Alastair MCgowan_Who do you think you are?

[Eardleyd]

I saw the programme. I am an Anglo-Indian born in Calcutta and very proud of the fact. My parentage comprised Dutch and English descent from way back. I always say "I am an Anglo-Indian" and find that I do not have to explain the origins much nowadays as most people have come to know about this minority which was rooted in The East India Company or even the Dutch East India Company.
I was educated at St. Joseph's Collegiate in Allahabad and knew many McGowans there. I bet they were all related to Alastair yet none of these people were shown on the programme.
I, however, feel Rusty's replies to Alastair were deceitful when he was asked whether or not he and Alastair's father considered themselves to be Anglo Indian. Yet after all these years having settled in England, Rusty seemed fluent in Hindi!! Not many Anglo-Indians could speak Hindi well despite having been born in India. Many held the view that there was little point in learning to write Hindi as they planned to "go home to England"! It's a sad commentary on these senior McGowans.
It is almost as deceitful as Cliff Richard claiming back in the early 80s, that his parent happened to be in India when he was born.
If Alastaire took one look at his father and uncle, he should have realised they were Anglo-Indians. Come on [&o]Alastair, you belong to a very special clan of people even if they are not Scottish[:@]

[Auntie Boo]

[quote]It is almost as deceitful as Cliff Richard claiming back in the early 80s, that his parent happened to be in India when he was born. [/quote]

I am sure that is probably what he was told much the same as Alistair believed his grandparents were working in India. Remember in the 50's and 60's things were different and there was not the interest in family trees that there is now and mixed parentage how ever many generations earlier was not as acceptable or fascinating as it is these days.

I am sure we all have family stories in one shape or another that turn out not to be true, my Gt Grandfather was supposedly a scottish fisherman, he was in fact born in Greenwich as were about 3 generations before him!

[Eardleyd]

I understand what you are implying but I still maintain that Rusty and Alastair's father were being either deceitful or ashamed of their heritage. Still ,as much as I admire Alastair's talents, he must have been blind not to have noticed that his father and uncle were Anglo Indians not only by their appearances but also in their speech.
I somehow believe that Alastair was fully aware of their origins but for the purposes of the programme, he had to play along with the revelations and show surprise and chagrin.

The programme was very interesting and informative. I really enjoyed what the BBC is doing even if they sometimes have to overdramatise the result. But then that is what pulls in the viewers!![:-]

[suelwinch]

Like the other posts for this episode, the programme was immesnsely enjoyable - it is always a bonus when the researcher is clearly such a lovely person! I am currently reserarching my husband's family tree, and was struck by the similarities with Alistair McGowan's history. My husband has an ancestor, called [b]John Christian Rudolph[/b], a German, who joined the [b]East India Company in 1775[/b], as a Private, changing his surname to Francke for some mysterious reason. He worked his way up through the ranks, to become a Major by 1819. Unlike Alistair's ancestor he left very little - no elephants I'm afraid - having enjoyed gambling far to much... He died in 1833, in Trichinopoly, having fathered at least 15 children by at least three or possibly four wives/partners. Much of his time was spent at [b]Fort St. George[/b], and he would have been a contemporary of Alistair's Colonel McGowan.

One of John Francke's wives was an Indian woman called Paussiah, probably Islamic, named on the baptism certificate of their son, so she probably converted to Christianity. A few months ago, I discovered John Francke/Rudolph, had written a rare [b]memoir of his life in the Madras Artillery[/b], found with another descendant now living in Canada. The British Library has a copy, amongst the Wellesley Papers, and the Memoir has now been transcribed for [b]FIBIS[/b] (Families in British India Society) and can be found on their website, under Memoirs. The Memoir names several individuals in the Madras Artillery, and also [b]gives an excellent pictures of life in the Honorable East India Company[/b] - the competition for promotion; the corruption; the difficulties of moving heavy artillery.

Just one more thing - Alistair's hunch that he was Scots? I wonder has he considered that his Irish ancestor may well have been among the [b]Scottish "Planters" sent out to Ireland[/b] during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I? He may well find that he should still be singing "Flower of Scotland" !