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\u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve had anyone on the show who knows as little about their family as me,\u201d says comedian Paddy McGuinness<\/a> at the start of his episode of Who Do You Think You Are?<\/a> <\/em>He thinks his maternal grandmother was called Winifred, but doesn\u2019t know anything about his other grandparents or the rest of his family. He does guess that he has Irish ancestry<\/a> \u2013 \u201cWhere is Paddy McGuinness\u2019 family from? That\u2019s a tricky one! I\u2019d hazard a guess at Ireland!\u201d<\/p> Paddy meets his mother\u2019s brother, Uncle Tony, who tells him that his parents were called James Leonard and Winifred Taylor, but can\u2019t tell him anything about their parents or childhoods. James was nicknamed Paddy because of his Irish heritage \u2013 \u201cBack in the days when a bit of casual racism was accepted\u201d, as Paddy McGuinness says.<\/p> In his hometown, Bolton, Paddy meets family historian Michala Hulme. She shows him James\u2019 birth certificate<\/a>. He was born in 1911 in Bolton to parents Patrick and Annie Leonard. A 1915 old newspaper<\/a> article reports that Patrick was sentenced to prison for physically assaulting<\/a> Annie. Records then show that Annie was admitted to the workhouse<\/a>, and James was sent to a \u2018cottage home\u2019<\/a> for children run by the workhouse.<\/p> What happened to James in later life? In his 1935 marriage certificate<\/a>, he gives his profession as \u2018Colliery Haulage Hand Below\u2019. He was working in the mines<\/a>. But on Paddy\u2019s mother Patricia Leonard\u2019s 1939 birth certificate, her father\u2019s profession is given as \u2018Handle Rectifier, Airplane Works\u2019.<\/p> This must have been at De Havilland\u2019s factory at Lostock, Bolton. Paddy visits the factory\u2019s former site with local expert Mick Crossley.<\/p> Mick tells him that during the Second World War<\/a>, factories were urgently needed to build aircraft for the RAF<\/a>. The government opened more factories in places like Bolton that were less likely to be bombed. James\u2019 work at the factory was so important that he would have been bound by the Official Secrets Act. He helped make propellers for all the RAF\u2019s most iconic planes, including Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster Bombers.<\/p> \u201cIt\u2019s amazing, really,\u201d Paddy says. \u201cI\u2019m very proud.\u201d<\/p> Next, Paddy wants to find out about his Dad\u2019s side of the family. He meets historian Charlotte Wildman. She tells him that his paternal grandparents were William and Agnes McGuinness. In 1891, William joined the Royal Lancaster Regiment, probably to escape a life of poverty working as a miner. His army records<\/a> show that he travelled to destinations including India, Malta and Hong Kong. In 1899, his regiment were sent to South Africa at the start of the Second Boer War<\/a>.<\/p> Paddy meets military historian Peter Donaldson. He tells Paddy that the Royal Lancaster Regiment fought at the Battle of Spion Kop. Their aim was to capture a hilltop as the British fought to relieve the nearby city of Ladysmith, which was besieged by Boer forces. The battle was a catastrophic defeat for the British, with about 300 men killed.<\/p> However, William survived. Peter is then able to present Paddy with a medal<\/a> William was awarded for fighting at the later Battle of Tugela Heights, which led to the eventual relief of Ladysmith.<\/p> But William\u2019s military career wasn\u2019t straightforward. His records show he was also disciplined for \u201cdisobeying a lawful command\u201d and \u201cusing insubordinate language to superior officers\u201d. Paddy thinks this is a family trait \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s ever been lost on the McGuinnesses, to challenge authority\u201d.<\/p> Reflecting on what he\u2019s learned, Paddy says: \u201cIt just gave me a real sense of pride, but a connection as well, to someone who I\u2019ve never met.\u201d<\/p> Paddy now wants to take his family tree further back to try to find out if he has Irish origins. William was born in 1875. His birth certificate gives his mother\u2019s name as Bridget McGuinness, but doesn\u2019t say who his father was.<\/p> Paddy meets family historian Laura Berry. She tells him that in the 1871 census records<\/a>, a man called William Birtwistle was living with Bridget McGuinness as her lodger. William Birtwistle is named as William McGuinness\u2019 father on his baptism record<\/a>, and he and Bridget married in 1884.<\/p>