Heroes & Ghosts is the story of Michael’s grandfather Harold Blackburn, a pioneer aviator before World War I and war hero. After the war, scandal struck the family and plunged it into shame for three generations. Along the way, his story was lost, his memorabilia buried for decades.
This presentation brings the story of his amazing career to light through the recognition of unconscious shame affecting multiple generations. Shame affects the way memories are carried in a family, both in terms of what is remembered—or allowed to be remembered—and in terms of what mementos survive.
Researching such events requires a softer approach than conventional, data-driven genealogy. While telling this story Michael share tips and techniques that are useful for all genealogists.
Michael comes from an aviation family. His grandfather Wing Commander Harold Blackburn MC AFC was a pioneer pilot, air race winner, Britain’s first airline pilot and a war hero. Michael’s step-grandfather Oswald Short was one of the three Short brothers who started the world’s first aircraft factory with an order from the Wright brothers. And Michael’s father, Peter Hallett, joined the Bristol Engine Co. as an apprentice in 1938. During World War II he was a test flight engineer on various Bristol-powered aircraft such as the Beaufighter.
Michael became a software engineer at the largest cannery in the southern hemisphere. In a 30-year IT career he worked for corporate and governmental clients in New Zealand, America, Hong Kong and Europe, working mainly with process manufacturing and inventory systems. Moving onto human processes, Michael now provides online wellbeing courses