Empire’s Children: Trace Your Family History Across the World

Empire’s Children: Trace Your Family History Across the World
Anton Gill

From the makers of 'Who Do You Think You Are?' comes 'Empire's Children' – a tie-in edition to a six part TV series for Channel 4 – which tells the story of Empire, and follows the personal journeys of six British celebrities as they retrace their steps through their multicultural past.British society is in every way defined by its Imperial past. It is home to 2.3 million British Asians, 570,000 Caribbeans and 250,000 Chinese. Not to mention Cypriots, Australians and southern Africans. These people represent different cultures and divergent experiences but they all share a common heritage: they are the children (grandchildren, or great grandchildren) of Empire; and their lives have been shaped by that legacy.In the second part of the 20th century, Britain relinquished control of 64 countries and half a billion subjects. During that period, many thousands of those same former British subjects fled their homes to build new lives here.What were they hoping to find? Why did they want to come to the very country they'd fought so hard to free themselves from? What kinds of lives were they leaving behind? What was the reality of their new life here? And how was British society itself shaped by their arrival and assimilation here? Real concerns that are very much in forefront of our minds in the multicultural melting pot that Britain is today.‘Empire’s Children’ seeks to answer these questions by concentrating on the personal and emotive journeys of six chosen celebrities as they retrace the steps which they – or their parents or grandparents – took in order to reach this country for the first time. The stories will cover post colonial histories of Africa, the subcontinent, the West Indies, Australasia, South East Asia and Cyprus. In some cases, they will spend some time in the former colony and experience the motivations as well as the drama of the journey itself.

EMPIRE’S CHILDREN

TRACE YOUR FAMILY HISTORY

ACROSS THE WORLD

ANTON GILL

DEDICATION (#ulink_1fb5c4ac-1159-5ad0-846d-a5d3b3f410e5)

FOR J.A.

(gratefully)

EPIGRAPH (#ulink_f039d194-3971-5f1a-b9c5-748373a9b673)

All empire is no more than power in trust

John Dryden

How is the empire?

King George V (attributed dying words)

The wheels of fate will one day compel the British to give up their empire…What a waste of mud & filth will they leave behind!

Rabindranath Tagore

CONTENTS

COVER PAGE (#ufb8fe1ee-08e4-5011-8003-01d86a50cc11)

TITLE PAGE (#udbfb9c07-a256-53df-83ad-381ff10616a4)

DEDICATION (#ue9c2ed4f-df9e-575d-8e0a-d08b371911ef)

EPIGRAPH (#ue253a8e4-5c5c-5ffa-a921-1d1ada528643)

FOREWORD (#u9a0edb7c-2244-5664-b455-3e3c3cfd8054)

PROLOGUE (#uec2ce5aa-43a2-5e91-ae27-f41519b4dbaf)

PART ONE: RULE BRITANNIA (#u1ca44411-8300-55a4-940a-b8fb6a382876)

CHAPTER 1: GOLD AND PLUNDER (#uea49e23d-fa5d-51dd-8908-bc415e62ee4b)

CHRIS BISSON (#ulink_0e4a5ecf-b531-543f-8c1f-7da135ea17e2)

CHAPTER 2: TRIUMPH AND DISASTER (#u13aa64f5-0927-580f-8da6-393aa5268c73)

DIANA RIGG (#ulink_dfffc875-1824-5d7f-a8b3-e8a57dbd7646)

CHAPTER 3: THE SECOND EMPIRE (#litres_trial_promo)

DAVID STEEL (#litres_trial_promo)

PART TWO: ALMOST INEVITABLE CONSEQUENCES (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 4: WAR AND PEACE (#litres_trial_promo)

JENNY ECLAIR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 5: BEARING UP, BEARING DOWN (#litres_trial_promo)

ADRIAN LESTER (#litres_trial_promo)

PART THREE: TIS NOT TOO LATE … (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 6: THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH (#litres_trial_promo)

SHOBNA GULATI (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 7: LETTING GO: INDIA (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 8: TO SEEK ANEWER WORLD (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 9: LETTING GO: THE CARIBBEAN AND AFRICA (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER 10: AFTER THE RAJ: IMMIGRATION FROM SOUTH ASIA (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

RESOURCES (#litres_trial_promo)

BIBLIOGRAPHY (#litres_trial_promo)

INDEX (#litres_trial_promo)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (#litres_trial_promo)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (#litres_trial_promo)

OTHER WORKS (#litres_trial_promo)

COPYRIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)