All language subtitles for Our.Guy.In.Latvia.2015.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

(motorbike engine revving)

- [Interviewer] Speed?
- Love it.

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[Interviewer] Danger?

Love it!

(motorbike engine revving)
(upbeat music)

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- [Narrator] Guy Martin is a
death defying motorcycle racer

and gritty world record breaker.

The only thing he loves more
than going fast is graft.

He'd rather go to work
than spray champagne.

- [Guy] I'm not much of a
people person, not really.

I just like me own time tinkering
in the shed, with me dog.

I'm not designed for crowds
of people, I'm not designed.

And you just think, where
does that come from?

Where does that come from?

And I think the bloke that
was very much like that,

was me grandad.

Me mum's dad is a legend,

Voldemort Kidals, or Walter I knew him as,

he's always fascinated me.

Smart looking bloke,
eh? He was from Latvia.

(upbeat music)

Course I miss him, sitting
in his shed with him,

I miss that.

[Interviewer] With the tenth anniversary

of his grandad Walter's death approaching,

Guy now wants to find out more

about the man he admired so much

and Latvia, the country
where his roots lie.

But there is a twist to the tale.

[Guy] We know loads about me grandad.

There's a lot of grey areas.

It's not the elephant in the room,

but it's not really, it's
not spoken about much.

He fought for the Germans
(laughs) in the Second World War.

Was he made to fight for the Germans?

I don't know. I don't know.

Only one way to find
out, yeah, go to Latvia.

Let's go to Latvia, let's
do a bit of digging.

Come on.

- [Narrator] Guy's personal
pilgrimage will uncover

the lost sites of his
grandfather's childhood.

It is a bit of a moving moment, yeah.

You're not gonna get tears
out of me or anything though.

(gun bangs)

- [Narrator] The truth
about his grandfather's

Latvian legion fighting for the Nazi SS.

[Man] Jesus wept!

(gun bangs)

- [Narrator] The brutal
realities of the country's

old authoritarian regime.

And what it means to be
descended from an immigrant.

They are here to do the dirty jobs

that English people will not look at.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Guy's trip will
finish with a family reunion.

- [Guy] Like a bloody
rabbit in the headlights,

I don't know what to do.

- [Narrator] Where he'll
meet his Latvian cousins

for the first time.

Hello!

Hello, pleased to meet ya. Right.

- [Narrator] By discovering
more about his grandad,

Guy Martin is going to learn
a lot more about himself.

(upbeat music)

Do an impression of me grandad?

(soft music)

Quiet man, he didn't say much.

- [Narrator] Voldemort Kidals
was born in 1920 in Latvia.

He moved to Lincolnshire in 1947

and died in 2006 when Guy was 24.

The sheds he built in his back
garden still stand untouched.

Two of his children, Guy's mother Rita

and her brother John, have fond memories.

He used to fuss Guy when he was little.

I mean Guy used to come down

he used to show him round his garden,

with his sheep and his pigs.

It wasn't unusual on a Sunday evening

to pop down the garden
to feed your rabbits,

to find they'd suddenly disappeared.

And er, only to discover later on

that you'd actually ate
it for dinner (laughs).

Yeah. That was quite a
regular occurrence, that.

He was a grafter.

I never remember seeing me dad
laid in bed in the morning.

He was always up at the
crack of dawn, all weathers.

[Narrator] Walter's love of work

had a great influence on young Guy.

Even on rare holidays abroad,

he'd preferred weeding
the garden in a suit

to visiting the beach.

Loved his sheds.

You'd go down Grandad's
shed and it was just,

it was education, you wouldn't say much.

You know what the rule was in sheds,

speak when spoken to.

Never chucked OWT away (laughs).

Yeah, look at that.

Keep all the nuts,

just in case, you might need them one day.

Just remember, I always remember as a kid

going round to me grandad's.

Me gran still lives there.

Lil, what's happening there?

- That's when we got married.
- Is it?

9th March 1952. October when we met.

- Right, met in the October,
married in the March.

Is that me?

- [Lil] Yeah.
- [Guy] Yeah.

- [Lil] You wasn't a
little angel (chuckles).

[Guy] Why not? What was I doing?

Mischief.

Mischief?

(Laughs)

It's in the breeding,
all that, ain't it, eh?

[Narrator] Everyone in Guy's family

is keen to know more about Walter's past,

and the country where he came from.

And that means heading to
where the story begins; Latvia.

(upbeat music)

Today, Latvians like
to think of themselves

as the best of the Baltics.

