The tragic story of a Croydon family who lost four of their sons during World War I has been revealed by a local historian.
In a tale which echoes the storyline of the Hollywood blockbuster film Saving Private Ryan, Brian Roote has unearthed the tragic tale of the brothers who were all killed in action during a two-and-a-half year period in the Great War.
Albert, Stephen, Charles and Frank - the sons of Elijah and Mary Ann French - are all on Croydon's Roll of Honour after dying in combat.
This was despite two of them having emigrated to Canada before the outbreak of war.
Brian, from Caterham, stumbled across their story while looking at a record of Croydon's casualties of war.
"I saw five names of French on the list," he said, "One of them turned out to be from somewhere else but I realised four of the names were, in fact, brothers. I thought it was so sad that a mother lost four of her sons."
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Brian revealed how the soldiers' parents first lived in Theobald Road, Croydon, shortly after marrying in 1878. By 1891, they had moved to Bourne Street, Croydon, and had seven children, including twins Albert and Josephine.
More children followed but two of the brothers decided to start a new life in Canada. In 1907, Albert and Stephen sailed across the Atlantic to become Canadian citizens. The outbreak of World War I meant that all of Elijah and Mary French's boys went to war - even the two who had moved to Canada volunteered.
Brian said: "The first one to be killed was Albert who volunteered to join the Canadian Infantry Central Ontario Division. He was killed on April 10, 1916, at St Elois, Belgium. He is buried at the Ridgewood Military Cemetery, Belgium.
“It’s all a bit close to home. My grandmother was born in 1875 at 4 Bourne Street (then Wandle Street), so would have known the French family.”
Brian Roote
"The next brother to die was Charles Ernest, aged just 20, of the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment 7 Battalion. He had been promoted to Lance Corporal. He died on February 27, 1917, at Arras, France. He is buried in Adanac Military Cemetery, Miraumont, France.
"Just two months later, the other Canadian, Stephen Thomas, died from wounds received at Vimy Ridge, France. He too was in the Canadian Infantry Central Ontario division and it is more than likely that he and brother Albert enlisted together. He is buried at Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
"The final event for the French family was the death of Frank Geoffrey on October 4, 1918. He was in the Royal Fusiliers and is buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery Gouy, France.
"It must be recognised that many families experienced the devastation of losing loved ones in World War I. It must have been particularly heart-rending for Elijah and Mary French."
In the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, three brothers are killed in action during World War II and a rescue mission is mounted to bring a fourth brother back to his mother to spare her further anguish.
However, there was no such mission to spare Mary French from heartbreak and during both wars, it was common for parents to lose more than one child.
Brian said: "It's all a bit close to home. My grandmother was born in 1875 at 4 Bourne Street (then Wandle Street), so would have known the French family."
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