By Frances Bevan In the 19th and early 20th Centuries an estimated 10 million people emigrated from Britain, the majority for destinations in Australia and North America.
For many it was an escape from grinding poverty but for others it is less obvious why they took such a gamble. Figures indicate that more than a quarter of all European emigrants eventually returned to their country of origin, but the story of two young men who once called Lower Shaw Farm home had a different ending.
Born in 1858, Robert Ernest Plummer Tuckey was a member of a wealthy landowning family with property in and around Swindon.
Although Robert's father died prematurely, his mother Sarah's second marriage to yeoman farmer Joses Badcock saw the family finances secure. Yet in 1877 the 19-year-old left the family home in Lydiard Millicent and set sail for Australia.
Family legend suggests that relations between the young man and his stepfather were difficult so Robert packed his trunk and said goodbye to the farm, according to great-granddaughter Jenny Eveleigh who has traced her family history from New South Wales to Lower Shaw Farm in West Swindon.
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