Famous Ancestors

[ZC-Cruiser]

OK, who has a famous ancestor??

I'll kick off with my Great Grandfather on my Mother's side:

William Howell - Australian Test Cricketer

Also known as "Farmer Bill", a spin bowler best known for a devastating off-break and also used a leg break for variation.

The snap of Howell's strong fingers caused the ball to literally buzz in it's flight towards the awaiting batsman.

Best bowling result was in 1899 against Surrey in England where he took 10 wickets for 28 runs.
23.2 overs
14 maidens
(I'm not sure, but I think that this is still the best bowling figures for a first-class match)

In 1902-03 Howell travelled to South Africa with Joe Darling's team and was described as "unplayable", taking 14 wickets at 12.42 runs per wicket in the two games he played.

Best batting result was 128 for New South Wales vs South Australia in 1904-05.

The Penrith Cricket Club's oval is named after him - Howell Oval.

As an interesting side note, one of Bill's twin sons, Arthur, had a market garden just south of Darwin at a place called Hidden Valley...

[MrSparkle]

There are two major ones that I have, the first being Fletcher Christian, who was the ringleader of the mutiny on the British ship "The Bounty". There are a few movies (one with Mel Gibson) about this, and my grandfather is in a direct line of ancestry to him! I reckon I've inherited a bit of the mutineer spirit too, explains a bit!

The other one is a bit further down the line and is Mary Queen of Scots who had a pretty interesting time of things herself!

Oh and as an aside, my uncle and great uncle both played for the Geelong Cats for a brief period.

[NAK302]

my mum's maiden name is Keating.

[BJ]

Both my wife and I have been tracing famliy historys professionly for 15 years. It is funny some of the things you come across from time to time. Some nationalitys are hard to do such as the Irish because all of the records were lost in the 1920s or Greek and Italian because the are verbal historys. But it is nice to see more and more people geeting in to there family history.
I must also add that my wifes Great-Grandfather was a famous Colonial artist by the name of Alexander Webb from Geelong his art work is on display at the geelong art gallery and has been used on some of the local postcards and calendars.

[LuvinmyEB]

Dad was a footballer for a while for the Western Bulldogs, now he's a well known builder. Many of his houses have been featured in the Sunday Herald Sun House lift out.

Traced back way back into our family tree on my mums side and found that we are descendants of Lady Godiva and William Wallace (Braveheart). Also have a bishop or similar (I don't have the paperwork next to me), who was one of the first in a religion started way back when in Scotland.

My cousins father in law used to be the London surveyor who answered directly to Lizzie herself. He passed away a few years ago now, so no garden parties at Buckingham palace for me. My aunty was invited and attended a few times however.

[bindi]

How interesting this is so far!

Ok well our only claim to fame is that my husband's great aunt married a guy who's cousin is Tony Curtis (hence, we're related to Jamie Lee too).

I haven't done enough searching on the family tree yet to figure out who's who...

[uglybob]

back down the line our tree goes to Robert the Bruce (hence my first name of Robert), as well as King James I - but no-one too recent! :P

[Casper]

Probably the most famous and cool Ancestor of mine!
Werner Voss is the 4th highest ranking German ace of WW1. He was killed in action in 1917 at the age of 19


Werner Voss (1897-1917) was one of Manfred von Richthofen's closest rivals as an air ace during the 1916-17 period, with 48 victories to his credit.
Born on 13 April 1897 in Krefeld in north-west Germany, Voss joined the cavalry in November 1914 while aged just 17. Stationed on the Eastern Front Voss earned rapid promotion and the Iron Cross.
Despite continuing promotion Voss seemingly tired of the cavalry war and requested (and received) a transfer to the German Air Service flight training school in August 1915. The move was not necessarily seen as a radical departure, with the Air Service an adjunct to the Cavalry during the early stages of the war.
Following the completion of his training Voss served as an instructor with FEA7 until February 1916. Acting initially as an observer he received his pilot's certificate in late May 1916. Within four months he received his Lieutenant's commission.
As a fighter pilot Voss quickly established a reputation as something of a rival - in terms of combat success - to the legendary Manfred von Richthofen (the 'Red Baron', who freely admitted the competition), attaining his first confirmed victory - or 'kill' - on 26 November 1916 while temporarily attached to Jasta 2.
His success ensured a permanent assignment to Jasta 2, remaining until May 1917, by which time he had amassed 28 victories and earned the prestigious Pour le Merite award.
Given acting command of Jasta 5 Voss was credited with a further five victories, and was handed command of Jasta 29 - for just five days - and then Jasta 14. Richthofen expressed keen interest in having the remarkably successful young pilot transferred to his own 'Flying Circus', with the result that Voss was duly attached to Jasta 10.
After achieving a further 14 victories Voss was caught in a dogfight with the renowned British 56 Squadron 'B' Flight on 23 September 1917, the latter comprised of such luminaries as James McCudden and Arthur Rhys Davids. All seven pilots in 'B' Flight were accredited aces, each flying an S.E.5a.

(http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/voss.htm)

The Last Dogfight
A lone silver Dreidecker stalked the evening sky. Below him, a flight of unsuspecting British fighters supporting a reconnaissance mission. Patiently he waited for just the right moment. As the mission wore on, two British SE5a's became separated. The pilot was just two kills short of his fiftieth victory. Few pilots would consider tackling two enemy aircraft alone but Werner Voss was no ordinary pilot. He liked the odds. Like a hungry leopard his Dreidecker pounced on his would be prey with deadly precision, forcing the two British SE5s to the ground.
Suddenly and without warning, the predator became the prey as seven SE5a's Dropped down upon the unsuspecting ace from nowhere. Hopelessly outnumbered it seemed like the only choices were to turn and run or fight to the bitter end.
As McCudden put it:
"We were just on the point of engaging six Albatros Scouts away to our right, when we saw ahead of us, Just above Poelcapelle, an S.E. half spinning down closely pursued by a silvery blue triplane at very closed range. The S.E. certainly looked very unhappy, so we changed our minds about attacking the six V-strutters, and went to the rescue of the unfortunate S.E".
For whatever reason Voss chose to fight. Perhaps he was unaware of the odds. Perhaps the enemy had him so well surrounded that he was unable to put the superior climbing ability of the Fokker Dreidecker to use. For what ever reason he chose to fight and he couldn't have picked a more dangerous group to fight. His opponents were not just any British pilots. This was B Flight of 56 Squadron. All seven of the pilots were aces. For the next ten minutes Voss would fly circles around his adversaries as he emptied his Spandaus and managed to pepper every enemy plane with bullet holes. In the meantime his enemy tried in vain to bring down this most noble opponent but the silver-blue triplane was simply too agile and Voss too talented a flyer for the British.
Suddenly Voss's airplane went into a shallow dive, it's propeller no longer turning. No one knows for sure why. The dreidecker had been flying for almost 90 minutes, the limit of its fuel endurance, so Voss may have run out of fuel. Or perhaps the fuel tank had been punctured and Voss was forced to shut off the engine to prevent the plane from catching fire. Perhaps, after ten minutes of fighting Voss had run out of ammunition and was attempting to surrender. Or maybe Voss had been wounded and could no longer control the plane and was attempting to surrender. No one knows for sure.
As the Dreidecker banked into the shallow turn, Voss made the fatal error of crossing the path of Arthur Rhys Davids.
"Eventually I got east and slightly above the triplane and made for it, getting in a whole Lewis drum and a corresponding number of Vickers into him. He made no attempt to turn, until I was so close to him I was certain we would collide. He passed my right-hand wing by inches and went down."
Voss's Dreidecker then went into steep uncontrolled dive which Flight Leader James McCudden described as:
"I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single handed, fought seven of us for ten minutes . . . I saw him go into a fairly steep dive and so I continued to watch, and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments, for it seemed to me that it literally went into powder."
The dogfight would become one of the best known aerial battles of World War I. It would also end the streak of the Red Baron's closest rivals. Voss's plane crashed in No Man's Land, The battle still raging in the area. Unlike Von Richthofen, he would receive no funeral with full military honors. He was quickly buried and the remains of his dreidecker were shipped back to England for analysis. His death marked the end of an era, the end of the "lone wolf" pilots.
(http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/voss/56.html)

[merlin]

Apparently my great great grandmother was the first free woman to step foot in Australia off the English ship whos' name escapes me at the moment.

[mcflux]

Voss used to really annoy me in Red Baron (the oldskool game)! The Sopwith Camel was too much of a handful, the SE5a was too "stable", the Sopwith Pup had no grunt, and the Niewport 17 was too fragile... lol

Those damn Fokker Trideckers!

Didn't Voss have some crazy colour scheme, while he flew Albatros III and V biplanes? Yellow fuselage, green & white wings, red tail... Something like that anyhoo...

