0:00:02 > 0:00:05Travelling into South Wales' Gower Peninsula is
0:00:05 > 0:00:10actor Robert Glenister, here in search of his family's past.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Robert's performances have earned him legions of fans as the star
0:00:16 > 0:00:21of hit MI5 drama Spooks and as conman Ash Morgan in Hustle.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30Although he grew up in London, Robert has deep Welsh roots
0:00:30 > 0:00:34and it's these roots he's coming to Wales to explore.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38I'm very excited actually, because I think there's...
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Nobody's told me anything,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43so it is a bit like a magical mystery tour.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Although he doesn't know it yet,
0:00:46 > 0:00:50he's travelling into a story of remarkable heroism and courage
0:00:50 > 0:00:54that would take his family to the other side of the world.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57I don't know where I'm going, I don't know what I'm going to find out.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00I don't know whether there's any skeletons or not.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03So, the whole thing is a complete mystery.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Robert Glenister is coming home.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Robert begins by visiting the Gower home of his parents.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20His father is television director John Glenister who's from London,
0:01:20 > 0:01:22but it's his Welsh mother Joan
0:01:22 > 0:01:25and her Welsh family that Robert will be researching.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29How much do you know about your family, beyond your grandfather?
0:01:29 > 0:01:33- Do you know much? - Not a lot, no. Not really.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37- Because you were born in Gorseinon. - Born in Gorseinon, yes.- And then...
0:01:37 > 0:01:40- I think I was about three. - When you moved to London?- Yes.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- And then you were evacuated back here during the war.- That's right.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Joan's maternal family name is Fry
0:01:46 > 0:01:49and following the Fry family will lead Robert to discover
0:01:49 > 0:01:52some extraordinary stories of personal duty and sacrifice.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Next stop on the journey is the pretty coastal town
0:01:59 > 0:02:02of Penclawdd on the North Gower coast
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and St Gwynour's church for the reading of the family tree.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Here Robert is about to learn how imbedded his family
0:02:09 > 0:02:12really are in the history of this small village.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16He's arranged to meet with genealogist Mike Churchill Jones.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19- Hi, Robert.- Hi. - Welcome to Penclawdd.- Thank you.
0:02:19 > 0:02:20The reason you're in Penclawdd is
0:02:20 > 0:02:24- cos it's steeped in your ancestry. - Is it?- Indeed.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29- So we've been looking at your family tree and this is it.- Wow.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32Straightaway, Robert can see that he has
0:02:32 > 0:02:34deep Welsh roots on his mother's side.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37You've got a great Welsh line.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40You can go back to your seven times great-grandfather
0:02:40 > 0:02:42who was a native of the Gower.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Robert has family in Carmarthenshire,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Swansea and the Gower,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52with strong Welsh names including Lewis, Hopkins and Davies.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56But Mike is concentrating his research on Robert's Fry family,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59here in the village of Penclawdd.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03The story begins with his four times great-grandparents,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Mary and Richard Fry, who was a coal miner.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08They had a son, John Fry,
0:03:08 > 0:03:11who was Robert's great-great-great-grandfather.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Now, John Fry was born 1832 in Penclawdd,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and died here in 1894.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24But he had the occupation of many people in Penclawdd, which was...
0:03:24 > 0:03:27- Collier.- He was a miner, yes. He worked down the mine.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31There is a lot for Robert to learn about his Fry family,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33but to get him started on his journey,
0:03:33 > 0:03:35Mike Churchill Jones tells him about
0:03:35 > 0:03:38his great-grandfather David Fry,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40someone Robert knew as a child.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44David John Fry was born 1880 in Penclawdd,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and he didn't die until 1967, so you would have known him.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50I remember this very, very old man,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54very, very dapper in a three-piece pinstripe suit.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59White moustache, white hair. And I remember his presence.
0:03:59 > 0:04:00That's all I remember.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- I can only have been about five or six, because he died in '67.- He did.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08I was born in '60. But I do have an image of him, yeah.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11- His initial occupation is as a stonemason.- I saw that.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- So he was a skilled... - He was a skilled man.
0:04:14 > 0:04:15There was an artistic element to him,
0:04:15 > 0:04:18as opposed to just an engineering quality, as well.
0:04:18 > 0:04:19- Indeed.- That's interesting.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24First Robert is heading from Penclawdd,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27to visit the nearby 16th century Oxwich Castle.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30He's learned he comes from a long line of stonemasons.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32Stonemasonry is an ancient art form,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36little changed over thousands of years.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39It has always been a highly skilled job.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43Modern building sites are a world away from the kind of work Robert's family did.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46But on an historic site like Oxwich Castle,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50the restoration work here can give Robert a real feel for the job.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54Given the fact that you still employ the traditional methods
0:04:54 > 0:05:00in stonemasonry, do you still use tools that would have been
0:05:00 > 0:05:04used when my ancestors would have been stonemasons?
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Very much so. Yeah, very much so.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12This job we've done all hammer and chisel and mallet and what not.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14There's been no modern methods at all.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17We've done it exactly how it would have been done, really.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21- Can I have a go and will you show me what to do?- I certainly will.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The generations of Robert's family that worked with stone
0:05:27 > 0:05:30are long gone, but here on the castle renovation,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33there is at least a chance for Robert to handle
0:05:33 > 0:05:36and use the tools with which they would have been so familiar.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43You're a natural! Very good.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45It's quite slippery, isn't it?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47- If you hold it at... - More of an angle? Like that?
0:05:47 > 0:05:49That's about right.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56You keep working that all the way through to there
0:05:56 > 0:06:01and then you'd be coming across with the fine chisel after that.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04So how long would this take to do?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07How long would this block take to complete?
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Well, this, you'd do this in a few hours, really.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13- Would you?- Yeah, no problem at all.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Robert is working on a very special part of the restoration.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22It's the lintel, which will be placed over the main entrance of the castle.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24A privilege for any stonemason
0:06:24 > 0:06:28and a repair that will last for millennia.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Aaagh! I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's all right.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Well done. That's brilliant for...
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Thank you. No, it's been great.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42So you've contributed to part of the castle.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45So, the next time I come down here with my family
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- I can point at that when it's up there and say, "I helped to do that." - Yeah, definitely.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57Robert is back in Penclawdd and on the trail of his Fry family.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01His three times great-grandparents were Mary and John Fry.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05John was a coal miner, as was his grandson, William Fry.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09William worked in Penclawdd as a coal miner
0:07:09 > 0:07:12in the years leading up to the First World War
0:07:12 > 0:07:16and Mike Churchill Jones has been researching his story.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21The first document I'd like to show you is a 1911 census listing.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24And it shows William Fry...
0:07:26 > 0:07:29..and he was a coal miner hewer at the time.
0:07:29 > 0:07:35On the eve of World War One, William was keen to join the British Army.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38At that time, coal mining was not a reserved occupation
0:07:38 > 0:07:42and many thousands of miners were hoping to enlist when the time came.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45But for William, there was a problem.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49- He says that he tried... - Oh, yes.- ..to sign up.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52But William was deemed to be too short.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55We do know how tall he was.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01There's some personal details about him. Do you want have a read?
0:08:02 > 0:08:03Oh, he was aged 30.
0:08:03 > 0:08:0830 years and five months. Height, 5 foot 2 and a quarter.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12- Not the tallest man in the world. - Not the tallest man in the world.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Hm-mm.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20It appears William Fry would never be able to serve in the army
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and would seek a new life far beyond Wales.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29He actually, sometime after that in 1914,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33he made the decision to actually emigrate,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and he actually went to Liverpool and got on a ship called the Afric
0:08:37 > 0:08:41and sailed to Sydney in Australia.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Wow!
0:08:43 > 0:08:44That's a huge leap, isn't it?
0:08:44 > 0:08:49And he sailed on 16th July 1914.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55- When did war break out?- It was approximately six weeks after that.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58It was after that, wasn't it? That's right.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02So just weeks before the outbreak of World War One,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05William Fry was leaving Penclawdd,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08sailing away to the other side of the world,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11far away from the looming conflict in Europe.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15But there is more to William's story than Mike has so far revealed.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21First Robert is off to learn more
0:09:21 > 0:09:24about his ancestral home of Penclawdd,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27which sits along the Loughor Estuary, on the Gower coast.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34No-one knows more about Penclawdd than local historian Rod Cooper,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38who has taken him to the hillside overlooking the town.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Well, that's a view and a half.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46So how different would this view have been when my ancestors lived here?
0:09:46 > 0:09:49There would be a fantastic difference.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51This is the old centre of the village
0:09:51 > 0:09:57and the turnpike road used to run down to the front, just over there.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01And in some ways, it's still the heart of the village,
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- but that was the old village.- Mm.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07And the new village built up across over there,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and that was where the copper works were and the tin plate works
0:10:10 > 0:10:12at the end of the 19th century,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15and the new village built up around that,
0:10:15 > 0:10:16because it was convenient for people.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18You see, it started off as a port,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and you can just see over there where Loughor Bridge is,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24the river used to come from Loughor Bridge
0:10:24 > 0:10:26straight across to this shore here
0:10:26 > 0:10:29and would run hard along the foreshore,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33and that meant that vessels could come up at most states of the tide.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35They could lie on the bottom of the pill,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38as it was called out there then, load up with coal
0:10:38 > 0:10:42straight into the holes or go to the dock, which was just up there.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- Mm-hm.- And, you know, that added again
0:10:45 > 0:10:48to the character of the village and the busyness of the village.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51It really was a thriving, important place.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Penclawdd may have been a flourishing village,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57but at the start of World War One,
0:10:57 > 0:11:02William Fry had left here for the other side of the world.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05In Australia, he had the chance of a new life,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08far form the threat of war in Europe.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12But just a year later, William made a remarkable decision,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14as Mike Churchill Jones has unearthed.
