Publisher's Synopsis
This is the fascinating story of a London East End family, with Irish roots, and the legacy they spawned through their eight children. The central characters of this family story start with Jack and Kit, the grandparents of 'the cousins' of which the author is one. The story starts there as 'Nan and Grandad' were the oldest family members their grandchildren remembered as they were growing up in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. This edition contains a number of fascinating 'family questions'. Was Jack really Chief Steward on the RMS Mauretania, took part in the allied forces evacuation at Gallipoli in 1916, had a mansion in Bermuda and was on talking terms with Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks during his Atlantic crossings?' Of course he was!A favourite story in the book is that of Jack's Irish father, the cousins' paternal great-grandfather, Sergeant John 'Jack' Martin, a policeman in the East End of London at the time of Jack the Ripper. There is also a fascinating 'French Connection' in the family history as well as at least two incarcerations in mental institutions, a musical connection with Dudley Moore and an appearance by a Brennan family member in an FA Cup Final! An absolutely fascinating read of a family legacy.
