0:00:02 > 0:00:04CAMERAS WHIR
0:00:04 > 0:00:09Over the past 14 years, JK Rowling's Harry Potter novels
0:00:09 > 0:00:12have sold almost 450 million copies,
0:00:12 > 0:00:18transforming her from struggling writer into the most successful author in the world.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26But Jo has been unable to share her success with one of the people she cared about most.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Mum died when I had just started writing Harry Potter.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38It's a real regret actually that I never even mentioned it to her,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42that she died without knowing anything about something so huge.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45She knew I had literary ambitions
0:00:45 > 0:00:50but she never knew that I'd had the idea of my life to date.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53My mother's maiden name was Anne Volant,
0:00:53 > 0:00:58she was a quarter French and she was very interested in her French roots
0:00:58 > 0:01:01but never had a chance to explore them.
0:01:01 > 0:01:07So the huge motivation in looking into my family history is my mother.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11It's very much bound up in, in that loss.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47Jo Rowling lives and works in Scotland
0:01:47 > 0:01:51but can trace her French roots back three generations.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56My mother's father's father, Louis Volant married an English woman
0:01:56 > 0:01:59and I know the marriage failed.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01I know something about his war record.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04He was very brave in the First World War.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07I don't know all the details but he was awarded the Legion d'honneur.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12In 2009, Jo herself won the Legion d'honneur,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16France's highest honour, for her services to world literature.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22I made my speech in French and it was an opportunity to speak about Louis.
0:02:26 > 0:02:32It was one of the most meaningful awards that I've ever received, because of that family connection.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34But I don't really know where he came from,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36I don't know what kind of family he came from
0:02:36 > 0:02:39and I don't know anything at all about the generations behind him.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Jo has decided to start her search into Louis Volant
0:02:45 > 0:02:48and her French roots in the Scottish capital.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52I'm going into Edinburgh to see my Aunty Marian,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55who's staying with friends here and she's my mum's big sister,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and she's the last link to the French family.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01She was born a Volant, that's her maiden name.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03DOORBELL RINGS
0:03:05 > 0:03:10- Hello, my darling!- How are you?
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Lovely to see you.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17Marian Fox is Jo's maternal aunt, and the daughter of Stanley Volant,
0:03:17 > 0:03:21the youngest of four children born to Jo's great grandfather,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Louis Volant and his wife, Lizzie.
0:03:25 > 0:03:31Marian has brought the family's collection of letters and photos to show Jo.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- I'm very excited. - This is the famous wedding album.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37So this is your wedding to Les.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39My wedding to Les, me with my 18-inch waist.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Your 18-inch waist. Tiny.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44- There's Mum.- Ahh.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48We had that dress for dressing up, it was pale blue.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50- That's right, yeah.- Ahh.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53This is Lizzie, your great grandmother.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55- She was lovely.- Was she?
0:03:55 > 0:03:59- She taught me my prayers, cuddled me, she was a natural grandma.- Ahh.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01She was really gorgeous.
0:04:01 > 0:04:02So Lizzie married Louis.
0:04:02 > 0:04:03Have you found Louis at all?
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Yes, there's some here.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07I have a photo.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- Oh, I've never seen that before. - He's handsome, isn't he? He's gorgeous, isn't he?
0:04:11 > 0:04:14This is Louis' good conduct certificate.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16Right. This is from National Service, is it?
0:04:16 > 0:04:18- Yes, and look at this, Jo.- Ah.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- Was he born on your birthday? - He was born on 31st July.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Exactly the same day, yeah.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Oh, my God.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28How bizarre. Same date as me and Harry Potter.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30That's right.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34And he was born in Paris in the 10th arrondissement. Wow.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I think this is a photo of his mother.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41- Oh, my goodness.- And her name, would you believe is Salome Schuch.- So... - Very strong-featured lady.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43What do you know about her?
0:04:43 > 0:04:47- Very little. Just that she grew up in the countryside in France.- Right.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50So when did Louis arrive in England
0:04:50 > 0:04:53and why did he come to England?
0:04:53 > 0:04:55We know he came over in the 1890s
0:04:55 > 0:04:57and he worked over here as a waiter
0:04:57 > 0:04:58in places like the Savoy.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Classy joints.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Oh, classy joints, classy joints.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04And that's where he met Lizzie
0:05:04 > 0:05:08- who was working as a nursery maid for a family off Marble Arch. - Oh, wow.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Have a look at these.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13They're all letters that Louis wrote Lizzie, over the years,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15right from when they first met.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- Oh, wow.- They made me cry, they are so lovely.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21- "Dearest Lizzie." - Everything is, my dearest Lizzie.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23This was written about 1896.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27- Right.- And he was having to go back to Paris to do his National Service.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30"Now, darling, just have a little more patience.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34"I think this shall be one of the last letters I am writing to you,
0:05:34 > 0:05:40"so with all my fondest love and kisses to my dearest Lizzie, from your own forever Louis.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45"PS Write soon, Liz, time will fly now. Ta-ta, my love."
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Oh, it's lovely, isn't it? It's so sweet.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50And that is Lizzie and Louis' wedding photo.
0:05:50 > 0:05:55- Well, you can see what they saw in each other.- Oh, yes, yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58She was 25, he was 22. So he was very young, wasn't he?
0:05:58 > 0:06:00Very young.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Now this one is the first family baby photo taken,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07when Marcel was born, in 1901 I think it was.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Right. It's actually very touching
0:06:09 > 0:06:13- cos you know the marriage didn't work out.- That's right, yeah.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15So when did Louis leave the family?
0:06:15 > 0:06:18I don't know. It was always a bit of mystery.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22Louis had gone back to France for some reason or other
0:06:22 > 0:06:24and Lizzie wouldn't go over and join him,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- she wouldn't pack up and go to French.- Right.- So they split.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- After that we haven't got any family photos.- Yeah.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34- We've got this, from the First World War.- Oh, my goodness. - Yeah, this is...- His identity card.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39Wow. Wasn't there a photograph of him wearing his Legion d'honneur?
0:06:39 > 0:06:43- No, this was the only thing from his effects that we found.- Oh.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46The button ball badge of the Legion of Honour, but not the medal.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Isn't that wonderful?
0:06:49 > 0:06:52Gosh.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56I would love to know what the citation was for him being awarded that medal,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00because I feel he did something very brave and sadly we don't know what it was.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02- And I'm proud of him.- Yeah, me too.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Wow.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06And where is he buried?
0:07:06 > 0:07:09- I don't know where he's buried. - We don't know?
