Was Charlie Chaplin born in a gypsy caravan in the West Midlands? Letter locked away for decades may hold answer to mystery that MI5 and CIA could not solve

Chaplin, is alleged to have kept his gypsy blood a secret from his family including wife, pictured, Oona



A letter Charlie Chaplin kept hidden in a locked draw for decades could finally solve the mystery of where the iconic film pioneer was born.

The letter, written to Chaplin in the Seventies, claims he was born on the 'Black Patch' near Birmingham rather than in London as he had publicly claimed.

Up until now, the true birth place of Chaplin has remained a mystery even the CIA and MI5 have been unable to crack.

The faded document was sent by Jack Hill, who lived in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and was only discovered in 1991 after the star's daughter inherited the desk it was concealed in.

In the letter, Mr Hill told Chaplin that he had been born in a caravan, in a gypsy community in Smethwick, West Midlands, which was ruled by a gypsy queen.

Now researcher Edward Ellis, from Manchester, is attempting to track down the history of Mr Hill to determine whether or not his claims have any basis.

Mr Ellis said: 'It’s a real mystery - he was investigated by MI5 and the CIA in the Fifties and they could not crack the nut.

'Because he didn’t have a birth certificate even Chaplin didn’t know where he was born.'

The film pioneer’s son, Michael, first revealed the existence of the letter in a BBC radio documentary broadcast last year.

Lying locked in a writing desk for decades in Chaplin’s bedroom, it was discovered after the star's daughter, Victoria, hired a locksmith to prise the drawer open.

Mr Ellis, who has family connections to the Romany culture, suggested that Chaplin may have decided to lock the letter away, not wanting the world to know of his gypsy blood.

Jack Hill from Irwell, pictured, penned a letter insisting Chaplin's original birth place as the gypsy community in Smethwick, West Midlands

'I think that there has always been a stigma towards gypsies,' he said.

'Even today, with TV programmes like My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, gypsies are looked upon in a bad way. He may not have wanted people to know that he had a gypsy background.'

But Mr Ellis believes the evidence is compelling to suggest Chaplin was a gypsy.

He has since researched the Black Patch and discovered that it was indeed home to a gypsy community led by a gypsy queen, Sentenia 'Henty' Smith, who died in 1907.

In the letter, Mr Hill told Chaplin that his own father, whom he called 'Captain' J J Hill, had been a lion tamer in the Pat Collins circus which toured West Midlands towns.

He wrote that he remembered seeing his father in cages with lions and tigers on the Serpentine grounds, near where Premiership football ground Villa Park now stands, just a few miles from the Black Patch.

Researcher Edward Ellis, pictured, discovered the document which Chaplin's daughter Victoria originally discovered in 1991 after her father's death



In the letter he told Chaplin that he was 'the only man alive' who knew the secret of his birth. Chaplin’s father, he explained, had worked alongside his own father in the Pat Collins troupe.

Soon after Chaplin’s birth the family left the circus and moved to London, where his father began to work in the music halls.

Young Charlie followed him, making his stage debut at the age of five.

Chaplin's birthplace is believed to be home to Gypsy queen, Sentenia Henty Smith

Mr Ellis is determined to find anyone who can shed light on the letter writer, and add weight to the story of Chaplin’s gypsy birth.

The researcher has visited Tamworth, knocking on doors in the area to see if anyone recalls John Hill, who signed his name on the letter as 'Jack'.

Research at Tamworth Library has confirmed that the sender did live at the address in Belgrave. Mr Ellis said: 'I found a John J Hill living there in 1971-1972, and also from 1976-77.

'According to records there was also a Kate Hill living at the address, who presumably was his wife.

'I think I may have found a record of Mr Hill’s death in 1976, at the age of 84, and a record of Kate Hill’s death in the same year, so it would appear they passed away in the space of 12 months.'

It seems Mr Hill sent the letter not long before he died, perhaps suggesting that he wanted to share the truth before it was too late.

In it he said that he had read Chaplin’s autobiography, in which the star had said he was born in Kennington - prompting Mr Hill to write 'you’re a little liar'.

But despite this, Chaplin kept the letter, locked away for years - suggesting he may have known there was some truth to its contents.

Mr Ellis added: 'If we can find out anything about the Hills, or his father, the lion tamer, it would add to the weight of evidence.

'In his letter to Chaplin, Jack Hill said that he didn’t want anything from the star, he wasn’t blackmailing him or anything like that.