Mary Jane Markey (not her real name) delved deep into her family history and found a lot more than she could have bargained for. She uncovered terrible secrets that had been kept hidden for seventy-nine years behind closed doors. She dared to open those doors only to find the truth of her families hidden secret, a truth so terrible to comprehend, hidden abuse, pregnancy and yet again, the British justice system had failed to protect the innocent and allowed a monster to walk free and continue his reign of terror.
This is her continuing story. Beware of the secrets you many uncover in YOUR family tree.
Excerpt
It is true what they say about delving into your family history, ‘Beware of the secrets you may uncover’. Delving into my ‘Paternal’ side of the family, I unearthed many things during my investigative research. I was excited and amazed and amused at some of the things that I found out. Then, I inadvertently stumbled upon a family secret so terrible that it shook me to the core and made me feel sick to my stomach. It was a secret that had long been buried with those concerned until I began digging deeper into my family tree. Whilst asking questions on my paternal side of the family, there were certain hints within the answers that I received. I thought to myself at the time that I could not possibly be correct in my interpretations of those answers. It was far too terrible a thing to have happened in MY family surely. I became apprehensive and afraid to ask more questions but because I had already ‘opened that can of worms’ so to speak, there was one person who felt the need to tell the story and to let the terrible truth be revealed at long last. It was a truth so terrible that part of me wished I had not learned of it. You think that those things happen to other families, not yours. I am ashamed of what I stumbled upon, and yet, I feel the need to share my story once again. Justice was never served so, in effect, no prosecution, punishment or sentence was given. The ‘British Justice System’ failed, yet again, and turned a blind eye and allowed a heinous crime to continue for many years. If any of you have read my autobiography ‘The Journey From victim to survivor’ then you will know and understand my feelings on our ‘so called’ justice system. I have also discovered that ‘sex crimes’ records are sealed for 100 years. When I asked as to the question why, I was informed that it was to protect the victims of these crimes. HA, what an absolute joke! Yes, it may protect the victims of sex crimes, but it also protects the god damned guilty. I delved deeper and was informed that it had all been reported in the Gazette. I am unsure of the exact dates and year, but have approximates, so I have begun my search at the local library. Looking through reels and reels of microfilm is a long and painful process, but I am determined to find what I am looking for. I talk about a man that I had considered to be a hero for so many years. I was told that when I was born in 1970, he absolutely doted on me and that I was always sat on his knee. Whenever I think of that I cringe and shiver in disgust. He was not a hero at all. He was a monster. A monster who had abused two of his own daughters. If he had not have died in 1973, would I have become another of his victims? It is a question that I cannot bare to know the answer to. I laid flowers on his grave for years, a grave he shares with his wife, but no more do I visit that grave. This monster should be named and shamed for what he got away with. Who is this monster you may ask? Well let me tell you. The monster’s name was William Charles Cooper and he was my ‘paternal’ great grandfather.