0:07:09 > 0:07:13I don't know anything else cos there was no funeral service anybody attended that I heard of.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15And there's nobody to ask any more.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19- I'll put these back, Jo.- OK.- I want you to take them with you.- Ah.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23- Look after Louis and Lizzie for me. - I will really. Thank you so much.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- I'll look after them.- Thank you.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31I feel this weird pull towards Louis.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33He left France to go to London,
0:07:33 > 0:07:34a massive city
0:07:34 > 0:07:36that's also a foreign city, so he's an immigrant.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39That's very gutsy.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41And then I found the letters so moving,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45this very young man writing to his English girlfriend.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49And Marian's told me he was a waiter and he worked at the Savoy
0:07:49 > 0:07:52so I'm going to London.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03Jo's great grandfather, Louis Volant, arrived in London in the 1890s
0:08:03 > 0:08:08and worked in the city as a waiter both before and after the First World War.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Jo has come to the famous Savoy Hotel on the Strand
0:08:15 > 0:08:17where Louis worked in the 1920s.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26She's come to meet social historian Constance Bantman,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30who's been researching Louis' life in London.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- So we are here.- Yes.- At the River Restaurant.- Yes.- At the Savoy,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37which is where Louis worked between 1919 and 1927
0:08:37 > 0:08:40and this is the restaurant in action.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Wow, I love this, it's so 1920s, it's so glamorous.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49It was one of the best, if not THE best restaurant in the whole world.
0:08:49 > 0:08:55- Wow.- And Louis was head wine waiter. - He was head wine waiter? - Yes.- Oh, Louis!
0:08:55 > 0:08:59And he actually got an award for it, a French award,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02called Chevalier du Merite Agricole.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07- You're joking?- No, not at all. It's a very prestigious distinction.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11- And this was given to him in 1922. - And here's his title in French.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16"Chef du service des vins au Savoy Hotel."
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Fair play to him, for a working class Frenchman who's come to London,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23- he's certainly risen in his profession.- Absolutely.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27We are extremely lucky in that the Savoy keep an archive of their former employees
0:09:27 > 0:09:29and this is his card.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Oh, my goodness. Louis' card.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36And the card contains previous employment history.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Louis' employment card reveals that to get to the Savoy
0:09:41 > 0:09:42he had worked his way up
0:09:42 > 0:09:47through the ranks of his professional since his arrival in London in the 1890s.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Political instability in France and cheaper cross channel transport
0:09:52 > 0:09:57encouraged many young French men and women to seek work in the English capital.
0:09:58 > 0:10:03By the turn of the century, there were tens of thousands of poor French immigrants
0:10:03 > 0:10:06crammed into a part of Soho known as La Petite France.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Many sought work in the city's flourishing restaurants.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Louis' card records that he was taken on as a junior waiter
0:10:15 > 0:10:19by the fashionable Princes' Restaurant in 1899.
0:10:20 > 0:10:27This is the Princes' Restaurant. You can see very, very rich, very opulent surroundings.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28Wow. Where is this?
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- This is just off Piccadilly. - Oh, really?
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It was a very nice place run by French people.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Would he have made more money here than he would have done in Paris?
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Yes, here a French waiter had this immense cache.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- So these places were looking for Frenchmen.- Exactly.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47The Princes' Restaurant was catering to the theatre crowd so it closed
0:10:47 > 0:10:51at impossible hours and this would have been a demanding job.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Yeah. I've got this letter and this is from,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56it's headed the Princes' Restaurant.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58He's writing to his wife, Lizzie,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00she's gone back to her parents' house in Norfolk
0:11:00 > 0:11:05and he says, "You asked me to try and come over next Sunday, indeed I believe you struck it unlucky
0:11:05 > 0:11:09"for we have a dinner of 60 Frenchmen and they have got a licence,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11"so it's no use thinking about it for a moment."
0:11:11 > 0:11:14- Oh.- So he couldn't see his wife, because he had to work late.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18Yes. And that's obviously one of the striking features,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- it was a hard life.- Yeah.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Louis would have been working until two or three, six days a week.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Oh, my goodness, right.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Yes, very, very difficult lifestyle
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and he earned probably about 40 shillings a month,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34which works out to be about £80 in contemporary terms.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39And by the time that letter was written, he was supporting a wife and child on that as well.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Exactly, and we can imagine the strain.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47There was not much time for married life.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52- If we look at the following census in 1911.- 1911.- You see there.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57So we've got, Lizzie is listed first as wife
0:11:57 > 0:12:01and then that's been crossed out and put head, as in head of the family.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05So the marriage had already broken up in 1911.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09And Stanley, my grandfather, was only one.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Oh, that makes me feel really tearful.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16And so he'd gone.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19And here he is. Louis Volant.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23He's 33, he's still married but they've separated.
0:12:23 > 0:12:30He's now living in 6 Upper James Street in one room. That's so sad.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39I find what he did, coming across from France as a very young man
0:12:39 > 0:12:43and then working his way up to pretty much the head of his profession,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46admirable, just so admirable.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50But when I saw the census where they were living apart,
0:12:50 > 0:12:51I felt like it was happening now
0:12:51 > 0:12:55and I think the most poignant moment of all
0:12:55 > 0:12:58was her writing in "I'm a wife" and someone else crossing that out,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00no, you are now the head of the family.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05And then shortly after that, 1914, Louis was off to war.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Three years after the break-up of his marriage,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12and 20 years after his arrival in England,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Louis Volant was called up to serve in the French Army
0:13:15 > 0:13:18at the outbreak of World War One.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21I know that he received the Legion d'honneur
0:13:21 > 0:13:23for his actions in the First World War,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25but I don't really know what happened to him.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Jo has decided to travel to Paris
0:13:27 > 0:13:30to discover how her great grandfather became a war hero.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38Among the letters Marian gave her are some that Louis wrote
0:13:38 > 0:13:40to his estranged family during the war.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45"Dear Lizzie and children, hope you're all getting on well.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49"No change here for me, still it's all a case of luck.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51"Love and kisses to all,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53"from Papa. 1915."
0:13:55 > 0:14:01Which makes him 37 which is quite, quite old to be going off to war.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07Actually in that photograph I think he looks older than 37.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12It says he was an interpreter and there's various stamps
0:14:12 > 0:14:19but really nothing else really tells me much more about him or what he got up to.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31To see if she can find out why her great grandfather was awarded
0:14:31 > 0:14:36the Legion d'honneur, Jo has come to the national archives in Paris.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38The archives were established in 1808
0:14:38 > 0:14:42and store the most important documents of the French state,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45including a record of every recipient of the Legion d'honneur,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49France's highest decoration.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Claire Bechu is the deputy director of the archives.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54This is incredible.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03It's actually the Hogwarts Library, to me.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09This is the dossier de Legion d'honneur.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11- Yes.- Of Louis Volant.
