Trio's tribute to Barnard Castle brothers lost on the Great War battlefields

A TRIO of history enthusiasts have paid tribute to five Barnard Castle brothers lost in the Great War.

The Smith brothers, from Barnard Castle, all lost their lives in the Great War – with the exception of sixth brother Wilfred, whose descendants still live in Barnard Castle.

Colin Young and his friends Mike Bell and Mike Jones made the pilgrimage to the resting places of four of the five brothers during a visit to France and Belgium earlier this year after hearing of the remarkable story.

They laid crosses at the memorials of four brothers and will return to mark the fifth, Alfred, next year.

A former serviceman, Mr Young had planned the trip with Mr Jones, from Barnard Castle, and Mr Bell, of Eggleston, for some time – aiming to spend five days in Belguim and France to visit the Battle of Waterloo.

After hearing the story of the Smith Brothers, the trio decided to mark their sacrifices with the help of Judith Philips at the Bowes Museum.

Mr Young said: “Judith knew the whereabouts of all five so we started off with Waterloo for a day before staying at Arras for a couple of nights.”

The trio travelled 30 miles south to the grave of Robert Smith at Dernancourt Cemetery tended by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

Mr Young said: “We spoke to several of the groundsmen who are employed by the CWGC to tend to graves. One of them told us stories of the troops from Australia, New Zealand and the UK who had fought in the area.

“As we left, we thanked him for his time and he replied, ‘No, it for us to thank your soldiers for what they have done for us.’ It was very moving.”

The three then went to Dernancourt and the Thiepval Monument where George Smith’s name sits alongside 72,000 others whose bodies were never found.

“The scale of the monument was staggering,” added Mr Young.

After a visit to Vimy Ridge, the trio returned to Ypres and the Menin Gate to leave crosses and poppies at the inscription to Frederick Smith.

Mr Young’s great uncle John McIver was commemorated at the Menin Gate.

Finally, the team visited Tyne Cot Cemetary overlooking Passchendaele to lay a cross and poppy at the John Stout (Smith)’s inscription.

With Alfred Smith buried at Terlincthun cemetery at Wimilie, in North East France, the three ran out of time to make the trip there and paid their respects to him at Tyne Cot.

The three took rubbings of the inscriptions at each of the sites and were happy to get in touch with the brothers’ descendants.

Mr Young added: “We did not want to step on anybody’s toes as it’s a sensitive thing. These rubbings are something they may want.

“At Vimy Ridge, there was a Canadian girl on work experience – she said with great conviction, ‘none of these monuments you see here or in other parts of The Somme glorify war, they stand to remember the sacrifice of brave young men’.”