The local joke is that they're
more modern than Lithuanians

and cleverer than Estonians.

But the truth is Guy's
ancestral roots lie in a country

that has been trampled by
the wars of foreign rulers

for hundreds of years

- Swotting up in the airport,
learning a bit about Latvia.

This is what I've learnt so far,

13th century, a load
of German warrior monks

ruled Latvia.

16th century, Poles and
Lithuanians are in charge.

[Pilot] We're fully ready now

to depart to Riga this afternoon.

- 17th century now,
Sweden's running the job.

Yeah, so now 18th century,
um, under Russian control.

Pillar to post, pillar to
post. We're here, we're here!

(upbeat music)

It's nice, innit?

We're here for a week.

First night, I think we
should have a pint, I think.

Um, early night, early start.

(upbeat music)

As I've been telling ya,
every man and the dog's

had a go at ruling Latvia.

Anyway, after the First World War,

they got it to themselves,
bit of independence.

And they built this.

It's a freedom monument,

all funded by the Latvian people.

There it is, that's the real
thing. That's the real thing.

Wonder what that is. Do
you reckon that is copper?

- [Narrator] Latvia's
independence only lasted 25 years.

Being squeezed between the
superpowers of Germany and Russia

meant during World War II

the country experienced
multiple invasions.

After the war, it was turned
into a Soviet Republic,

something Latvians still
consider an illegal occupation.

Independence only returned in 1991.

(upbeat music)

Guy's first appointment

is in the middle of
Riga's mediaeval old town

with the genealogist
who's been researching

his family history for three months,

Dr. Alexanders Faymanis.

So, the very first documents

I find about your relatives.

I find in 1835 census, Andre
Kidal, which was born in 1790s.

Yeah.

In South East Latvia,

precisely on the border with Lithuania.

[Guy] Right, okay, yeah.

- All that area was
inhabited by Curonians,

so you're a descendant of Curonians.

Curonian? What's a Curonian?

It was very brave tribe because

they made a war with Vikings.

Right.

- [Narrator] The Curonians
were ruthless pirates

and the heroes of many
Middle Ages legends.

Guy is related to one of the
toughest tribes in history.

- What is interesting is
that in the old Church

you can find the bell with inscription,

"God save us from devil and Curonians".

(laughs)

- [Guy] Viking fighters!
Bit amazed at that.

- So, we know that your
great, great grandfather,

David, son of Andre Kidal,

was enrolled in to Russian Army in 1853.

That was a time started
the famous Crimean War.

Yeah, the Crimean War. Yes.

- Yeah.
- Yes.

- At that time, military
service was for 25 years.

Okay. 25 years?

Yeah.

Bloody hell!

And it was terrible of course,

I cannot imagine that.

- [Narrator] Guy's ancestors
were clearly made of

stern stuff.

But what of his grandfather
Walter, or Voldemort?

- The very first er,
document about Walters,

we have from 1935 census.

[Guy] So he'll be 15 year old then?

[Alexanders] Yeah, born in 1920.

Okay.

In Liepāja District in Asites Parish.

School, a building.

Voldemort, your grandfather,
lived in this school building.

You see, here we find, under
number 18, Voldemort Kidals.

Here is written, he work in agriculture.

He already started to
be a peasant, let's say.

Right.

[Narrator] The most likely reason

a teenage Walter lived at the school

was because he was an orphan.

But local records also reveal

where his childhood home had been.

- Near Asite, the family
has a farm called Rožkalni,

or Hill of Roses.

Okay. Hill of Roses?

Absolutely.

Rožkalni, that's what it's, right.

We need to go there for a look, don't we?

Alex, thank you very much for your effort.

- [Alex] You're welcome.
You're welcome, dear Guy.

And welcome to Latvia.

(laughs)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] His grandfather's
hometown of Asite

is 200 kilometres away,
along the unpaved tracks

of rural Latvia and winter is coming.

Luckily, rugged transport
is easy to rent in Latvia.

This Lada Riva 1300S was built in 1982,

so is the same age as Guy.

Ah, just look!

(soft music)

Just love it! I open the doors.

(door bangs)

Do you hear that? Precision.

There is no better car for this job.

(upbeat music)

(engine revs)

(laughs) You can hear the engine die.

- [Narrator] Guy's Latvian
adventure is underway.

The next stop is his
grandfather's hometown,

to start uncovering what secrets

lie behind the man he admires so much.

(upbeat music)

Guy Martin is in Latvia

to find out more about one of his heroes,

his late grandfather, Walter Kidals.

They reckon, they, you,

a few people have said I look like him.