0:15:11 > 0:15:18You have inside some documents, this one is handwritten by Volant.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19Louis himself wrote that?
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Yes.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Reading in this letter,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26we see he has been injured.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Injured at the Fort of...
0:15:28 > 0:15:33- Fort de Vaux near Verdun. - ..in the night of the 5th June.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35He takes grenades to the Fort.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Oh, OK, so he was bringing them armaments.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40He was bringing grenades to the Fort.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45- On the other side they mentioned the injuries.- Oh, my goodness.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48He lost half of the sight in his right eye.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53- Right, and he's lost also seven teeth.- Oh, my goodness me.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55"Perte du membre."
0:15:55 > 0:15:57- Is that the loss of a limb?- Yes.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59So hugely disabled.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Well, on the cover you have birth date,
0:16:03 > 0:16:0816 Juillet, 1878, the place,
0:16:08 > 0:16:09Ordonnaz.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Right. OK.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16I don't think this is my great grandfather.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17Why?
0:16:17 > 0:16:20Because...
0:16:20 > 0:16:22there are a lot of discrepancies here.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27My great grandfather was Louis Volant, it's the same name,
0:16:27 > 0:16:32but he was born... at a different time.
0:16:32 > 0:16:39The date's different. You see, here it's 31st July.
0:16:39 > 0:16:44This gives a different date of birth. 16th July.
0:16:44 > 0:16:4816th July, 1878.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51Ah, gosh.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Is there a possibility there's another file for a Louis Volant,
0:16:57 > 0:17:00or is this the only one that you..?
0:17:00 > 0:17:04- In our databases...- This is the only one.- ..it's the only one.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06This is not my Louis.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10This is, this is, this is a phenomenally brave man,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14but, you know, even when you put this in front of me
0:17:14 > 0:17:16I thought that's not his handwriting
0:17:16 > 0:17:19because I have countless examples of his handwriting
0:17:19 > 0:17:22that the family have kept and that's a different hand.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25It's very different. So yes.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29It's really inspiring to hear what this man did but this is not my great grandfather.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31This is not my great grandfather!
0:17:31 > 0:17:32Wow!
0:17:37 > 0:17:41I have discovered the man who won the Legion d'honneur
0:17:41 > 0:17:44was not the same man as my great grandfather,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46so this family story,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48where did this come from?
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Was there at some point a deliberate deception,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56or is there, was an innocent mistake made
0:17:56 > 0:17:59at some point with someone looking through records,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and I still don't know what really happened in Louis' war.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I know what happened in another Louis' war, a very, very brave Louis,
0:18:06 > 0:18:11but I don't really know what happened in my Louis' war. So I want to keep looking, I want to find out.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18It's a strange feeling because I do keep thinking about my mum.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22I think she would have been fascinated by this, just fascinated.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27I think she would have even been fascinated to know it wasn't true,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31the story she believed wasn't true. She would have so wanted to know.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37The Chateau de Vincennes is a 14th century fortress on the outskirts of Paris,
0:18:37 > 0:18:41which holds all the historical records of the French armed forces,
0:18:41 > 0:18:44stretching back over 400 years.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Jo has arranged to meet military historian Captain Ivan Cadeau
0:18:48 > 0:18:54to find out what really happened to her great grandfather during the First World War.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- Hello.- Hello.- You're Ivan?
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- Yes, I'm Captain Cadeau, nice to meet you.- Hello, Captain Cadeau.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01ENTRY SYSTEM BEEPS
0:19:01 > 0:19:03DOOR LOCKING SYSTEM BUZZES
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Thank you very much, thank you.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- My great grandfather was a man called Louis Volant.- Mmm-hmm.
0:19:10 > 0:19:17And I was told that he received the Legion d'honneur
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- and my aunt gave me this.- Mmm-hmm.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22Now, she seemed to think that this confirmed
0:19:22 > 0:19:24the story of the Legion d'honneur.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29I wasn't sure because I have been given the Legion d'honneur and I have nothing like this.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33I know this sort of award. It is the Society of Trade Union award.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37So it's a trade union badge.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39Yes. That's not a military award.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41- All right. That makes... - I'm sorry.- No.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45It makes perfect sense, that makes perfect sense.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48This is definitely my great grandfather.
0:19:48 > 0:19:49OK, look at the number.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54- 7...- 782... 782... Uh huh. - And look at this.
0:19:54 > 0:19:55- 782.- You've got him.
0:19:55 > 0:20:01- This is your great grandfather. - 31st July.- OK.- My birthday, you see.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Louis Volant was in the 16th Territorial Regiment
0:20:04 > 0:20:10and territorials were soldier aged between 35 and 40 years.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14- Their jobs was absolutely not to fight, OK?- Right, OK, yeah.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18- But to guard highways, roads or bridges.- Right, I understand.
0:20:18 > 0:20:24- They had only 15 days' training. - 15 days.- So very, very few.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29We know that your great grandfather
0:20:29 > 0:20:34- was in this very small village called Courcelles-le-Comte.- Yes.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38- In October, 1914...- Yeah. - ..there was a great battle there.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43At the outbreak of World War One,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47the German Army launched a surprise attack on France through Belgium.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Their aim was to capture Paris and claim a swift victory.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58They were stopped at the Marne river, only 30 miles from the capital,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02at the cost of 250,000 French casualties.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08The Germans were pushed back to the northeast,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12but on 3rd October 1914 they attempted to outflank the French
0:21:12 > 0:21:15through the village of Courcelles-le-Comte.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20The village was guarded by the 16th Territorial Regiment,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23which had never been intended for front-line action.
0:21:23 > 0:21:29Amongst its unprepared soldiers was 37-year-old Corporal Louis Volant.
0:21:29 > 0:21:35This is the regimental diary of the 16th Territorial Infantry.
0:21:39 > 0:21:434.30am the German infantry attack begins and at the same time
0:21:43 > 0:21:47the outskirts of the village are bombed with melanite shell.
0:21:47 > 0:21:49- What's melanite? - That's powder.- It's powder.- Powder.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52What did the Territorial Army have to fight with?
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The territorial soldiers didn't have any artillery.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57- They've just got rifles?- Yes.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Against these shells. Oh, my God.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05At 9am the cannon fire becomes more intense and it's no longer possible to leave the trenches.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07This is so ominous, this is horrible.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12The opposing infantry has advanced quickly and are approaching the outskirts.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16During this action, Major Denoux is shot through the neck
0:22:16 > 0:22:20and Captain Goubet is injured by a piece of shrapnel to his head.
