Simon_Fielding Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 A recent programme on BBC Midlands dealt with the SOULS family of Great Rissington, Gloucestershire, who lost five brothers in WW1. This is being pushed by the family as a unique occurence, and they are campaigning for official commemoration and recognition. Comparisons have been made with the extensive commemoration of the 'Fighting Sullivans' in the US Navy in WW2. It's a moving story - but I'd question whether it was unique - what are the most extreme examples of the war affecting a single family that listmembers have come across? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Fielding Posted 22 January , 2003 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2003 PS some quite moving links on the story.... http://med441.bham.ac.uk/WarMems/greatrissington.html http://members.shaw.ca/panthers3/TelegraphSouls.html http://www.sole.org.uk/lostsoul.htm http://www.geocities.com/claremayo/souls.htm I think if these men do prove to be the _only_ examples of one family losing five sons in the whole of the UK, some memorial _should_ be organised, and organisations like the WFA (NB 'remembering') should support it. What do you think? (I acknowledge that this forum is perhaps not an appropriate one to discuss possible WFA policy - let's keep it general!!) Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 I wish someone would do a Stand To! article on the Canadian woman who had maybe 12 sons in the war with six or so dead. She was at the Vimy dedication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Fielding Posted 22 January , 2003 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2003 Paul - Try Tom Morgan's 'Hellfire Corner' on: http://www.hellfire-corner.demon.co.uk/ceris.htm An appalling story.... Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 Thanks Simon , quite a story, eleven served and five died. It's one hell of a note her grave is unmarked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 There was a family from Sussex that reputedly lost five sons - I have the memorial scroll to one of them. If I can find it, I will post the details later. Sadly these days there are all too many people claiming that what their relatives did/were was "unique" - in my experience it is rarely the case. People can't accept that they had ordinary ancestors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 The Taylor family of Leatherhead lost 5 out of 7 sons with one of the survivors working in the 20's as a caddie at the local golf club minus a leg lost in action ! Their distribution is notable also - one each on the Menin Gate and Thiepval Memorial, one buried on the Somme , another buried near Ypres. The youngest died at home and is buried in the parish churchyard at Leatherhead. He was denied a place on the Leatherhead War Memorial seemingly because he did not serve out of the UK although he does have a CWGC standard gravestone. Personally , I feel that there must be a 6 sons lost family somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John Orfei Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 I believe the Canadian woman's name was Charlotte Susan Wood and the article in question can be found on the Hellfire-Corner Site. Regards, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 My paternal great grandparents lost 100% of their sons who joined up. Edward and William George Swain were both killed in action (see the 'Heroes' section on Chris' main site) and although this isn't in the same league of the '5 out of 7' the effect was devastating on my great grandmother. She was severely shaken by the death of her eldest son in 1916 but became mentally unstable when her youngest son was killed in 1918, she never recovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_Fielding Posted 22 January , 2003 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2003 I think it does us good to stop and think of the millions of individual tragedies that make up the human story of this war. Bugles blowing from sad shires.... Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robwilliams Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 Simon, The Nott family had three sons who were officers in the Gloucesters. All three died, I thought that was bad enough. Just to show what a lottery it could be, and I'm sure most of you can better this, my maternal grandfather was born in 1901 and was too young to serve. His cousin, and they lived in the same house for many years was not quite a year older, did serve and was killed 6 August 1918. I have his War Medal and have only just been able to prove the family link. In fact, it was only after SDGW came out on CD that I knew he had died, as my Mom thought she knew him after the war! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 22 January , 2003 Share Posted 22 January , 2003 Currently I am working on a radio programme for shot at dawn... In an earlier message I asked if there were any ideas members had for other programmes.. Perhaps highlighting this aspect night be a way forward to the gaining of a memorial to the Souls family... there are others from what I see.. Any thoughts? Yes or no? John w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_davies Posted 23 January , 2003 Share Posted 23 January , 2003 Another family that may had five sons killed are the Clarke family of Colchester. Three drowned (navy ?) and two killed. Apparently a total of 10 served. An article in the News of the World, Sept 22, 1918 refers to the family, You can access the article via the following website: http://www.uk.olivesoftware.com/ Search for "five sons lost" should bring the article up. Same website and search will give another article showing the Beechey family of Forestorpe, Lincs to having lost 5 sons. I searched the CWGC but couldn't find Rifleman Leonard Beechey, all the other sons are shown. The family had three other sons serving. Article in-Jan 20th 1918 News of the World. I also found a Jarvis (not related to me) family from bedford with four sons killed. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest J.Woodward Posted 23 January , 2003 Share Posted 23 January , 2003 I know that my old school (Truro School) lost over 150 old boys in the Great War. As at the time there where only about 120 chaps in the entire school & it was the first Methodist school founded in 1880 this represents a huge proportion of Old Boys killed, I particuly remember from the chapel war memorial the Martin family (I'm afraid the forenames escape me) who lost three brothers and the Towmsend familt who lost two. Personally my own family had three officers in the D.C.L.I, two in the Seaforths, one in the Warwicks and one in The Kings Own (Lancashire) Regiment, all volounteered in '14 (no regulars or territorials)and all served in France and Flanders throughout. Whilst three (one Seaforth one Warwicks and one D.C.L.I) where wounded all survived. Likewise all relatives apart from my maternal grandfather, survived the second war. Jolly lucky! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted 23 January , 2003 Share Posted 23 January , 2003 The Curlewis family from Western Australia had four sons serve at Gallipoli. Three were killed and the fourth was commissioned & wounded three times before returning to Australia. Their first cousin was also killed at Gallipoli. Yet there are other families I've seen such as the Truran family of Fremantle. 5 sons served and all came back. What are the odds or the luck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 23 January , 2003 Share Posted 23 January , 2003 Andy, off topic but relates to your goodbye cobber salute. You know of course of the headstone to Sniper Bill at Embarkation Pier Cemetery, Gallipoli. But what do you know about Trooper CRS Johnson, 2d Light Horse and why his says: NEVER MIND ME BOYS SAVE SERJERANT DEATON He's buried in the same lovely cemetery with its fine Mediterranean oaks. I think the Suvla area of this battlefield is lovely, memory says this is sort of in between Suvla and Anzac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted 24 January , 2003 Share Posted 24 January , 2003 Hi Paul 'Brother Bill, Asniping fell, We miss him still We ever will' One of the more unique epitaphs around. Trooper GRS Johnston of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment came from Angathella Queensland. Unfortunately I don't have the 2nd Light Horse unit history so am not to sure of the attack in which Johnston was killed, but as it was not mentioned in Bean I can only assume it was a small scale action. It seems that Sgt Beaton was wounded at the same time that Johnston recieved his mortal wound, thus Johnston's words; 'Never mind me boys, Save Sergeant Beaton' Johnston might have known his wound was fatal, so his concern was for his Sgt who still had a chance. Beaton survived to return to Australia. Embarkation Pier is pretty much between Anzac & Suvla and was apparently where the 16th British CCS was based during the August battles. Cheers Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 24 January , 2003 Share Posted 24 January , 2003 To broaden the subject away from land-war, a father and only child were blown up in the internal explosion that destroyed HMS Vanguard 9 July 1917. The wife/mother, Matilda Coombs, never recovered from the terrible shock of losing her family. Interestingly the father had less seniority than his son and had a later service number. I think four sets of brothers were also killed in the explosion - I recall the Luckhurst's, aged 19 and 20, were one set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 24 January , 2003 Share Posted 24 January , 2003 Yes, the catastrophic loss of great ships such as at Jutland saw the equivalent of entire infantry battalions wiped out in the blinking of an eye. In fact the complement of such a ship is much more a settled community in their home with the likelihood that they had served together for rather longer than their army equivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Dodd Posted 24 January , 2003 Share Posted 24 January , 2003 The Dodd family all officers the first died on the 31st of October 1917 the second on the first brothers anniversary in 1918 and the last 7 days after the 2nd and 4 days before the end of the war. Conor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stoner Posted 1 February , 2003 Share Posted 1 February , 2003 I have been researching soldiers from my area who fought during the war, and to say that war had no class boundaries was proved by the Loder-Symonds family of Hinton Waldrist Manor. I have found records of 5 Sons that served, 4 of which died. Major John Frederick Loder- Symonds of the 1st Staffordshires who was killed in action during the First Ypres, Captain Robert Francis Loder-Symonds of the 1st Cheshires who died accidentally in March 1915, Lieutenant Thomas Lenthall Loder-Symonds 2nd Cameronians, Killed in action May 1915, Captain William Crawshay Loder-Symonds, who was wounded in the battle of Courdrie-Le-Cateau and later was Killed whilst Flying in 1918, and their other sibling was F P Loder-Symonds a commander in the Royal Navy. Their father was a retired Artillery officer and it is said that their mother "died of a broken heart" after recieving news of her 4th sons death. At present I haven't been able to find out much more than this (I have death dates and certain Newspaper cuttings) but the standing facts speak for themselves. A sad tale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 6 February , 2003 Share Posted 6 February , 2003 Not servicemen who died on the field of battle,I know,but I'd like to mention the Kingston family who had 8 sons and daughters aged 5 to 18 killed on the night of 19/20 October 1917 during an air raid on London by Zeppelins (L45 I think). They were: Annie Kingston (18) Beatrice Kingston (16) Edith Kingston (12) Violet Kingston (9) Bridget Kingston (8) Richard Kingston (7) Thomas Kingston (5) May Kingston (5) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Saunders Posted 6 February , 2003 Share Posted 6 February , 2003 Did the Kingston parents survive and do you know if they had other children, or was there some form of comfort for them? I cant imagine how they could have kept going otherwise. This was really tragic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 6 February , 2003 Share Posted 6 February , 2003 Dave, what an awful story, had never heard this. Do you have enough to do an article for ST! or our US journal, Camaraderie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Bluestein Posted 6 February , 2003 Share Posted 6 February , 2003 The study of fallen brothers in the Great War has always been a fascination of mine. It is not hard to find a family that lost more then one member. I thought I would share one that I have just begun researching: Both these brave young men were the sons of William ------, (The Kings Body Guard for Scotland) and Mrs. Laura -------of Edinburgh. Second Lieutenant -----------------------------, 1st Bn., Black Watch (Royal Highlanders). While engaged in fighting at the Ainse on September 14, 1914, (his 20th Birthday) was surrounded on all sides, and under repeated counter attacks. This officer fought until he was fatally wounded, and their position was overrun. He was picked up later by a British stretcher party and died of his wounds on October 12, 1914. His body must be one of the only ones removed to his home to be buried in Edinburgh’s Dean Cemetery. Lieutenant -------------------------------, 2nd Bn., Seaforth Highlanders. Killed leading his company in a charge at Ypres on April 25, 1915. He has no known grave and commemorated at Menin Gate. He was 22 years of age. If any readers have information on these officers or their regiments on the dates in question please be in touch. Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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