0:11:14 > 0:11:21He made a decision to join the Australian Army...
0:11:21 > 0:11:23Wow.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26..In July 1915.
0:11:26 > 0:11:27Right.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31He joined the 53rd Battalion...
0:11:31 > 0:11:34BOTH: ..of the Australian Imperial Force.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44So he would have joined knowing that he would have been sent to Europe
0:11:44 > 0:11:46to fight, potentially.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50- Probably so. Why did he make that decision?- That's right.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54William had finally managed to enlist in the army.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56As part of the Empire,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Australia was also at war with Germany,
0:11:59 > 0:12:03but there was no compulsory conscription.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06William was clearly volunteering to head back to Europe,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09to fight for King and his new country.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17By July 1916, William was travelling to France, and to war.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Now Robert has a chance to get into the fresh air,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27to learn something of his female ancestors and their way of life.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Whilst the men of Penclawdd like John Fry dug for coal,
0:12:32 > 0:12:35the women of the village, including his sisters
0:12:35 > 0:12:40Elizabeth and Mary, sought their living from the sea,
0:12:40 > 0:12:43from the riches beneath their feet on the Loughor Estuary.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48- Hi, Robert, how are you?- I'm all right, Glyn. How are you doing?
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Robert joins with expert Glyn Hyndman
0:12:50 > 0:12:52and he's taking Robert on something of a mystery tour
0:12:52 > 0:12:55far out to the estuary mud flats.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00The route they're driving along was under water
0:13:00 > 0:13:04just a few minutes before, but now the tide is out,
0:13:04 > 0:13:07which means there's a chance for Glyn to explain more
0:13:07 > 0:13:11about Penclawdd's unique industry of cockling.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Glyn still hand picks all the cockles he gathers,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21using identical techniques to Robert's ancestors,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Mary and Elizabeth Fry.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30So, braving a gale, Glyn can reveal everything
0:13:30 > 0:13:33he knows about Penclawdd's much-loved delicacy.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39- You sometimes come out here for six, eight hours at a time?- Oh, yeah.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42- In these conditions?- Oh, yeah. Worse than this.- Worse than this?
0:13:42 > 0:13:44GLYN LAUGHS
0:13:44 > 0:13:46And then, I mean, when my ancestors were doing it,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50presumably it was mainly women who did the job?
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- Oh, yeah.- And they would do it with donkeys and carts, not Land Rovers.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57No. It's a lot easier now than what it was then,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01but as you say, they'd come out here with a donkey or a horse and cart
0:14:01 > 0:14:04and they'd probably gather cockles better than the men.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05- Know what I mean?- Yeah, yeah.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Especially when they were a bit thinner on the ground.
0:14:08 > 0:14:09They'd persevere a bit more.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12And they would have to do that every day, because if they didn't,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- they wouldn't eat. - Well, yeah, you wouldn't eat.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18You'd either come out here and get something for the family,
0:14:18 > 0:14:22because there was no social security in them days.
0:14:22 > 0:14:23- Know what I mean?- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Obviously, here are the cockles coming together here now.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30They'd probably gather at the time in the region of about 200,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32300 kilos a day.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33- Really?- Yeah.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Lift them on the cart or put them on the back of the donkey,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40and that was it, but it was a hard old life for them, like.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43But it must...with a donkey and cart, it must have taken...
0:14:43 > 0:14:47I mean, on a day like this, or if not worse, it must have taken
0:14:47 > 0:14:50a couple of hours just to get out here before you start work.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Oh, yeah, yeah. And then you've got the back-breaking work
0:14:52 > 0:14:53in front of you again.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Then you've got to get them off there, then you've got to cook them.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And then you've got to start again,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01so, you know, they were tough old cookies.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04It might traditionally have been seen as women's work
0:15:04 > 0:15:07for Robert's ancestors Mary and Elizabeth Fry,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11but how easy is it for a London actor to do the same work?
0:15:11 > 0:15:14That's...that's... Try and keep your water.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17- As you're raking? - Like that, see?- Got you.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21You're pulling your cockles into your water all the time, see?
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Yeah, yeah.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27Got it. Right. And then the rake goes down.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- I think you're a natural, Rob. - ROBERT LAUGHS
0:15:30 > 0:15:34- It's in the blood, see?- It is. Once there, you never lose it.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36What are you doing next week(?)
0:15:36 > 0:15:38THEY LAUGH
0:15:45 > 0:15:49There you go. Supper.
0:15:49 > 0:15:50There you are!
0:15:52 > 0:15:53Like his ancestors,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57it's time for Robert to enjoy the fruits of his labour.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00- Tuck in there, