Notes on a scandal

As Britain's best-known female historian, Lucy Worsley has illuminated the lives of incredible women. But until recently she had no idea of the tragedy and scandal in her grandmother's life. She tells ADITI RANE about the discovery that has helped her understand her place in the world

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TO LUCY Worsley, her grandmother was simply "Granny". She remembers a warm house filled with small comforts including the irresistible luxury of a sheepskin rug. Like many children, she never thought to ask much about the woman behind the familiar role.

"She was just my granny," said Lucy, 52. "I didn't think about her life before."

It is only now, decades later, that the historian has uncovered secrets of her own grandmother's life worthy of a historical drama.

Accessing newly digitised archive records, she stumbled upon a lost child, unexpected relatives and a wartime marriage full of secrets.

The discoveries were upsetting, Lucy admits. Her grandmother, Edna Bourne, was born in Birmingham in 1911, growing up in one of Britain's great industrial cities at a time when the world was rapidly changing.

Edna had lived through some of the most turbulent decades in modern history. Birmingham produced huge quantities of weapons and industrial goods for both world wars, making it a key target during the Blitz.

Her great-grandfather worked in one of those factories. But Lucy never asked her grandmother about those experiences. Edna died in 1986 aged 75, when Lucy was 11 years old.

"I didn't know what questions to ask," she said. But the family story began to unravel decades later during the Covid pandemic, when Lucy's stepmother started researching their ancestry online.

Like millions of people during lockdown, she turned to genealogy websites to piece together family history. As more archives and historical records have been digitised - including birth, marriage and census records - it has become easier to trace ancestors' lives.