David Dickinson: Armenian Roots in Istanbul | Who Do You Think You Are? UK | S3 E5

Adopted at birth, David Dickinson traces his Armenian roots from Manchester to Istanbul to uncover his mother's secret and the story of the Gulasarian family. In this Who Do You Think You Are? UK journey, David revisits Cheadle Heath and the grandmother who raised him, recalls being "Dave the Wheels" trading pram wheels at scrapyards, and the day he found his adoption papers at 11. He learns more about his birth mother, Eugenie "Jenny" Gulasarian, who, after an affair with a married man in 1941, gave him up and later built a new life in Jersey with her husband Bert Moss. For two decades David and Jenny exchanged letters yet never met; only after her death did David meet his half-brother Ken, in an emotional reunion over those treasured letters. David explores his Armenian grandfather, Harant Gulasarian, a textiles merchant who left Istanbul for Manchester in 1904. At the Armenian Church, records show Harant married Mary Adelaide in 1917 and the family lived grandly at Warford House. Divorce papers from 1935 reveal Mary Adelaide's adultery, explaining the fractures that shaped Eugenie's life and the secrecy around David's birth. With curator records from the Museum of Science and Industry, David sees just how large Harant's business once was, with 1920 ledgers totaling £49,610. He walks Princes Street where H. Gulasarian traded, then learns of his grandfather's decline as the cotton industry faltered. Harant died alone in a Blackpool hotel in 1963, leaving stark instructions: no flowers, no mourners, no service. In Istanbul, access delays at Holy Trinity give way to breakthroughs: an address for great-grandfather Bogos at Sakizaj 64, a lost family grave at Shishly, and baptism records at St George in Samatya confirming Harant's 1888 baptism and the Gulasarian brothers Levon, Stepan and Bedros. Ottoman Bank directories place Gulasarian Frères at Mustafa Pasha Han for decades, disappearing by 1926 as the elder brothers died. An advert in Agos newspaper sparks the moment David hoped for: meeting third cousin Hadjik Gulaser in the Grand Bazaar, a descendant of Bedros whose family shortened the name after years of turmoil. At last, David finds living kin and the missing links between Istanbul and Manchester, bringing a lifetime of questions to rest. #WhoDoYouThinkYouAre #DavidDickinson #ArmenianHeritage #Istanbul #Genealogy #FamilyHistory #Manchester