I think he's fair better looking than me,

far better looking.

Look at that. Don't he?

Yeah, Voldemort. Smart looking bloke, eh?

(upbeat music)

[Narrator] First, Guy is tracking down

what he can about his
grandfather's childhood.

[Guy] Me mum texted me this morning,

but I don't know how she got me number.

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] He's heading
deep into the countryside.

- [Guy] Latvia's pretty
great, ain't it? It's great.

Right, enjoying it.

Hell of a place.

It sort of brings it home
really, I do like a simple life.

It's in me wiring, ain't it?

It must be in the hard drive.

Oh, we're in the sticks,
yeah, can you see?

No tarmac on the road. You see?

Lada's at one though, Lada's at one.

It deals with them
bumps alright, don't it?

(laughs) As the Lada
gets off and rolls, ugh.

- [Narrator] After a four
hour drive from Riga,

he arrives in Asite,

the hamlet where his
grandfather Walter grew up.

I reckon this is us boys, come on.

[Narrator] The first driveway leads

to the former schoolhouse
where Walter boarded.

An elderly couple live there now.

We're in the middle of nowhere.

When was the last time I saw a house?

Yeah, I'll go knock.

What shall I say? Sveiki.

Sveiki.

[Narrator] Guy's on hallowed ground.

His uncle John remembers how emotional

his father would get
about his native country.

He was passionate about Latvia,

he loved the Latvian countryside,

and I think reflecting back,

I think he missed it tremendously.

(soft piano music)

- The couple living in the
school don't wanna be filmed

but they're quite happy for us to come in

where we are now and do a bit of filming,

so which is great, ain't it?

- [Narrator] The school
was founded in 1914

and was originally much bigger.

But during the Second World War,

it was largely dismantled
by Russian soldiers

searching for firewood.

Every morning, pupils
sat in the classrooms

and recited a poem
promising to study hard.

- Ooh, can I imagine
him being taught here?

Did he pay attention?

I expect we was all little
buggers at school, weren't we?

Weren't we? I'm sure
Walter was no different.

I'm sure Walter wasn't different (laughs).

Ah, just nice and quiet, peaceful.

Yeah, I can see where Walter's
love of Latvia came from.

Yeah, beautiful place.

(soft piano music)

[Narrator] As well as academic lessons.

FH16. 520 horsepower that.

[Narrator] The students helped

with the school's housekeeping

and maintenance around the grounds.

(soft music)

Outside toilet. Look at that!

That's a proper dunny, that mate.

If that was me, I'd have that
turned round the other way

and be pooing with the door open.

So while you're doing your ablutions,

door open and view like that, my word!

(soft music)

Lovely place, ain't it?

I stood here by myself for
ten minutes earlier and just

listened to nothingness.

- [Narrator] 2,500 people
used to live in Asite,

but after fierce fighting
destroyed half the parish

in World War II, the
area fell into decline.

(soft piano music)

The last surviving resident
with memories of Walter's time

is an old ranger, Sigurds Spinga.

- My grandad lived in a
farm not far from here

called Rožkalni.

I just wondered, how
far that was from here

and is there any chance
of a farm being there now,

or anything being there now?

(speaks in a foreign language)

- [Narrator] Tom Sillings
will act as Guy's interpreter.

(speaks in a foreign language)

Could we go just to have a look?

Just to see if there is the land,

you know, how far from here is it?

I think Sigurds can show us the way there.

- [Narrator] The only
record of the old tracks

and houses in Asite is Sigurds'
90 year old hunting map.

(speaks in a foreign language)

Are we on this road here?

(speaks in a foreign language)

So we need to go up north east

and then start coming
back down on ourselves.

(soft piano music)

Yeah. Sigurds, thank you very much.

Thank you. Top man.

(soft piano music)

- [Narrator] Guy follows
the directions to the place

where his grandad was born.

(door bangs)

(soft music)

It was a thriving area
during Walter's time.

There were 319 farms, two
windmills and three dairies.

Latvians worked the land hard,

becoming one of the
world's biggest exporters

of butter and bacon between the wars.

(cannon blasts)

But late in 1944, long
after Walter had moved away,

the parish was flattened when caught

in the Eastern Front crossfire

between German and Russian forces.

(cannon blasts)

Today, nothing is left.

Come and have a look.

See me, up the tree, look at my eye view.

That was Walter's view. What a place!

Oh, I'm not gonna get all.

I just think it's nice to look at what

me grandad was looking at.

It is a bit of a moving moment, yeah.

You're not gonna get any tears
out of me or anything though.

- [Narrator] Now, the only
evidence of the family farm

is a few foundation stones.

(soft piano music)

There was so much here, weren't it? Eh?

The perimeter wall. Yeah,
that's all that's left.

(soft music)

Oh, Walter would be over
the moon, wouldn't he?

But he'd be dead pleased
we'd made the effort

and we found a bit of Rožkalni.

I hope he'd be chuffed that we've,

yeah, that we actually
care, you know, we care

about what he did.

I'm glad we came.

Gonna get me camera and
take a picture of this.

(camera shutters)

(upbeat music)

My mother has this story and my grandad,

he used to love going to the church.

Church was only three quarters
of a mile from his house.

(tyres squealing)

(soft piano music)

He'd walk there in his bare feet

cause he didn't wanna
take mud into the church.

Gonna go find a church somewhere,

we need to go find a church.

Come on.

There's some remains, we've
got some remains in there.

You'll see. Come on.

This must be it, Walter's church, eh.

That's not seen any communions
for a day or two, has it?

Eh?

You bugger

(soft piano music)

(chuckles)

Built in 1709, destroyed in the war.

And never rebuilt.

Course I miss him.

Sitting in his shed with
his lambs, I miss that.

If I had my time again
and knew what I knew now,

I would try and sit and talk.

What would Walter say to me?

(soft music)

He'd say, "Don't believe the hype."

But he wouldn't say that,

but he'd say something
that comes down to that.

Oh, I'd listen to him, wouldn't you?

His eyes'll have seen more
than my eyes'll ever see.

[Narrator] The Second World War

ravaged Latvia's buildings
and infrastructure,

but had an even more devastating
effect on its citizens.

(car engine revving)

- [Narrator] Situated
between Germany and Russia,

Latvia was invaded three
times in quick succession.

Some 500,000 people, nearly
a third of the population,

either fled, were deported or were killed.

(bright music)

And yet the story couldn't
have begun more peacefully.

[Guy] 1939,

the start of the Second World War.

Look, as you can see here,
Latvia is hunky dory.

Doesn't want any part of the war.

Smart looking folk.

There's James Bond, ain't he?

Yeah, they look happy campers, don't they?

Yeah, 1940.

Who is this? This is
the Russians coming in.

- [Narrator] While the
world was distracted

by Germany invading France,

Russia rolled into Latvia

and seized power through rigged elections.

They carried out a mass inventory.

Every nut and bolt was now
owned by the communist state.

- And then this is anyone
that put up a bit of a fight,

any Latvian at all that thought,

"Hang on, hang on, I've
worked all my life,

"I've earned this much money"

and came out with a few
choice words to the Russians,

that was it.

Right, get on that train, we're
taking you to Siberia, mate!

And that was it, to the gulags.

- [Narrator] Latvians call
1940, The Year of Terror.

- [Guy] This is Latvia
here, the KGB Headquarters.

Rubber padded room,
plug hole in the corner,

a torture chamber.

The Latvians, as you would be,
you know, you're bloody sick

to the back teeth of the bloody Russians,

you know, your sons or
your dads or your daughters

all getting sent off to the gulags.

They hated the Russians.

They hated the Russians!

Here we are '41.

World War II is getting going now

and they have the
Germans coming to Latvia.

And it only takes them two
weeks to push the Russians out.

The Latvians welcomed the
Germans in with open arms.

You know, handing out flowers.

Welcomed the Nazis in.

The Latvians were that sick
of the bloody Russians.

Yeah, little did they
know, all was not good.

[Narrator] The Nazis entered Latvia

claiming to be liberators.

But they recruited a group
of far right wing Latvians

and carried out some of the worst

atrocities of the Holocaust,

including the massacre of 25,000 Jews

across just two nights in 1941.

- Anyone that had a bit of a
deformity or you was Jewish

or you was, you know, that was it, right.

Torture 'em, send 'em off
to the concentration camps.

Look at them there, battery hens

I think all in all, I
think there was 80,000 Jews

that was killed out of Latvia.

80,000!

- [Narrator] Then,
desperate for more troops

to face the Russians,
Hitler ordered Latvian men

some as young as 16, to be
conscripted into the Waffen-SS,

the Nazi party's military division.

(sombre music)

The choice was simple, fight
for Germany or be shot.

- [Guy] My grandad had been
amongst there, somewhere.

- [Narrator] The Waffen-SS was made up

of more than 30 different divisions,

containing volunteers and conscripts

from all over Europe,

including Holland, Scandinavia and France.

The Latvian Legion was largest of all.

(dramatic music)

It's remembered today by the
Association of Latvian Soldiers

Battle Re-enactment Society.

This band of architects,
engineers and students

all had relatives who fought
in the Second World War.

(gun bangs)

This is an important period
of history to Latvians,

but there are few survivors left.

These battle re-enactments ensure

their ancestors are never forgotten.

Russia V Germany, at war.

(dramatic music)

So yeah, we've got the Russians

coming in here from the north, small unit.

(soldier speaks in foreign language)

Close off the road, enemies to the left.

(gyn bangs)

(chuckles) I'm nervous now.

(suspenseful music)

(guns banging)

Jesus wept!

I thought they, it was just a bit of

friendly mucking about (laughs).

- [Narrator] In 1945, Commanding
Officer Colonel Adolf Axe,

reported that most Latvians fought

because they saw Hitler as
the lesser of two evils,

compared to Stalin.

But privately, the
legionnaires would sing about

first defeating the Russians,

then turning their guns
on their Nazi commanders.

[Guy] Three Russians to finish off.

(speaks in a foreign language)

(guns banging)

That's it! That's it!

Game over.

Latvia one,

Russia nil.

Spot on lads! Grand job!

Grand job! Spot on!

These days, the politics are left at home

and everyone shakes hands
at the end of the fight.

But what part did Guy's
grandfather Walter play

as a member of the Latvian legion?

Latvia's war archives
are about to reveal all.

(gun banging)

(laughs)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] Guy Martin is
back in Riga to find out more

about one of the most
influential people in his life,

his late Latvian grandad, Walter.

- Quiet, really private
man. Really private man.

With a deep voice, deep,
very, very deep, very deep.

Used to put his tea on his custard,

get it all done in one sitting.

Used to give his sons sticks,

bits of wood as building blocks,

that was Christmas presents.

Used to make benches and
always put tags on them

that he'd engraved.

Yeah, interesting bloke.

- [Narrator] Walter was
conscripted into the Latvian Legion

and made to fight for
Germany in World War Two.

The only place to find out
more is at Latvia's war museum.

Latvia's leading historical
researcher, Valdis Kuzman,

works in the underground archives.

- [Guy] All right, Valdis.
- [Valdis] Hello.

We found three documents where
your grandad were mentioned.

What he did during the war.

Right.

- In all documents, his
name is not Voldemort,

- but Janis.
- Right.

- Janis.
- Janis.

[Narrator] This is the actual record

of conscription from 1944.

It seems whilst Janis was his given name,

he preferred to go by his
middle name of Voldermars.

- Yeah, date of birth there,
you can't argue with it.

Janis Kidals, 28th of the second of '20.

- [Valdis] There is
80,000 citizens of Latvia

who were conscripted.

Most of them are conscripts, 90%.

They didn't have a choice.

- [Guy] So, if my grandad
had avoided conscription,

what would that have meant?

Well the biggest problems is

that your relatives, your
family, would suffer as well.

If you run away or hide,
as a deserter for example

your family might be sent to camp as well

or some land taken away.

First unit your grandad was sent to

was 19th artillery regiment.

So, at the beginning, he was
an artillery man, a gunner.

(cannon blasts)

[Narrator] After extensive training,

the 19th Regiment of the Latvian Legion

joined the war in August 1944,

fighting near Riga on the Eastern Front

against the Soviet Red Army.

But further records suggest

Walter may not have actually served here.

(gun bangs)

- The next document we found
where his name is mentioned

is 4th April 1945.

But this time he's not an artilleryman,

but he is

an infantryman.

Infantry.

- [Valdis] And--
- So that was really

- the cannon fodder?
- Yeah, cannon fodder.

- [Narrator] It was expensive
to train gunners like Walter,

so to subsequently send
him to the Latvian unit

on the frontline must
have been as a punishment.

Most likely because he tried to desert.

- At one point he decided
this war is not for him

and he somehow escaped.

You've heard of this happening before?

Yes, sure.

Right. Right.

- I mean thousands of
times, thousands of times.

- Oh, is that right?
- Yeah, yeah,

people were trying to escape.

- Many deserters, yeah?
- There are many deserters

- and he's--
- For no reason to fight,

they had no reason to fight.

- [Valdis] That's right.
- Yeah.

- [Narrator] How Walter
escaped is unclear,

but the records show he was recaptured

and sent to a Latvian
division retreating west,

on the run from a merciless
Red Army pushing on to Berlin.

There were just five
months of the war left

and the Latvians were exhausted
from trying to survive.

