Singer Pixie’s family didn’t have a Lott
SINGER Pixie Lott cried after hearing her impoverished ancestors struggled to survive in London’s tough Victorian workhouses – while another was a prisoner of war.
Appearing on Who Do You Think You Are?, Pixie, 30, learned that relatives on her dad’s side were Irish but moved to East London.
Kicked out of their home, they were moved to a workhouse, where the poor conditions proved deadly.
Great-grandmother Mary Fleming, who was born in 1889, lived on the street from the age of two, was orphaned at 13 and lost many of her 10 siblings.
Tough
Pixie said: “It’s not that far back. But her world was so different to mine. One thing that was clear was that they tried to stick together – and I definitely think that’s been taken down the generations because we have that in our family.
“The workhouse we visited that they lived in for a time was down the road to where I’ve been living for the past 10 years.” Meanwhile, on her mother’s side, a number of men were military musicians, showing Pixie’s talents are in the genes despite her parents not being musical.
Great-grandfather John Frederick was an amateur musician in the Marines, great-great-grandfather William Martin was a pro in an Army military band and great-great-greatgrandfather John Martin served for 26 years in the 2nd Life Guards – part of the Household Cavalry.
Pixie, who is also a stage star, again became emotional on hearing her great-grandpa Joseph Lott was captured during the First World War.
She said: “I can’t even imagine what Joseph went through and how he ever recovered. He was so young to be a prisoner of war.
“After he joined to fight for our country, he ended up having to work to aid the opposing country, it must have been incredibly tough.”
●Pixie’s Who Do You Think You Are? is on BBC One next Tuesday at 9pm