Hi, I also noted that Goans are considered as Anglo-Indians in this piece :-) tina
On Sat, Jan 25, 2014 at 3:00 PM, Frederick FN Noronha * फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या * فريدريك نورونيا <fredericknoron...@gmail.com> wrote: > Bigamy, the Raj and the scandal buried in Sir Cliff Richard's past > > By Alison Boshoff > UPDATED: 08:39 GMT, 1 November 2011 > > Sir Cliff Richard is famous for many things apart from his singing -- > his almost preternatural youthfulness, his Christian faith and, of > course, his failure ever to marry. > > So it was rather a surprise when, in a recent interview with BBC Radio > 4's Woman's Hour, the 71-year-old bachelor boy became involved in a > discussion about bigamy. > > Sir Cliff announced -- quite out of the blue -- that his grandfather > was a bigamist. > > Serenading his mother in 1960: Sir Cliff said he had never met any of > his grandfather's other family after he revealed that his grandmother > assumed her husband was killed in the war while he set up a new home > in Coventry > > 'His wife, my mother's mother, thought he was killed in the war. It > turns out that he left her and let everyone assume he was dead, and > set up a new home in Coventry.' > > He added that he had never met any of this other family, only saying > coyly: 'It's in my book.' > > But careful examination of Sir Cliff's substantial 2008 tome My Life, > My Way reveals no information at all about a bigamist grandfather, or > the family he went on to have. > > Instead, he fills 308 pages with a long and detailed celebration of > his professional life and good works, but little about his personal > and family life -- and certainly no bigamous skeletons. > > In fact, Sir Cliff has never before acknowledged such an intriguing > element in his background -- which is probably why, as I discovered > this week, many members of his 'other' family have died with no idea > they were related to him. > > Even those still alive, and who know the truth, have never met him, > although research showed he has numerous 'half-cousins' living in > Britain, should he ever wish to find them. > > Young ones: Sir Cliff's grandad William, aged 44. > > Sir Cliff has never before acknowledged an intriguing element in his > background -- which is probably why many members of his 'other' family > have died with no idea they were related to him > > There are some other surprises in Cliff's family tree, too. For > although he briskly told Woman's Hour that his mother was 'not > Anglo-Indian' -- as has been suggested in the past -- and that he had > instead an 'Anglo-Indian stepfather', it turns out that he does indeed > have Anglo-Indian blood. > > The connection comes through his great-great grandmother, Emeline > Josephine Rebeiro, the daughter of an Indian man from Goa, Vitriaus > Rebeiro. > > One of Cliff's long-established full cousins from his mother's side of > the family, Garth Gregory, tells me: 'My mother was Cliff's aunt. They > were sisters -- my mother Olive and his mum Dorothy. And it is well > known in the family that there was Indian blood.' > > Indeed, pictures of Cliff's mother Dorothy reveal a raving beauty in > the mould of the late Anglo-Indian actress, Merle Oberon. > > So what is the truth about Sir Cliff's fractured family? > > He was born Harry Rodger Webb in Howrah, outside Calcutta, in 1940. > > His father, Rodger Webb, was a manager for a catering company and his > mother, Dorothy Dazely, was a British woman who had been born in India > to a military family. > > They came to England in 1948, joining thousands of British descent who > left when India gained its independence. The family were 'destitute' > at first; Rodger Webb had only £5 in his pocket. Cliff and his > sisters, Donna, > > Jacqui and Joan, lived in a single room in Hertfordshire while their > father sought work. > > 'Ours was the kind of hardship that either draws people more closely > together, or splits them apart completely,' Cliff said. > > Cliff's Aunt Olive also emigrated from India and lived in Manchester > and then in Essex. Olive's son, Cliff's cousin Garth, tells me that he > saw the singer a few times in the early days, and remembers the star > buying him a bicycle for Christmas, but then they lost touch. > > 'He is the star of the family, isn't he?' says Garth. 'I don't think > my children have even met him. He's not in this country all that much > -- I don't think he's interested in his wider family.' > > Perhaps he should be, though, for it's quite a family tree. The key > figure in the story is Cliff's maternal grandfather, William Edward > Dazely. He was born in 1896 in Bombay to Edward Dazely, a driver with > the 27th Battery Field Royal Artillery, and his wife, Daisy. > > Anglo-Indian blood: his great-great grandmother, Emeline Josephine > Rebeiro, was the daughter of an Indian man from Goa, Vitriaus Rebeiro > > William, a serviceman, married a railway guard's daughter, Dorothy, in > 1919 in Madras. There were two daughters: Cliff's mother, Dorothy, and > her younger sister, Olive. > > At some point in the 1920s, William went to serve with the British > Indian Army in its campaign against Afghan forces -- and was never > seen again by his family. But ten years after that first marriage, > William married again, this time in Karachi. > > He stated that he was a widower -- a downright lie -- and serving as a > sergeant in the police. > > His bride was one Maizie Sherard. But there had been no annulment or > divorce to end his first marriage. > > Not only did William bigamously re-marry, so, too, did Cliff's > grandmother -- albeit probably unintentionally. > > She went on to have a further seven children with her second husband, > Richard Dickson, a chief inspector with the East Indian Railway. > Cousin Garth explains: 'William Dazely went missing in action and was > presumed dead -- that is what the family were told. > > 'After being missing for seven years, the marriage can be annulled and > perhaps Dorothy believed this happens automatically. The problem is > that there is no paperwork to show that the annulment ever took place, > so there seem to be bigamous marriages for them both. > > 'He is probably a lovely, lovely person, but I have never been much of > a fan -- I've always preferred Elvis.' - Joan Dazely, the widow of > Cliff's Uncle Jim > > 'It may be that William felt he was a free agent after seven years of > separation -- you have to remember that this was colonial India. > > And obviously Dorothy thought she was widowed.' What's beyond dispute > is that William Dazely and his bigamous bride Maizie moved to > Birmingham. > > He worked for car giant Rover and Maizie bore him five sons, who are > all Cliff's uncles -- though they have never met him. > > Only one is still alive -- 91-year-old William, who lives in > Birmingham. His brothers, Derrick, Jim and Peter, have all died, and a > further brother, Collin, moved to Canada as a young man, and is also > now believed to be dead. > > It seems certain that Cliff's grandfather William Dazely, who died of > coronary thrombosis in 1969, never suspected that the star -- by then > famous for a decade -- was his long-lost grandson. > > Not only that, it seems that Cliff's uncles were in the dark, too. > > The family secret first surfaced in a 1993 biography of Cliff by music > journalist Steve Turner, who discovered the bigamous marriage. > > According to family members, he didn't manage to trace all five > brothers or tell the entire story -- which is why the news took years > to spread to some of Cliff's uncles. > > Joan Dazely, the widow of Cliff's Uncle Jim, says: 'We didn't know > anything about Jim's relations to Cliff Richard until after Jim died > in 1999. Jim simply had no idea he had such a famous nephew.' > > Young ones: Cliff Richard aged 15 months, and ( right) giving his > sister Donella, away at her wedding, August 1961 > > It was only after she was able to make contact with Derrick's widow > that Joan, 70, found out about the link to Cliff. She says: 'I was > shocked and surprised. > > Many people would find having a relation like that exciting, but to us > it was about what Jim's dad William had done to his poor first wife. > 'It was the scandal of the family. > > We couldn't be happy about it knowing this woman was abandoned. > > 'I'm sure if you asked Cliff if he would like to meet us he would > probably say "not really" and I feel the same. > > He is probably a lovely, lovely person, but I have never been much of > a fan -- I've always preferred Elvis.' > > But she adds: 'Jim and Cliff were very much alike. They had similar > features. You can tell they are family.' > > The widow of Cliff's youngest uncle, Peter, who died in 2006, says > that towards the end of his life he did know that he was related to > Cliff, but had never taken it further. > > Peter's widow, Sheryl, who lives in Neath, South Wales, says: 'Peter > told me that he found out his father was married previously and had > two daughters -- one was Cliff Richard's mother. It is sad they never > met, but Sir Cliff is a celebrity and probably busy with that side of > his life.' > > Sheryl, 46, who has four children, said: 'Peter would say that his > father William was very strict, but he didn't want to talk about his > childhood much.' > > Cliff's cousin Garth says he regrets that he found out about Cliff's > 'other' family too late to tell his mother, Olive, who died in 1995. > > Cliff's mother Dorothy, too -- who died in 2007, a decade after being > diagnosed with Alzheimer's -- was also apparently never aware of the > rather tangled love stories of her parents. > > Given what had gone before, then, it is fair to say that Sir Cliff's > long-standing aversion to matrimony is not inherited. > > -- > Read more: > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2055932/Bigamy-Raj-scandal-buried-Cliffs-past.html#ixzz2rOsppOsa > Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook > > Thanks to Menin Rodrigues of Karachi, whose Facebook page pointed me > to this link > https://www.facebook.com/menin.rodrigues > -- > FN Phone +91-832-2409490 Mobile +91-9822122436 > Blog: http://goabooks.wordpress.com > -- (M) 09326137682 “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein