大象传媒

When Jane Pounds traced back her family tree, she got more than she bargained for ...

It wasn't until she was nearly 18 years old that Jane Pounds, now 69, discovered that she was adopted. Jane had applied to join the Wrens, and needed her birth certificate to do so. The woman whom she believed to be her natural mother refused, initially, to hand it over, and subsequently admitted to Jane that she was adopted. She was adamant that Jane should not try to trace her natural parents. Despite instructions not to, Jane began a 40 year search for her family. Feeling guilty about going against her adoptive mother's wishes, she kept her exciting findings a secret:

"It turns out that my maternal grandmother was very famous at the turn of the century, " says Jane "she was known as Madam Sobanoff, the Champion Whistler of the World." Apparently, Madame Sobanoff's whistling skills were such that she was known as the Human Bird, performing in music halls around the country and making special appearances for Queen Alexandra and the Tzarina of Russia. Although there's some controversy surrounding this, Jane's grandmother is also said to be associated with a famous cello recording made in the 20s in which a nightingale sang as an accompaniment to the music. "They couldn鈥檛 get a nightingale to perform," says Jane, "so my grandmother was brought in to whistle instead. It's been denied - but it鈥檚 a nice thought."

From having no past at all, Jane had been catapulted into the most colourful of relations. It didn't stop there, either. "And my grandfather was a German spy," adds Jane. "He changed his name from Shroeder to Gould. In 1914, he was sentenced to 6 years penal servitude and deportation. If I'd known this, there鈥檚 no way I鈥檇 have got into the Wrens!"

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