0:22:20 > 0:22:25- At this point of the battle, most officers are killed or injured.- OK.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30The enemy's constant gunfire causes heavy damages to our lines,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33which has a demoralising effect on all the soldiers
0:22:33 > 0:22:37who have already endured five consecutive nights and days of bombardment.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42Nevertheless, the 16th Regiment courageously resists until 10.25.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44- Yes.- Oh, my God.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47SHELL EXPLODES
0:22:47 > 0:22:53After seven hours of German attack and having suffered 800 casualties, almost a third of its strength,
0:22:53 > 0:22:58the 16th Territorial Regiment fell back from Courcelles,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01leaving a small platoon to cover their retreat.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06One of these men is your great grandfather, Louis Volant.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11This is his service record.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14In the October battle he took command of a section
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and held his men under violent fire.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21With the greatest calm he...
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Oh, my God. He killed...
0:23:24 > 0:23:27- He killed. - ..several German soldiers.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33- For protecting his position and defending his comrades. - Oh, my God.
0:23:34 > 0:23:40- He was seriously injured in the arm and the side...- Side.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44- By...- A shell.- A shell.- A shell.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46OK, oh, my goodness me.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50So, Louis Volant, your great grandfather
0:23:50 > 0:23:56who was, before the First World War an ordinary man, a waiter.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00- He was a waiter.- And a good soldier when he was a conscript.
0:24:00 > 0:24:01Yeah, but...
0:24:01 > 0:24:04- Yes.- 15 days' training for this.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Yes, became in Courcelles an hero.
0:24:08 > 0:24:15When his officials were killed, he was still there, fighting.
0:24:17 > 0:24:18Amazing.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23For his bravery, your great grandfather won
0:24:23 > 0:24:24La Croix de Guerre.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29The Legion d'honneur is an award for officer class.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33So Croix de Guerre, it's an award for the fighter.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38It's better. The Croix de Guerre is much better than the Legion d'honneur.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40That's the fighter medal.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41For me.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44That's amazing. That's absolutely amazing.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46In your family have you the Croix de Guerre?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49- Not that I'm aware of, no.- No?- No.
0:24:49 > 0:24:50Here...
0:24:50 > 0:24:52You are joking.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56..I have the Croix de Guerre with the bronze star,
0:24:56 > 0:24:58exactly the same as your great grandfather won
0:24:58 > 0:25:03and I will be very, very honoured if you accept it...
0:25:03 > 0:25:08- Thank you so much.- ..in memory of your great grandfather.
0:25:08 > 0:25:09Thank you very much indeed.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Please, please. You're welcome.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Oh, my God.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Thank you.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28I now understand how this happened.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30We have two men with the same name,
0:25:30 > 0:25:33who really were war heroes.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38My great grandfather's gone back to defend bridges and roads
0:25:38 > 0:25:44and then he finds himself in the middle of this incredibly bloody battle.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And my Louis, who was a waiter,
0:25:47 > 0:25:52and a very ordinary, but to me not an ordinary man at all,
0:25:52 > 0:25:55he leaps into action.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01I've always been most impressed with bravery against the odds.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04You know, bravery when it looks like you're beaten.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Bravery when, OK, we're all going to die but let's go down fighting.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09And that's what he did.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18The 16th Territorial Regiment's heroic resistance at Courcelles,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21helped to stop the German Army breaking through French lines
0:26:21 > 0:26:26and Paris remained in French control for the rest of the war.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Louis recovered from his injuries
0:26:28 > 0:26:31and went on to serve as an army interpreter.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34He continued to write regularly to Lizzie and his children.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39So it's just incredible to look at all these letters
0:26:39 > 0:26:41from Louis to the family in England.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44There's a letter here from 1918.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47That must be getting towards the end of his service.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50He's maybe about to be demobbed.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52And then he went back to London, I know that,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55and he worked at the Savoy for all those years.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57And then he reappears in France.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00The address is an area called Maisons-Laffitte,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04I've no idea where that is, but this is where he seems to have lived,
0:27:04 > 0:27:06in this later part of his life,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08so I would love, love to go there,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11love to find out where Louis is buried.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22In the early 1930s, Louis left England and his family for good,
0:27:22 > 0:27:25retiring to the quiet town of Maisons-Laffitte,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27just outside Paris.
0:27:27 > 0:27:33He died there on 17th September 1949 at the age of 72.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Jo has contacted the local cemetery in Maisons-Laffitte,
0:27:37 > 0:27:41who have a record of her great grandfather's burial there.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54Cemetery attendant Max has agreed to show her Louis' resting place.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Jo is the first member of her family
0:28:04 > 0:28:06to visit Louis' grave.
0:28:41 > 0:28:42Louis was put in a communal grave.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46Which is a horrible shock.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52THEY SPEAK IN FRENCH
0:28:54 > 0:28:58I asked him how many people are in this grave,
0:28:58 > 0:29:03because immediately I think, well fine, you know, I want him out of there,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05I will make sure he's buried properly.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07But they don't know how many people
0:29:07 > 0:29:10have been put into this communal grave so...
0:29:12 > 0:29:15..finding Louis' remains could be very difficult.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22Louis was originally buried in a single plot,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25but as the cemetery became overcrowded
0:29:25 > 0:29:27and none of his relatives could be traced,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30his remains were moved in 1968.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40I must be honest, part of me's very angry.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Because he had family.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47And until relatively recently he had quite close family
0:29:47 > 0:29:50in that the last of his children didn't die very long ago.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53And certainly my mother,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57who was so keen to know where he was buried,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00can have had no idea what had happened.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05It's such an unfitting end for a really extraordinary man.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29Yesterday was traumatic.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31I expected to walk into that cemetery
0:30:31 > 0:30:36and have, I suppose, a neat, satisfying full stop
0:30:36 > 0:30:39and it wasn't neat and satisfying at all.
0:30:39 > 0:30:40It was quite disturbing to me.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46So I don't want this story to end there.
0:30:46 > 0:30:47I want to find out more.
0:30:49 > 0:30:54Jo knows that Louis was born in Paris' 10th arrondissement in 1877,
0:30:54 > 0:30:58and that his mother was called Salome Schuch.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00To see if she can find out more about Salome,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03she's come to the Paris hospital archives
0:31:03 > 0:31:07where the birth records for the city are held.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13Genealogist Karen has agreed to help Jo with her search.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16- Hello, are you Karen?- Yes.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17Hi, how do you do? I'm Jo.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20- Pleased to meet you. - Pleased to meet you too.
