From the Office in Slough to the shores of Dunkirk -
Martin Freeman discovers the truth about his father’s family

Martin Freeman, famous as Tim from the Office, is the youngest of five siblings. His father died when he was very young and Martin now wants to find out about his father’s family. According to his older brother, their grandfather, Leonard, probably died at Dunkirk. Martin sees a photo showing Leonard's Regimental badge, which leads him to research Leonard’s service record.

These records show that Leonard was killed in action in Normandy, on the 24th May 1940. Leonard’s unit was based in Hull, and here Martin
sees Leonard's name carved in the stone war memorial. Remember
the 70th anniversary of WWII by watching our WWII footage.

Wanting to learn about Leonard’s parents, Martin obtains Leonard's birth certificate and sees their names are Richard and Ada. According to the 1871 census Richard was an 18 year old, blind 'scholar', attending a special school where he learned to play the organ. By 1887, he’s a successful piano-tuner in Worthing, Sussex. In the 1881 census, Richard is married to Fanny Gillett with 2 children. By the 1891 census, Martin sees Richard is listed with several more children. After learning that Fanny died of heart failure, Martin finds another marriage certificate to Emily Carter.

Ada, is also listed in the 1901 census as a blind music teacher, with 2 sons born in Hull. By 1911, the census shows that 6 of Ada’s 12 children died in infancy. Martin finds their death certificates, but doesn’t understand why they died. Learn more about searching for death records here. At the Royal
Society of Medicine, Martin eventually finds the answer.
Ada, like 1 in 10 of the population at the time, had
congenital syphilis – which explains her blindness
and the deaths of so many of her children.