Gold medal winning Olympian Matthew Pinsent uncovered a tragic tale about an ancestor whilst filming for the BBC 1 series “Who Do You Think You Are” at The Tank Museum. The popular genealogy show, to be broadcast on Thursday 18th October 2007 will see Matthew researching the fate of his grandmother’s brother in The Tank Museums Archive and Reference Library.
He said: "While I was growing up family history never interested me. That always frustrated my parents, that I didn't care more. My defence is that I was busy training to win gold medals." He added that since becoming a father, he feels that it's something he wanted to know more about so he could pass it on.
Matthew knew that his father's family were greatly affected by WW1. Two of his grandfather's brothers were killed, as well as his grandmother Kathleen's only brother George Macpherson. Looking through his great-uncles school records, Matthew discovers that there is a mystery surrounding George's death - he is recorded as having committed suicide.
Tank Museum spokesman Nik Wyness said; "Having learned that George was in the Tank Corps, he and the film crew headed to Bovington to trawl through the archives and find out what they could about him, significantly what had happened to him and why."
"They quickly discovered from our documents that George was a tank commander during World War One, and that he actually took part in the very first tank attack in history- which took place during the battle of the Somme at a place called Flers in September 1916," he said.
"What they discovered was both incredible and moving. George was one of just a handful of men who were pioneers of tank warfare, and that day there was a lot riding on the tanks completing their objectives."
"Whilst the tanks were comparatively successful that day, the machines, the crews and the tactics they employed were all completely new and untested. And there are few plans that survive first contact with the enemy, but to find out what Matthew discovered, you will have to watch the show on Thursday." -- www.tankmuseum.co.uk
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