It was something Walter
rarely spoke about to his son,

Guy's Uncle John.

I think it was too painful

a process to talk about his past.

On the few occasions he talked to me,

it was certainly a horrendous experience,

you know, he talked about his mate

being took out by a
sniper at the side of him

and um,

marching on the roads and seeing
people strung up crucified,

as they marched, um, yeah.

Very tough.

- So what they were hoping
for, to reach western Allies,

Americans and British Army, and surrender.

And then you'll be a prisoner of war

of the Americans or the British?

- [Valdis] That's right.
- Right.

And there is a document number three,

which is a document prepared in British

prisoner of war camp in Belgium.

And in this camp we have Kidals.

[Guy] Yeah, Janis.

- [Valdis] And right here you
can see some of the photos

from that camp.

- This was--
- [Guy] They're mostly

Latvians in this this one?

[Valdis] Yeah, mostly Latvians, yeah.

- [Narrator] At first the
Allies running the Belgian camp

only saw SS uniforms.

It would take more than a year

before the Latvians were
released, cleared of being Nazis.

- You just think, and
this is just one story.

It's my grandad, just
one story out of what,

how many, 100 and how many 1,000?

- 120,000?
- 120.

120,000! Yeah, it's
hard to put into words.

- Thank you very much.
- It was very interesting

for us as well.

Thank you.

(soft music)

- It's a lot to take in, but
it's starting to sink in.

At every turn

he's had it hard.

And he kept all this bottled up.

We've had to come all the way
to Latvia to find this out

and I just think, what a boy!

A brave man. A brave man.

[Narrator] At the end of the war,

the Soviet Union took over
all of the Baltic countries.

Everything that had been
built up in the '20s and '30s

was eradicated.

Stalin made the farms work for the state

and made the schools teach Russian.

120,000 Latvian patriots
were deported to Siberia

or jailed.

It's a period remembered here,

the notorious Karosta Prison,

where inmates were tortured
and deserters were shot.

Run by the Soviet military until the '90s,

remarkably it is now a £15 a night hotel

offering an authentic taste
of an authoritarian regime

to stag parties, hen dos
and adventurous tourists.

Hello.

He smacked me hand away.

I thought alright, we sort of know

where we stand here, don't we?

We sort of know where we stand here.

(speaks in foreign language)

I haven't pooed, I haven't
pooed me self, no, but (sighs).

(speaks in a foreign language)

And I've said this before,

just cause of the stuff I've read

and it's just confirmed,

do not mess with the Russians.

(speaks in a foreign language)

But the most intimidating
thing is the Russian voice.

Yeah.

The Russian, you aren't
messing with that man, are ya?

(speaks in a foreign language)

Didn't know what was left, what was right,

what was up, what was down,
what was 180, I didn't know.

(speaks in a foreign language)

I genuinely thought we'd come here,

bit of gruel, bit of banter,

even thought about bringing me book.

I thought I might sit in
the cell and read me book.

It'll be alright, be alright,
we'll have a bit of a craic.

No! No, no, no no, no.

(speaking in a foreign language)

You've seen me boys,
you've, you've seen me for,

we've worked together a long time.

You ain't seen me like that before.

(speaks in a foreign language)

(door bangs)

Bed making.

To be honest, I was quite
proud of me bed making.

They didn't think much to it.

(speaks in a foreign language)

Worst hotel in Europe.

I did stay at a dodgy
B&B in Scarborough once.

It wasn't quite as bad as that.

(speaks in a foreign language)

How long will it take for us
to see the funny side of that?

Maybe on the plane home, eh.

That was authentic. Latvians
do not do things by halves.

(bright music)

- [Narrator] These are the
Liepāja Northern Forts.

Originally a World War One naval base,

they were the last sight of
the country many Latvians saw.

After the war, 26,000 people

left the Soviet controlled
Baltics and headed to Britain.

In 1946,

the Labour government wanted to replenish

the post-war workforce

and was one of the first administrations

to welcome refugees.

They were known as Displaced Persons.

Giant transport ships
brought them overnight

to Tilbury or Harwich in the
south, and Hull in the east.

They were fed, given
a little pocket money,

and housed in holding camps

before being recruited into
jobs from Scotland to Devon.

- Movement through Hull
of the Displaced Persons

from all parts of Europe

is expected to begin next Wednesday.

[Narrator] The Hull Daily Mail

published a series of articles in 1946,

enthusiastically reporting
the arrival of the immigrants.

They are here to do the dirty jobs

that English people will not look at.

They are likely.

