Like honey and waitress or indeed British Sharia I'm the produce of the
more than one country Russian Lithuanian Germans French English loads of English
not much Scottish or wealthy as far as I know not anything wrong with that
Alexander Boris stuff Ethel Johnson Tory politician and outspoken journalist was
born in 1964 the eldest of four children Boris grew up with stories of his rich
diverse ancestry now he's in search of the truth behind the stories he wants to
find out about the backgrounds of his paternal grandparents who he called
granddaddy and granny butter as a boy Boris was aware both grandparents had
intriguing ancestry worlds away from their life as export farmers granny
burger we were led to believe and it was a subject of much hilarity for children
we were led to believe that granny Martha had immensely distinguished
French Oh French Alsatian antecedents when I say old station I mean from
Alsace no they weren't dogs my grandfather it was also a wonderful guy
but he was certainly less of a talker Boris his grandfather Wilfred Johnson
appeared a typical English farmer but he was in fact half Turkish his father was
Ali Kemal a politician and journalist Boris knows that Ali Kemal had an
untimely death but this was a subject Wilfred never talked about it was a
mystery none of us ever discussed Ali Kemal with him and indeed I think there
was a time that I'm told by my mother them all the time when she vaguely
brought something up about the Turkish connection and my grandmother granny
barter said I know you must never raise that ever again
to try to find out about his grandfather Wilfred's relationship with Ali Kemal
Boris has come to see his own father Stanley Stanley has dug out his father's
birth certificate which shows that his original name was not wilfred Johnson at
all a 4th September 1909 then here is a name Osman movement a sex boy name and
surname of father Ali came out obviously from this document his surname his name
when he started off gander school would have been Osmond came out how do you
know when down with the rest of the class then well he didn't talk about in
particular okay Ali Kemal himself was not present but he was thinking about
his business and his mother died in childbirth if she's not there to witness
it but his maternal grandmother Margaret Braun appears to have been present at
the present at the birth she was cool I think Johnson as a as a maiden named Ali
Kemal himself was not present but and she effectively ran my father used to
call her brought them up brought up my father and his sister Selma while his
children were growing up in England Ali Kemal was living and working in Turkey
left alone to bring up her grandchildren Margaret Johnson decided to change their
surname from the Turkish Kemal to the more English Johnson one stage she's
obviously written to the Home Office cuz we have a letter back from the Home
Office dated 4 October 1916 madam in reply to your letter of the 21st all
tomorrow Alton amis last month yes they say on
the subject the nationality of your two grandchildren I am directed by the
secretary of state to say that the boy is a British subject by a virtue of
birth in this country and requires no permission to change his name and so
Adam then sport I think he is known as Johnson he says since to hear it always
we take our name from Molly Johnson
otherwise we'd be always be who come off well cause it might even you totally
good thing to me come on the amount I might be on the Tauri a
list and then this new you must new multicultural Britain from now on I am
came out deed brand that he ever the granddaddy Evan no party tomorrow no
it's all I know absolutely not he never mentioned having ever met his father is
there is a resemblance between them yeah is actually as a journalist and
politician himself Boris has long been intrigued by the
mysterious figure of his great-grandfather Ali Kemal now he's
decided to travel to Turkey where Ali Kemal was born to see what he can
discover about his life and death to some it's done before you know several
times but never on the Ali Kemal Trail will have a big understanding about what
he got up to but we don't really know but I don't know why uses a stage is why
he copped it more than ever what happened
you