0:31:20 > 0:31:26- All the birth certificates are organised by date.- Right.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Enter the number of arrondissement.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- 10th arrondissement. - And the date.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37July, 07, 1877, yes, perfect.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39- Rechercher?- Yes.
0:31:41 > 0:31:42So we're looking for Volant.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46- You can zoom with this.- With this.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50We're in July. 31 Juillet.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53- Yes. But there is no Louis Volant in this page.- No.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Schuch. Salome Schuch, that's him.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01That's his mother's name.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04- His mother, there. - So this must be him.- Yeah.- Louis,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07- male child, born yesterday. - Born yesterday.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09At seven o'clock in the morning.
0:32:09 > 0:32:15Son of Salome Schuch, who is aged 23 years, domestique servant.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18She was a servant.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21But it's not Louis Volant, it's Louis Schuch.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23He was not born Louis Volant?
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Yes, there is no named father.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29There's no father? Oh, my goodness.
0:32:29 > 0:32:35We have a pregnant servant. A pregnant unmarried servant.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Under 19th century French law,
0:32:38 > 0:32:42unmarried mothers like Salome had to legally acknowledge
0:32:42 > 0:32:45their illegitimate children if they intended to keep them.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49- Oh, I see a Louis. - Louis, yes. Salome Schuch.- Yes.
0:32:49 > 0:32:55- 23-year-old servant recognises her natural son, Louis.- Natural son.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59I had high hopes of Salome, I didn't think she would abandon her son.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03- And we have not the name of the father.- And no name of the father.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06- She signed there. - Oh, she signed, that's her signature.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Yes, this is the signature.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12Karen has found more information about Salome in the hospital's admissions register.
0:33:12 > 0:33:13Oh, my goodness.
0:33:17 > 0:33:23Schuch. Salome Schuch, aged 23, servant.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25She's single.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28She's single, as are all these women and they're all single.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Lots and lots of entries like that.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Yes, it was very common in Paris at this period,
0:33:33 > 0:33:3730% of Parisian babies are illegitimate.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40- Really? Wow. So she was in hospital for eight days.- Eight days.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42And as a servant
0:33:42 > 0:33:46- she probably lived with the family she was working for.- Probably.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50- So she's living in Rue Clauzel, 19. - In the 9th arrondissement.
0:33:50 > 0:33:549th arrondissement, is that quite near here?
0:33:54 > 0:33:55Yes, it's not so far from here.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04I'm very intrigued about Salome Schuch. She was a servant,
0:34:04 > 0:34:05probably a maid I'm assuming,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07and we've got an address for where
0:34:07 > 0:34:10she was living and working when Louis was born,
0:34:10 > 0:34:12so I'm interested to see that house
0:34:12 > 0:34:16and know where she was at this time.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Jo has discovered that as a young woman, her great, great grandmother,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25Salome Schuch, worked as a maid in the north of Paris.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30To find out more, she has arranged to meet historian and writer
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Marlowe Johnston.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Hello. Are you Marlowe?
0:34:35 > 0:34:37- I am Marlowe.- I'm Jo. How do you do?
0:34:37 > 0:34:39This is 19 Rue Clauzel,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43where your great great grandmother lived.
0:34:43 > 0:34:45- Shall we go in?- I'd love to go in.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54This is the first floor and this document
0:34:54 > 0:34:57shows everyone who rents in the building.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Each floor had several flats. The biggest would be that one.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03- Facing the street?- Yes.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06People who lived there would be more prosperous.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09There was a lady on this floor
0:35:09 > 0:35:11called Demoiselle Raymond.
0:35:11 > 0:35:12Right.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15She had two flats on this floor, which is unusual.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Now, she would need a maid.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Ah!
0:35:19 > 0:35:22The people in the tiny flats wouldn't need a maid.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25The concierge downstairs would do any bits that they needed.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30So, if Salome was the maid, what sort of duties
0:35:30 > 0:35:33would you expect her to have performed?
0:35:33 > 0:35:37If she was the only maid, she would be doing cooking and cleaning.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40She would have to fetch and carry coal.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Fetch and carry water.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43The hard, physical work?
0:35:43 > 0:35:45It would certainly be hard work.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48- It's the strangest feeling, that she walked these stairs.- Yes.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52This is where she would live.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Oh, my God.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59One, two, three, four.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02This is incredibly cramped.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04There were tiny, these rooms.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09They would hold a bed, and perhaps a little washstand, and no more.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12She would come down in the morning to do her work,
0:36:12 > 0:36:14and she would go up at night to bed, that would be it.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17It was just a bed to sleep in, it was nothing else.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Domestic maids like Salome
0:36:20 > 0:36:23were near the bottom of the economic and social scale
0:36:23 > 0:36:25in late 19th century Paris.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28As well as earning less than other working women,
0:36:28 > 0:36:31they were often forced to work longer hours
0:36:31 > 0:36:34and had little protection from abusive employers.
0:36:34 > 0:36:40By 1880, domestiques also accounted for more illegitimate births
0:36:40 > 0:36:42in the city than any other profession.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46If a maid fell pregnant,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49I assume that wouldn't be something she'd want her employer to know.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51No, she would conceal it.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56If she felt she had to say, or if it was particularly obvious,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59the chances are she would be dismissed.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03But in this building she was pregnant, going up and down stairs,
0:37:03 > 0:37:06and she obviously kept it up as long as she possibly could.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09Oh, Salome, what a life.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Marlowe has been researching what happened to Salome
0:37:16 > 0:37:20after she gave birth to Louis in 1877.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23She has uncovered some documents she wants to show Jo.
0:37:23 > 0:37:2618 months later,
0:37:26 > 0:37:31she's moved along the road from Rue Clauzel to Rue Milton,
0:37:31 > 0:37:32and she has another baby.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34Oh, Salome!
0:37:34 > 0:37:35Called Gabriel.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Gabriel, another son.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41Gabriel Jean, in December of 1878.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Right. Oh, the name Volant has appeared for the first time...
0:37:45 > 0:37:46It has.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- ..because this is the son of Pierre Volant.- That's right.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52- They weren't married.- No.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54- But they were living together.- Yes.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56He acknowledges the child as his own because he's...
0:37:56 > 0:37:59- Because he's said he's the father. - He's said he's the father.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02So I'm liking Pierre quite a lot at this point.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07Oh, Salome isn't a maid any more. She is a couturiere.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09She is. She's a dressmaker.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13So, she's gained a man and a profession...
0:38:13 > 0:38:14- Yes. - ..within 18 months.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17- Yes, it's not bad, is it? - Good for Salome!
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Yes. And, in 1883...
