A South African couple who were inspired by TV show ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ to trace their genealogy found themselves in Alloa last week.

Justin (72) and Shirley Henderson (69) have been on a whistle-stop tour of the UK, and a first ever visit to Scotland, following census information from an ancestry website.

And they are keen to trace the modern day descendants of their Wee County ancestors to build up a picture of their family tree.

They arrived in Alloa having traced Justin’s great grandfather William Henderson – whose parents were William Henderson and Margaret Scotland – back to Whins Cottage, Carsbridge in 1851.

His great grandfather, who traded as a draper, married Mary Morrison and according to the 1871 census the couple lived with their children, including Justin’s grandfather Charles, in Kellie Place, Alloa.

Before Mary married William she lived in 37 Mill Street, Alloa, and was the daughter of Stephen and Margaret Morrison.

The amateur genealogists headed home to Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal province at the end of last week.

They travelled via York and the Isle of Wight on their quest to trace Shirley’s side of the family.

She said, “I was inspired by ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ and have been researching my family tree for the last three years. It’s become an all consuming hobby. So far we’ve traced back to the 1600/1700s and we would love to trace our relatives too.” Justin’s grandfather, Charles Lindsay Henderson, left Clackmannanshire and went to South Africa in the 1890s.

Justin said, “He met an English girl in South Africa and remained here.” Anyone with information to help Justin and Shirley on their quest can email them on thehendersons@worldonline.co.za