Publisher's Synopsis
THE INTRODUCTION
This is the story of my grandparents as far as I can trace. For me this has been a journey of discovery. There are many questions to be asked, and I have added more as information has become available. Some things we will never know. The very circumstances mean that few documents are available as the families concerned were anxious to keep things secret. For a long time I never realised there was anything unusual in my family's story. It was only a chance remark made during a phone call with my cousin, Carole, in 2001 that made me realise that there was quite a scandal involved.
My first reaction was to contact one of my mother's cousins to find out more. The story that unravelled turned out to be much more amazing than I could ever have imagined. I felt it should be recorded for future generations. Who knows what hidden stories there are to be discovered?
I wrote out what I knew and circulated copies to various family members. It was much later, in a conversation with a long-time friend and former colleague of my husband, Rev. Dr. Richard Jackson, when he suggested it was interesting enough to be published. I am grateful to him and to many others for all the support I have had along the way. A full list is included at the end of this true story. However, I must particularly mention my husband, David, without whose input it would never have been completed.
To make it a little easier to follow I have included a family tree. It is not a complete one as that would be too confusing, so I have entered only the main characters in order to show their relationship to each other.