Sadly I have no famous ancestors.

[whiskieboy]

My name is Johnnie Walker : Need I say More. Sadly of no Finacial Benefit to Me, just good for pickin up chicks in the olde days.
I am related to LULU the Singer, if any one remembers her.

[Laminge]

The ex had a great great great uncle who was an outlaw in the bush, damm if I can remeber his name but on the way back from QLD we came upon it

He hid out in caves in the bush and would venture into town to do his deeds

[JC]

My great grandmother on my mother's side claimed to be a cousin of Ned Kelly. Haven't seen anything to prove or disprove this claim, so it's worth repeating.

My mother's adoptive father (who is actually her uncle anyway) is second cousin to John Tickell - the doctor off celebrity overhaul etc.

My dad's family is so large and widespread (his mum was one of 13 children, and my grnadfather was one of 9 or 10), that we have famous-ish connections everywhere, but I never remember the specifics. I know of one photograph from the Gold Mines at Kalgoorlie in the 1800s that has my greatgrandfather in it. The photo was in a pictorial history book of Australia.

Aside from that - I have met Laminge! LOL

[Shonky]

My dog is famous!

That idiot weather-man on channel ten was doing the weather from the local soccer club. he was standing with his back to the oval and my dog ran onto the oval, squatted down behind him and dropped a borrie on national telly!

good boy!

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by Young 'un

My dog is famous!

That idiot weather-man on channel ten was doing the weather from the local soccer club. he was standing with his back to the oval and my dog ran onto the oval, squatted down behind him and dropped a borrie on national telly!

good boy!

That would make a lot of sense that you'd be related to your dog. :P

[mcflux]

Come to think of it, my cousin married one of the INXS boys... But that's about it.

[Shonky]

Originally Posted by Ghia5L

Come to think of it, my cousin married one of the INXS boys... But that's about it.

he did?

[LuvinmyEB]

Damn Casper I'm going to have to bend your ear about tracing German ancestory, I've come to a dead end. All I know is my dads mums maiden name and where dad was born.

[NC 5ltr]

thomas spring,who id a direct desendant was the british ambasador to the yanks during WW1

[The MaDDeSTMaN]

Apparently (according to my father) my grandfather was involved with early trials into immunisation here in Australia. Sorry, I don't know his name - and it's impossible to ask my father now...

[Casper]

Originally Posted by LuvinmyEB

Damn Casper I'm going to have to bend your ear about tracing German ancestory, I've come to a dead end. All I know is my dads mums maiden name and where dad was born.

I havent had to do it, our family has had detailed records for many generations on both sides and each generation just updates the books. My cousins just did it recently on my mums side.

[Kryton]

i am a direct decendent (has been confirmed through ancestory) of the person that invented one of the most popular plastic containers of its time.
infact, if you look deep enough in your cupboard youll more than likely find some.
so if by know you dont know my last name, then go ask your granny about plastic containers and the first word she will tell you is TUPPER-WARE.
and no, my last name doesnt have the 'Ware' naturally.

[MotherNatureVer2]

We have Captain Thunderbolt ( Fredrick Ward) as a direct decentant ....... on my Mums side, I think her fathers great uncle ...... will have to go back & check that ....... I know after a 20 minute phone call to my grandfathers brother we actually got back as far as his decendants back to the Lady Sarah (2nd fleet) where we came from Irish and English people ........ This included the bit about Thunderbolt ..... to say I was stunned is an understatement ...... with my kids now ...... I know this HAS to be true :P

my dads side: A.A. Milne of Winnie the Pooh fame..

[MustangNicko]

Originally Posted by whiskieboy

My name is Johnnie Walker : Need I say More. Sadly of no Finacial Benefit to Me, just good for pickin up chicks in the olde days.
I am related to LULU the Singer, if any one remembers her.

To sir with love ;)

[svo347]

Yer Im related to Mike Whitney

[Shonky]

Originally Posted by AUII_SE_Ute

That would make a lot of sense that you'd be related to your dog. :P

Hmmm.

Well I have been called a son-of-a-b!tch before... :thebirds:

[Mark^^]

Black Jack McEwan - Prime Minister of Australia from 19 December 1967 to 10 January 1968, thanks to Harrold Holts very very very long swim, was cousin to my GrandMother.

[aimzes]

aimzes doesnt need no famous relatives.

[Shonky]

and why not?