| 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. |