Family history

Young Jeremy popped in with a fresh pile of queries today. He doesn't need to be a postman. He has inherited loads of money. He only does it because he thinks it's cool to be a postman with a name like Jeremy Van Der Post. I asked him if anyone at the sorting office minds about his long hair and the gold braid he's added to his hat and the epaulets. He said he didn't know and he didn't give a shit. That's old money for you. Speaking of which:

Dear Doreen,

I have a question for you and although it may not seem flying related, there is a bit of flying history behind my question. My question is: do you think we may be related? I’ll give you some background, which may help you decide.

My great great grandfather Geronimo Winnebago was an American Indian who came over to the UK as a young man during the great Huddersfield steel rush of 1851. In 1876 he designed the first all-carbon steel hang glider. It was claimed to be indestructible. Success eluded him however, mainly due to the rather high stalling speed of the glider, which was quoted as 93mph. The other thing going against it was the weight. Anyhow, the twenty gliders he made eventually ended up being used as body panels on large mobile homes and it is from this that he made the family fortune. Someone has told me that Campervan is probably a corruption of Winnebago. Does this ring any bells?

Yours Daren Winnebago.

Dear Daren,

Say these words: Campervan, Winnebago, Campervan, Winnebago. Do these names sound at all related? How can Campervan even remotely be a corruption of Winnebago? You stupid boy.

For your information, my ancestry is Dutch. My great great great grandfather René Camper Van Gogh left Holland (after a big argument with his brother over paint pigmentation recipes) to start a tin mine in Cornwall. He dropped the Gogh to distance himself from brother Vincent (who, bizarrely, dropped Camper from his name over the same familial disputations) and to enable himself to fit more comfortably with the locals – there being a good many Campervans in that part of the country.

I hope this helps, Doreen