They are likely to show
up the British workmen

with their eagerness to work hard.

Keen as mustard!

(soft music)

We've got dentists, doctors,
surveyors, from Latvia

wanting to come to
England and do what any,

do anything to get out
of the Soviet regime.

Is that what my grandad was thinking?

[Narrator] Walter was released

from his Belgian prisoner of war camp

and reached Hull in
1947, at the age of 27.

I think he was always very thankful

that he'd been given a home here,

but he hadn't come to be
provided for by the state.

He came to work.

- [Narrator] He worked as a farm
labourer, miner and builder,

becoming a British citizen in 1948.

He went on a blind date
to Hull Fair with Lillian

and it was love at first sight.

The rest is history.

- Look what happens when
you let immigrants in,

(laughs) you end up with folk like me.

Eh, but if it weren't for
the eagerness of the British

to let the Latvians, not just Latvians,

to let the Europeans in, I
wouldn't be here now, would I?

And we wouldn't be here
telling this story, would we?

Interesting reading that.

Just makes you think

yeah, yeah, just makes you think.

[Narrator] Scared of Russian reprisals,

Walter only ventured back to Latvia twice,

once with his daughter in 1979

to visit his long lost brothers.

- I remember me dad translating
what my uncle had said

and he'd said, "Oh, be
careful what you say

"cause the room will be bugged."

[Narrator] The second time was in 1990,

just before Latvian
Independence, with his son, John.

- Until his dying day, he
was fearful of the Russians,

but his heart was still in Latvia.

And I think that's where he
probably longed to be really.

- [Narrator] There's only
one thing left for Guy to do.

His uncle, John has helped
arrange a family reunion.

Guy is about to meet his Latvian
cousins for the first time.

(bouncy music)

- [Narrator] It's Guy
Martin's final day in Latvia.

This afternoon he'll be
attending a family reunion

and meeting his Latvian
cousins for the first time.

He wants to take some local
delicacies to the gathering,

so heads for Riga's market,

housed within these vast World
War One zeppelin hangars.

Come on let's have a look in here.

Let's have a look in here.

(bouncy music)

It's fresh.

A good vet'd get that man going again.

Zeppelin hangars, built by
the Germans in the '20s.

Seriously impressive, ain't it?

It's a lot of steelwork. Self supporting.

You wouldn't do that in
a tea break, would you?

Now Europe's biggest indoor market.

Can I buy those please?

- [Narrator] Guy is going
to attempt his shopping trip

with the only two words of
Latvian he knows, hello.

(speaks in a foreign language)

And thank you.

(speaks in a foreign language)

Thank you.

(speaks in a foreign language)

Yes, Paldies, yeah.

Paldies. Paldies.

(speaks in a foreign language)

Classic?

Classic.

Paldies. Thank you.

Ah, perfect.

Pig fat. Pork fat. Pig
fat, pork fat, pig fat.

That, you, you can really,
that feels like you've got a,

a bar of wax in your mouth.

This please, (speaks
in a foreign language)

Paldies.

Thank you very much.

Gone through three languages there.

(bouncy music)

- [Narrator] In just ten
minutes Guy will be meeting

eight of his Latvian cousins, the Kidals.

I'm a bit nervous.

I don't really wanna let
our British side down.

But I'm alright, I've got
pig fat and flatbread.

Let's get the eating spanners laid out.

- [Narrator] He has one other
important piece of equipment.

The family tree.

Oh, here, like a bloody
rabbit in the headlights,

I don't know what to do.

What do you think?

Come on. All right.

Bloody hell.

Hello.

- [Narrator] Cousin Olita,
is an English teacher.

(speaks in a foreign language)

- Guy?
- Yes.

- Olita.
- Olita, pleased to meet you.

- Yeah, I recognised.
- I'm dead nervous.

- Yeah?
- I'm dead nervous.

- Really?
- Yeah, I am.

Why? I am nervous (laughs).

Let's try. I'll try to find the...

- It's a good start.
We've got a good start.

We've got a good start.

Your grandfather was Voldemort?

Voldemort, yes.

And my grandfather is Arvins.

Yes.

[Olita] And they were brothers.

Yes, right, yeah.

[Narrator] 22 year old Uldis,

is a student who wants to be a teacher.

[Guy] Uldis, this is your son?

[Olita] He is my youngest son.

- Hello.
- [Guy] Hello.

- Hello.
- Nice to meet you mate,

how's it going?

Nice to meet you.

- [Guy] Uldis?
- Uldis.

I'm Guy.

I know.

