A GYPSY IN THE FAMILY

Our well – attended February meeting heard Geoffrey Lee tell how he found out, through an Uncle that they had a ‘Gypsy in the Family’ & with the aid of slides we were shown Geoff’s family tree.
We heard how the gypsies came from Pakistan & the surrounding area & spread throughout the world, first landing in Scotland in 1505. The people were of dark complexion and were for some reason referred to as Egyptians. They arrived in England in 1514.
Several Acts of Parliament were passed which made their lives difficult & in 1530 they were banned from entering England & were given 16 days to depart. In 1554 they were threatened with the death penalty if they stayed more than one month, & often accused of being ‘counterfeit Egyptians’ dirty, mischievous, vagabonds & rogues.
The Settlement Act of 1662 meant that the parish had to keep the gypsies. To make sure they ‘belonged’ to the parish, the gypsies had their children baptised in the parish, contracted marriages, & held funerals in church.
The Licensing Act 1697 made life no easier, because they employed themselves as hawkers, peddlers & tin – smiths they had to pay the fee of £4 per annum.
In 1874 children were forcibly taken from their parents & transported.
It was believed that because of their dark skin they were dirty, therefore neglected & inadequately fed & lacked education. This state of affairs lasted up until WW1.
The Holocaust saw Jews, Romany gypsies sent to death camps .
Geoffrey went on to display & talk about their living tents & caravans & how they improved over time, their names, & how they adopted the local names, their various occupations, their strict code of living, their food, their medicines & the skills of bare knuckle boxing, their taboos & wedding ceremonies & their knowledge of horses.
We then heard of several famous people who had gypsy origins such as Django Reinhart the guitarist. Davis Essex the singer, whose mother was a gypsy, himself now Patron of the Gypsy Council, Jack Cooper the boxer & Michael Caine the actor.
This fascinating talk was well received & questions were asked whilst refreshments were served.
[Barbara Holmes]