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This was the moment Harry Potter author JK Rowling broke down in tears as she discovered one of her ancestors was a hero who helped protect others from German forces during the First World War.

The star learned that her great-grandfather Louis Valont, who worked for years as a wine waiter, was thrust into the trauma of war after just 15 days’ training.The 46-year-old took part in the new series of BBC1 hit Who Do You Think You Are?

The author is left stunned after researchers reveal that her relative, who went to war at 37, was part of a unit of older men untrained men used not for fighting but only to protect bridges and roads. Valont [Seen on the left] was serving with the 16th territorial infantry guarding the village of Courcelles-le-Comte when it came under attack from German forces attempting to battle through and take Paris in 1914.

She said: ‘My Louis, who was a waiter and a very ordinary man. He leaps into action. I have always been most impressed with bravery against the odds.

‘Bravery when it looks like you are beaten. Bravery when it seems you are going to die but let’s go down fighting.’ The resistance in Courcelles-le-Comte helped keep German forces at bay and ensured Paris remained free until the end of World War I.

For his bravery he was awarded the Croix de Guerre – a French decoration awarded to rank and file fighters.

In the programme, Miss Rowling, who spent years living on benefits struggling to make ends meet with her baby daughter Jess, after the break down of her first marriage, also discovered she came from a ‘line of single mothers’ going back several generations.

Miss Rowling is now married to Neil Murray, who is a doctor, and the couple have a daughter Mackenzie, six, and son, David, eight.

She fled Portugal in the 1990s after her first marriage to TV journalist Jorge Arantes broke down, and settled in Edinburgh with their daughter Jessie, now 18.

The star revealed that she decided to take part in the genealogy show because her mother, who died aged 45 after suffering from multiple sclerosis for years, was interested in their French heritage.

She said: ‘[My mother] was very interested in her French roots but never had a chance to explore them. So a huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother. It’s very much bound up in that loss.’

But she found that a treasured family story about her great-grandfather Louis Volant may not be all that it seemed. It had been passed down through generations that he had been awarded the Légion d’honneur for an act of wartime bravery, but researchers found that discrepancies in the story that raised questions about its validity.

Miss Rowling has also been given the award for her services to literature and has publicly spoken of her pride at this link to ancestors.

But programme makers said the writer was shattered by news that Volant may not have been the man he claimed he was.

Happily married: The author with her husband Neil Murray, a doctor, She also investigates her families experiences during the Franco-Prussian War.

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Jo to Appear on BBC New Show: ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’

Michaella — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:41:40 +0000

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LONDON (AP) — For years, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and her family had honored a French ancestor who they believed was a World War I war hero.

But the best-selling author has now discovered that her family had been mistaken about the true identity of her great-grandfather.

Rowling, 46, has recorded a television program with the BBC that shows her coming to terms with the revelation that her family had confused Louis Volant, a war hero awarded with the Legion d’honneur for his bravery during the Battle of Verdun, with her real great-grandfather, who had the same name and also fought for France.

Rowling told the BBC magazine published Tuesday Radio Times that the experience was an upsetting and emotional one. She said taking part in her genealogy research made her so emotional that she cried several times.

“There were a lot of big surprises, some wonderful, and one rather upsetting,” she said in an interview.

“However, I went into the program wanting the truth, no matter what it was, because I knew so little about my French ancestry, and I don’t regret a moment of it. I loved the whole experience,” she added.

When Rowling was awarded the Legion d’honneur for her services to literature in 2009, she described her pride being the second winner of the honor in the family, and how her accomplishments could not compare to the bravery of her ancestor and men like him.

She said that she has undertook the project because her mother Anne Volant, who died in 1990, was very interested in her French roots but never got the chance to explore them.

“A huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother. It’s very much bound up in that loss,” she said.

The BBC show, called Who Do You Think You Are? will be broadcast later this month.

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Jo @ The British Comedy Awards Show

Michaella — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:22:26 +0000

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So, a little while back, on the 12th, Jo presented an award at The British Comedy Awards Show held in London. We now have photos and a video from this event. We will keep our eyes out for more!

[02x] – The British Comedy Awards Show
[04x] – The British Comedy Awards Show – Stage