0:38:20 > 0:38:22- She's married!- That's right.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25This is the marriage certificate. If you read down,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28this is the crucial sentence.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30"By the fact of their marriage,
0:38:30 > 0:38:35"they recognise and legitimise four children..."
0:38:35 > 0:38:37"..of the masculine sex.".
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Four sons she had, at this point.
0:38:39 > 0:38:41Yes, but when you legitimise them,
0:38:41 > 0:38:43then they can inherit.
0:38:43 > 0:38:47They couldn't otherwise. No illegitimate child could inherit.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51But I do also notice that Louis alone is listed as Louis Schuch,
0:38:51 > 0:38:55- and the others all have the name Volant, presumably from birth.- Yes.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59So, I'm just wondering whether this Pierre wasn't a very decent man,
0:38:59 > 0:39:01who fell in love with Salome and said,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05"I will assume responsibility for a pre-existing child."
0:39:05 > 0:39:06It is possible.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09I like Pierre Volant very much.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12Decent man, did the right thing, I'm quite fond of him now.
0:39:12 > 0:39:18And so, Salome came from Brumath. Where is Brumath?
0:39:18 > 0:39:20It's in Alsace, close to the German border.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24And Schuch isn't a typically French name.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26No, it's a Germanic name.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30Alsace-Lorraine was always a mixture
0:39:30 > 0:39:34because it moved constantly between France and Germany.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36So, she was born on the border with Germany.
0:39:36 > 0:39:37That's right.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42I've found out that my great, great grandmother
0:39:42 > 0:39:45was, at one point, in really, really dire straits.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48And, if there's one thing that's quite clear,
0:39:48 > 0:39:52this was a woman who was a survivor. She wasn't going to go under.
0:39:53 > 0:39:56There is a definite parallel here.
0:39:56 > 0:40:0020 years ago, I was teaching and writing in my spare time,
0:40:00 > 0:40:03and was very skint.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06Not long after that, because my daughter's nearly 18,
0:40:06 > 0:40:08I became a single mum.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10So I feel a connection there.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18Jo has decided to travel 250 miles from Paris
0:40:18 > 0:40:22to the region of Alsace, where Salome was born.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30It's a rich agricultural area,
0:40:30 > 0:40:31which forms part of France's border with Germany,
0:40:31 > 0:40:35and has been the cause of many brutal conflicts,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37stretching back 1,000 years.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42The village of Brumath lies only ten miles from the German border.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49To look for information about Salome and her family,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Jo has come to the town hall.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54Bonjour, you're Stephanie.
0:40:54 > 0:40:55- Yeah, it's me.- Hello.
0:40:55 > 0:40:57- Hello.- How do you do?
0:40:57 > 0:40:58I'm fine, thank you.
0:40:58 > 0:41:02Stephanie Fisher, from the Mayor's office, has agreed to help her.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06So you know that I'm looking for my great, great grandmother.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07Yeah.
0:41:07 > 0:41:13- Salome... I say Schuch, but it's "Schoosh".- Schuch. - It is Schuch. OK.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16I have her marriage certificate here,
0:41:16 > 0:41:20and this has got the details of her birth.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23She was born in...cinquante quatre.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26So, that's 1854.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28What's this book?
0:41:28 > 0:41:33This is the birth certificates, so this is Salome Schuch.
0:41:33 > 0:41:35Oh, we've got her. Oh, fantastic.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37OK, Salome Schuch,
0:41:37 > 0:41:41born on 10th March, 1854,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44to Jacques Schuch, who was 28,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and he was a... I can't real this very well.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49A tailor?
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Tailleur de pierres. It means stone cutter.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56- Stone cutter. OK. And Christine...Bergtold.- Bergtold.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59These are very Germanic names.
0:41:59 > 0:42:02Yes, a lot people in Alsace have ancestors in Germany,
0:42:02 > 0:42:05maybe in Switzerland - it's really common here.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07And they lived here, in Brumath.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09- Yeah. Here we've got a census. - Fantastic.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13So, here we can see the whole family, in 1861.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Jacques Schuch and Christine Bergtold,
0:42:15 > 0:42:18- and here are all the children.- Oh!
0:42:18 > 0:42:22We have Catherine, Salome, Marguerite...
0:42:22 > 0:42:25OK, five daughters and no sons.
0:42:25 > 0:42:26No.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29So Salome was the second daughter.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31She was eight years old.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35And Jacques Schoosh...Schuch.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39- Jacques, yes.- Jacques Schuch is a... Oh, my God, what is he there?
0:42:39 > 0:42:42That's not a stone cutter.
0:42:42 > 0:42:43It's also a kind of stone cutter
0:42:43 > 0:42:47- but of sandstone. - That doesn't sound like
0:42:47 > 0:42:49that would be a very lucrative profession.
0:42:49 > 0:42:51No, they weren't so wealthy.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53So, quite poor and they've got five daughters.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55Yeah.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59Jo has learnt that her great, great grandmother, Salome,
0:42:59 > 0:43:04was the second daughter of Jacques Schuch and Christine Bergtold.
0:43:05 > 0:43:10The couple went on to have a sixth daughter, Madeleine, in 1861,
0:43:10 > 0:43:13but four years later tragedy struck the family.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18This is the death certificate of the father.
0:43:18 > 0:43:21Jacques Schuch died in 1865.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25- Oh, no. He was only 39.- Yeah.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29So Salome lost her father when she was 12.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Oh, God, how sad. That's awful.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33And there was also another baby.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Here.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Jacques Schuch. He was born after his father died.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40After his father died?
0:43:40 > 0:43:45Just one month after. So the mother was pregnant when her husband died.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Oh, that's awful.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52So she's left a widow, presumably in her 30s, with seven children.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And she had no job, so it would have been really hard.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58She had no job. Oh, that's so sad.
0:43:58 > 0:44:03This is the death certificate of the mother, in 1896.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05- That's not a premature death. - No.- Thankfully.
0:44:05 > 0:44:11Hang on, what's happened to the language? We're suddenly into German.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16The whole book is in German because this area in France was German.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19When did that change because we've been in France all this time?
0:44:19 > 0:44:20When did Germany take over?
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Since 1870 because of the Franco-Prussian War.
0:44:24 > 0:44:28Have you any documents to show what happened to the family while the Germans...
0:44:28 > 0:44:29Not here.
0:44:29 > 0:44:31Here we only have birth or death certificates.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33- Only birth or death.- Yes.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39I'm very struck by how many single mothers I'm descended from
0:44:39 > 0:44:41in this line of the family.
0:44:41 > 0:44:45We had Lizzie, firstly. Then we have Salome.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48And now we've got Christine, who's widowed in her 30s,
0:44:48 > 0:44:51and has got seven children.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55So, a lot of women holding the families together here.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01The other striking thing is this sudden change from French into German,
0:45:01 > 0:45:05so I'm very keen to find out what happened to my family
0:45:05 > 0:45:07at the time when the Prussians were here.
0:45:12 > 0:45:17Jo has discovered that Salome was living in Brumath in 1870,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.
0:45:20 > 0:45:21To find out more,
0:45:21 > 0:45:25she's meeting local military historian, Benoit.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27- Bonjour.- Bonjour.- You're Benoit.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29I'm Benoit.
0:45:29 > 0:45:30Hello, I'm Jo.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you too.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- Brumath was a normal town before the war.- Right.
0:45:35 > 0:45:403,000 people were living here in such houses like this, typical Alsatian.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42- Right.- Or like this one.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47- That's your family house. - Oh! You're joking?!- Yeah.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50- That one? - In this house, Salome lived.
0:45:50 > 0:45:51Oh!
0:45:53 > 0:45:56I can't believe it. Really?
0:45:56 > 0:45:58Let's go and see the house.
0:46:08 > 0:46:09Merci beaucoup!
0:46:14 > 0:46:15I can't believe it.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21It's incredible. I never dreamed we'd see the house.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24Absolutely incredible.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26Benoit has found a residency agreement
0:46:26 > 0:46:29for the house, which Salome's mother, Christine Bergtold,
0:46:29 > 0:46:32signed three years after the death of her husband.
0:46:32 > 0:46:38The owner granted use of the house to Christine Bergtold and her children.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- To use, she didn't own it. - She didn't own it.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44This is very touching... "Jacques, posthumous child.".
0:46:44 > 0:46:46He was born after...
0:46:46 > 0:46:49- After his father's death. - Exactly.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51So, Jacques at this point is...
0:46:51 > 0:46:52He's now three.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56- Yes, and he lived in this house till he died.- Oh, did he?
0:46:56 > 0:46:58In 1943.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00In 1943, he died?
0:47:00 > 0:47:02So this was Jacques' house.
0:47:02 > 0:47:03Wow!
0:47:03 > 0:47:06And here's Salome. She was 12 when her father died.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08- Yeah.- 14 now.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Two and a half years later, the Franco-Prussian War broke out,
0:47:12 > 0:47:1540 kilometres away north, away from Brumath.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19My family had a talent for being wherever there was trouble.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23Everywhere I go, someone starts dropping bombs or firing shells.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27So, at this time, did people in this area consider themselves French?
0:47:27 > 0:47:31- They were very, very patriotic. - Their allegiance was to France?- Sure.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37In July 1870, when Salome was only 16 years old,
0:47:37 > 0:47:41simmering tensions between France and Prussia erupted into war.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47Although Alsace had been part of France for 300 years,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50the Prussian Prime Minister, Otto von Bismarck,
0:47:50 > 0:47:54wanted the province back, as part of a new German empire.
0:47:54 > 0:47:58On 6th August, the French Army confronted Prussia and its allies
0:47:58 > 0:48:02at the Battle of Woerth in Northern Alsace,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04only a day's march from Brumath.
0:48:06 > 0:48:11There were 80,000 German soldiers on one side,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14and 45,000 French soldiers.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17It's one of the bloodiest battles of the Franco-Prussia War.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21In ten hours 20,000 people died.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23In ten hours.
0:48:23 > 0:48:2420,000.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27The French Army was cut in two,
0:48:27 > 0:48:31and one part go south through Brumath to go to Strasbourg.
0:48:31 > 0:48:32I see.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36The Mayor from Brumath wrote exactly what happens.
0:48:36 > 0:48:37Here you have translation.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42"In the evening, the first troops, which had fled from the French Army arrived in Brumath,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45"saying everything is lost. Infantry on horses, cavalry on foot,
0:48:45 > 0:48:48"and soldiers of all types made up a motley group.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53"These poor wretches were treated as cowards by some of the people in Brumath."
0:48:56 > 0:49:00It's very possible that Salome and her family
0:49:00 > 0:49:03were seeing these troops pass under their window.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05More than possible, for sure.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09- I'm guessing the Prussians were close on these people's tails.- Yeah.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11- They're coming to Brumath now. - Yeah.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15"On Monday 8th August, several German regiments arrived in Brumath
0:49:15 > 0:49:17"and Tuesday..."
0:49:17 > 0:49:24Oh, my goodness! "..Tuesday, 18,000 soldiers arrived and camped nearby."
0:49:24 > 0:49:2718,000 soldiers descend.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29- Here.- On this tiny little town.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31Yes, 3,000 inhabitants.
0:49:31 > 0:49:32This is an invasion to them.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34For them it's purely an invasion.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36My great, great grandmother.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39What do you think it would have been like for her?
0:49:39 > 0:49:42I think everything stopped. The normal life she had stopped.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44You can't go to school any more,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47you can't go outside of your house like you did before.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50You have to give everything you can to the soldiers.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52- There's no choice. - Yeah, of course.- No choice.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Yeah, under pain of death, presumably.
0:49:54 > 0:49:59So, coming into the house and saying, "We take eggs, milk, everything you have."
0:49:59 > 0:50:00It was very difficult.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03- She had trauma upon trauma. - Yeah.- She loses her father at 12,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06they have a very brief period of security.
0:50:06 > 0:50:07Exactly.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09And then the town's invaded.
0:50:09 > 0:50:13Yes, and the people here, and Salome also, I think, and her mother,
0:50:13 > 0:50:17absolutely don't know what will happen at the end of the war.
0:50:18 > 0:50:20The fate of Salome and her family
0:50:20 > 0:50:24rested on the defence of the Alsatian capital, Strasbourg,
0:50:24 > 0:50:26where the remains of the French Army had taken refuge.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29Using Brumath as their base,
0:50:29 > 0:50:33German forces besieged the city for six weeks.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39They fired almost 200,000 artillery shells into Strasbourg,
0:50:39 > 0:50:41destroying much of it,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44and killing thousands of men, women and children.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52Many of the German soldiers who died in the siege were buried in Brumath.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56At the end of the siege,
0:50:56 > 0:50:5727th September,
0:50:57 > 0:51:02everybody here in the area are in expectation of what will happen.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05On 8th October, a real announcement came -
0:51:05 > 0:51:08"Strassburg ist und bleibt Deutsch."
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- Strasbourg is and will remain German. - German, exactly.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16Would it be true to say then, that on 8th October,
0:51:16 > 0:51:20- my family effectively became German? - Not for sure.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25Because, months later at the Treaty of Frankfurt,
0:51:25 > 0:51:27between France and Germany,
0:51:27 > 0:51:31there was an article, which said people can choose
0:51:31 > 0:51:36whether they want to remain French or if they want to become German.
