371: Cecil Smither and brothers; Herbert Cross and brothers

<p dir="ltr">There were nine brothers including Cecil Smither, the contributor's grandfather. Five fought in the war and two died there. One brother, who was a reserve stretcher bearer, was killed on the Somme and one in German East Africa. The brother who fought in East Africa wrote a letter to Cecil, but died of pneumonia in January 1919. Cecil himself was an apprentice chef in Paris, but the army made no use of his ability to speak French. </p><p dir="ltr">Cecil Smither sent postcards, including one of himself on a horse. In one army-supplied postcard, the different words had to be crossed out if they did not apply, and if a soldier wrote extra words on the postcard it would be burnt.</p>