(Olita laughs)

- I'm dead nervous mate,
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

It was really, really weird

seeing someone who looks so
much like our grandfathers.

[Olita] You see,

how all of them are like you.

- [Guy] Yes.
- We are Kidals.

- You can see?
- Yeah.

- Yeah?
- Mm hmm. Welcome.

Thank you very much.

- They've got like a square
like face and these side beards.

[Narrator] Next up is Gatis,

who started Latvia's first discotheque.

- [Gut] Gatis, hi, I'm Guy.
Pleased to meet you mate.

What do you do?

- I have 25 years in
Latvia's show business.

Ah, is that right?

It started like a rental company.

- That's where me raving
streak comes from,

from Gatis, me cousin.

Hello.

- Iyna.
- Iyna, pleased to meet ya.

- Walter Kidals is (speaks
in a foreign language).

- Your uncle?
- [Iyna] Yes.

- [Guy] You okay?
- Maris.

Maris, pleased to meet you, Maris.

Hello, I'm Guy. Pleased to meet you, mate.

You okay?

And he is Yanis.

- [Guy] And Yanis.
- Hi, nice to meet you.

Pleased to meet you.

So we're, we're cousins?

Yeah (laughs)

Yeah, we're cousins.

I feel disappointed I don't
speak any Latvian, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I feel yeah
Paldies and Sveiki, that's it.

- [Both] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Yeah, so yeah.

Do you look, who is you?

- [Guy] I've never seen
this picture before.

(laughs)

Never seen.

She asked my grandad for a photo

of our side of the family in 1996.

- Is that you?
- Yeah, that's me.

(laughs)

That's me.

- Oh! (laughs).
- [Guy] Yeah.

Nice chatty people. No awkwardness.

No-one looking down their nose at anyone.

We went to Asite, to um, Rožkalni--

- [Olita] Rožkalni.
- [Guy] Where their house was.

Oh, you've heard of Rožkalni?

And we just traced it back to where it was

and now there is nothing.

There's nothing but there,
we, we found a few bricks

- in the floor.
- [Olita] Ah, yeah.

I really love this casualty of him.

The kind of person he
is, this friendliness.

I race on motorbikes in England.

We take pictures of motorbikes.

- Do you like speed,
yeah? Do you like speed?

Yeah, too much.

(laughs)

- Ooh! Now we.
- Too much.

We have one thing in common.

Why, what do you like about speed?

- Yes, I like speed.
- You do?

- Yeah.
- Do ya?

Yeah. Next.

Yeah, you see her driving.

(laughs)

- As I understand, he's quite
known in Britain, isn't he?

Yeah, and there was this one interview

where he went to some friend's house

to paint the walls and just do nothing,

and that is actually
exactly how our family is.

We like the quiet places,
we don't enjoy the cities.

Beer? Are you alright with a beer?

No, thank you.

You don't want a beer?

Just pass the milk.

The milk?

- It's really hard to get
the trust of a Latvian.

That's why you isolate yourself,

so you can value the people

that you can really, really trust

and not open up to everyone.

Can we say cheers?

(speaks in a foreign language)

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for
coming, it's been brilliant.

I will be back, I think, yeah.

You have a beautiful country.

Well, I was genuinely dead nervous

and now I could not be more pleased,

could not be more pleased.

(chuckles)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] And that's
the end of Guy's trip.

As a final tribute to Walter,

he decides to build a bench

with an uninterrupted view
of the Latvian countryside.

Don't look over there,

you're getting the wrong bloody ideas,

it's the M1 over there,
no, no, no, look there,

that's all right there.

Oh, definitely I'm coming back.

Loved it! Loved it!

Mega loved it. Really loved it!

Loved it!

Ah, she's coming on.

I've done loads of learning

and I've come away and I love
the place, it's bloody great.

I like the people, I like the
place, I like the buildings,

I like the pace of life,

I like the unknown history, I like that.

I like that

the Lada doesn't lock,

I've left everything in the
Lada and nothing's been touched.

Bloody knot!

It's just give me a good understanding why

I do certain things a certain way.

I'm at peace when I'm at work
and I think I've found out why

cause it's the Latvian way, ain't it?

They all like a bit of graft.

It is in the breeding really strange,

really strange ways.

Learnt about my grandad.
That man did not have it easy

and we've filled

a load of grey areas about that man,

a load of grey areas, that even

his sons and daughters didn't know,

that even his wife didn't know.

I admire the man even more.

100% I'm dead proud proud to
have a bit of Latvian blood.

Is this like Latvia's Stonehenge?

(upbeat music)