realised that Patrick Stewart was born just nine days after me! -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Famous family trees blog: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/tag/roy-stockdill/ "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE ..... Ancestors in Yorkshire? http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/index.html; www.ryedalefamilyhistory.org; www.wharfedalefhg.org.uk; www.yorkshireparishregisters.com; www.yorkshireroots.org.uk; ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to YORKSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Roy, Although I enjoyed the programme, I found myself criticising them for jumping to conclusions. From a newspaper report saying that he was suffering from shell shock in 1940, they seemed to conclude that the reason he was a wife-beater was all down to that. However, he went on to have much further involvement in the war, indeed he volunteered for the paras and was promoted to RSM. That doesn't sound like a man who was suffering from shell shock, post traumatic stress or whatever you like to call it these days. I think it is entirely possible that he was in a marriage that he didn't really want to be in (he initially joined the army to try to escape his responsibilities), and that he was happier in the army than out of it. I think it's true that many men who fought in WW2 just couldn't adapt to civilian life after all the excitement of wartime service. (Some of them actually got a buzz out of fighting, and the camaraderie of being amongst men). A man who had risen to the rank of RSM would be accustomed to men jumping at his every command. Maybe he couldn't cope with a wife and kids who didn't blindly obey him. I don't think that the programme actually drilled down enough to find the character of his father (which is really what it was about). As with many of these programmes, I was left wanting to know more! I know that they can only fit so much into an hour, and there are limitations to how much research they can do with the resources available. Nevertheless, to jump to a handy conclusion is against my instincts. regards Richard On 29/08/2012 22:20, roy.stockdill@btinternet.com wrote: > I have just watched tonight's episode of Who Do Think You Are? about the actor Patrick > Stewart, born at Mirfield in 1940. > > I don't think I have ever seen such a superb and moving programme in this entire series

I agree , far better then the previous one which seemed really bitty and unconvincing. Sheila -----Original Message----- From: roy.stockdill@btinternet.com Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2012 10:20 PM To: YORKSGEN@rootsweb.com Cc: WEST-RIDING@rootsweb.com Subject: [YORKSGEN] WDYTYA? Patrick Stewart I have just watched tonight's episode of Who Do Think You Are? about the actor Patrick Stewart, born at Mirfield in 1940. I don't think I have ever seen such a superb and moving programme in this entire series (and I mean all series ever since it started). Possibly Stewart being such a brilliant actor made it all the more watchable, however I thought the fact that the entire programme revolved around his search for the psychological truth about his war hero father - who was also in later life a violent wife-beater - was utterly compelling television. It just went to show that you don't have to take someone's ancestry back centuries and many generations to make family history utterly fascinating. Do listers agree? When I looked him up with Google I realised that Patrick Stewart was born just nine days after me! -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Famous family trees blog: http://blog.findmypast.co.uk/tag/roy-stockdill/ "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE ..... Ancestors in Yorkshire? http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/index.html; www.ryedalefamilyhistory.org; www.wharfedalefhg.org.uk; www.yorkshireparishregisters.com; www.yorkshireroots.org.uk; ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to YORKSGEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message