0:51:36 > 0:51:37Right.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39But, Bismarck said, "You can choose,
0:51:39 > 0:51:43"but if you remain French, goodbye. Leave your place and go."
0:51:43 > 0:51:45- Go to France?- To France.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48- Oh, that choice! - Exactly. That was a choice(!)
0:51:48 > 0:51:49That's great, isn't it?
0:51:49 > 0:51:52- They were called the Optants. - The Optants.
0:51:52 > 0:51:53They had to sign a paper.
0:51:53 > 0:51:58If you want to know if your family became German or remained French...
0:51:58 > 0:52:01- I've got to find the opting paper. - Exactly.
0:52:03 > 0:52:06Under the harsh terms of Bismarck's choice,
0:52:06 > 0:52:11125,000 people, almost 10% of the population of Alsace,
0:52:11 > 0:52:13and the neighbouring province of Lorraine,
0:52:13 > 0:52:19gave up their homes and livelihoods to remain French and left.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24The rest, mostly poor peasant farmers dependant on their land,
0:52:24 > 0:52:26became citizens of the new Germany.
0:52:29 > 0:52:34I started this thinking I was going to look for my French roots
0:52:34 > 0:52:37and now I discover there's a possibility those French roots
0:52:37 > 0:52:39might have turned German at some point.
0:52:41 > 0:52:44I'd love to think they made the decision to remain French.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47I think it would have been very brave,
0:52:47 > 0:52:49but that might be a step too far,
0:52:49 > 0:52:55for a family that was living on the very verge of extreme poverty.
0:52:55 > 0:52:58So, maybe we are more German than I thought.
0:53:00 > 0:53:04To discover what happened to Salome and her family after the war,
0:53:04 > 0:53:09Jo has come to the Protestant church in Brumath to meet a genealogist.
0:53:09 > 0:53:10Bonjour.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14- You are Guy?- Yes, I am.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16- I'm Jo. How do you do? - How do you do?
0:53:16 > 0:53:18- Please come in.- Thank you.
0:53:21 > 0:53:27In this church your family was married, baptised.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29In here?
0:53:29 > 0:53:30In this church, yeah.
0:53:30 > 0:53:31Wow.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34Guy has been looking at the names of Brumath residents
0:53:34 > 0:53:37who opted to leave Alsace.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42- We looked for the opting document for Christine Bergtold.- Yeah, OK.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45- But we didn't find anything. - I see.
0:53:45 > 0:53:46Showing that she opted.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50I completely understand why Christine didn't opt to remain French.
0:53:50 > 0:53:54I think in her situation that would be a very...
0:53:54 > 0:53:57Almost a foolish thing to do.
0:53:57 > 0:54:01But I'm interested in Salome because I know she decided to go to Paris,
0:54:01 > 0:54:04so I'm wondering why she decided to leave.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07She could not opt because she was not 21.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09- She was too young. - She was underage.
0:54:09 > 0:54:10- She was 17.- Yes.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14- But we have a document here. Somebody of her family...- Yes?
0:54:14 > 0:54:16..opted in Paris.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18Bergtold, Catherine.
0:54:18 > 0:54:24- Oh, yes! Oh, yes!- Who was a great aunt of Salome.- Right.
0:54:24 > 0:54:28And Catherine Bergtold opted, you see here,
0:54:28 > 0:54:32on 9th September 1872.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36- Yes.- So, I think Salome went to Paris with her great aunt.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39So she still... She's technically German.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43Exactly, she's technically German but living in Paris.
0:54:43 > 0:54:49Are you saying that my great, great grandmother was actually German?
0:54:49 > 0:54:50Depends.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52- Uh-huh.- Did she marry?
0:54:52 > 0:54:56She did marry. She did. She married Pierre Volant, who was French.
0:54:56 > 0:55:01Ah, so according to the French law, she became French when she married.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06So, she's born French, she becomes German
0:55:06 > 0:55:09and then she becomes French again.
0:55:09 > 0:55:10Yes, exactly.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13She was German let's say, ten years.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16At bayonet-point, though, I don't think it counts.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23Whilst Salome started a new life in Paris,
0:55:23 > 0:55:27her mother, Christine, remained in Brumath as a German citizen
0:55:27 > 0:55:29until her death in 1886.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36Salome's younger brother, Jacques, stayed with his mother
0:55:36 > 0:55:39and was forced to serve in the German Army.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45He and his descendants are buried in the church's graveyard,
0:55:45 > 0:55:48and Guy has brought Jo to see the Schuch family graves.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57- Bonjour.- Bonjour.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59- Bonjour. Ca va?- Ca va bien.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01- Merci.- Tres bien.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05C'est le fils... It is the son of Guillaume Schuch.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Guillaume Schuch was the son of Jacques.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11- Ah, OK.- Jacques Schuch, the brother of Salome.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13We're cousins!
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Yes, absolutely. You are cousins.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25He's saying Brumath draws everyone back.
0:56:26 > 0:56:30Ca c'est le grand-pere et la grand-mere.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33That's Jacques, my great, great, great uncle.
0:56:33 > 0:56:36So, I've got Salome's little brother, sitting
0:56:36 > 0:56:39as an elderly gentleman outside the house that we visited.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41That's incredible.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44- Are you sure?- A big gift.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47That's beautiful, I will treasure it. Thank you.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Merci beaucoup.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53Merci. C'est tres bon. C'est tres gentile.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56- Oui.- Wow, I've got a photo.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59Mr Schuch knows about Harry Potter.
0:56:59 > 0:57:01He has seen the film on the television.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23Salome Schuch spent the rest of her life in Paris,
0:57:23 > 0:57:27and lived to see Alsace and her home town of Brumath
0:57:27 > 0:57:31return to French control at the end of the First World War,
0:57:31 > 0:57:35a war in which her son Louis was awarded the Croix de Guerre
0:57:35 > 0:57:38for his actions at the Battle of Courcelles.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41As a storyteller,
0:57:41 > 0:57:47the person, I suppose, for me, who sings out from the whole family story is Salome.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50She went through very difficult times,
0:57:50 > 0:57:55and I feel that we are what we are really because of her bravery.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59She held the family together and built, actually, a very strong, stable family.
0:57:59 > 0:58:01So we've really done what I set out to do.
0:58:01 > 0:58:04I wanted to find out the truth about my French roots, and I have.
0:58:04 > 0:58:10And my mother would have adored every minute of this.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13She'd have loved the whole thing. It's been wonderful.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:21 > 0:58:25E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk