Ricky Tomlinson is a scouser! Yes you read that right, the Liverpool Legend is in fact ... scouse! As they say in this part of the world - 'Who'd of thowt!'
No I'm not going in for the 'stating the obvious awards' I refer of course to the recent episode Who Do You Think You Are. The comedian and actor was one of this season's celebrities lined up for the trip to the past aboard the WDYTYA Tardis. He reached as far back as the early 1800s when meaningful records for poor families began to be kept, though geographically speaking he never left Liverpool.
Backed up by the usual high standard of investigation and commentary, Ricky and the team uncovered a story of poverty and hardship in 19th Century Liverpool. Whilst the proud Liverpudlian was delighted that his lineage lay in the history of the City, it was equally noteworthy that the story affected him emotionally. This, as the program highlighted, lay partly in Ricky never having asked his Dad "Who were the Tomlinsons?"
The episode gets off the mark with the now customary family catch up and discussion of what is already known. Ricky meets with his elder brother, Albert, who is in possession of their Grandfathers death certificate which reveals that Richard Tomlinson was born c1886. This is all the loose thread Ricky needs to start unpicking the string that leads him ultimately all the way back to his 3 x Great-Grandfather, also Richard Tomlinson.
Ricky finds out that his family worked as 'Carters'. These were the men who ran the horse and carts which transported goods around Liverpool to and from the docks. The city was one of the busiest ports in the British Empire and the work of the Carters was essential to the smooth, effective and efficient operation of the docks. In typical jovial manner Ricky points out that he'd "rather be descended from a Carter, (kid) than from Royalty".
It was in part dangerous work, as the Carters by necessity employed huge Shire Horses to pull the heavy laden carts. Controlling these powerful animals, whilst supervising the loading and unloading often led to misfortune and to his dismay Ricky learns that two of his ancestors died as a result of being crushed between carts. The lack of any sort of basic health and safety at this time, made these accidents a common occurrence, prompting Ricky to reflect "They were just disposable, weren't they?" However his sadness turns to anger when he learns that an illegal post-mortem was carried out on one of his ancestors. This was a time when medical knowledge was advancing and the dissecting of cadavers was seen as an essential part of a surgeon's training. Ricky's ancestor, William, was eventually buried in a paupers grave, whilst all around Liverpool's economy boomed. The thought of this only incensed Ricky further as he exclaimed "Land of Hope and Glory, my arse!"
Attention grabbed by this horrific tale, Ricky tracks the fortunes of William's wife, Mary. He finds her living in overcrowded lodgings, referred to as Court Housing. Interested to know more about these homes, he visits a surviving example of the tenements in Liverpool and as his guide explains to him that there would have been tens of residents using just one toilet, Ricky is stung into observing "It's a ghetto, isn't it?" With so much to be sad or angry about, Ricky could have been forgiven for not wanting to know too much more; however he was nothing, if not determined to find good news and ploughed on. His hope was to be initially set back further with the news that Mary lost one young son and then had two children removed from her and taken to a workhouse, nonetheless his persistence is eventually rewarded, when he learns that Mary remarried. She has three further children and, in 1884, when her son Richard Tomlinson married, his half-brother William was among the witnesses, suggesting that the family managed to stay together despite their trials.
Being an ex-union shop steward, Ricky is delighted to learn that toward the end of the Victorian era, the Carters began to unionise, improving working conditions. This is marred slightly as his research reveals the story of sectarian unrest in Liverpool between the predominantly Protestant Carters and largely Catholic Dockers. Despite this the episode ends with Ricky proudly reflecting on what he had discovered. "I love the city and I love the people," he says, "I don't want to live anywhere else."
It has already been remarked upon, but this series of WDYTYA has seen some great episodes thus far and this one, whilst not too upbeat for most of the time, was a fascinating and thought provoking visit to the lives of ordinary people in 19th Century Britain.
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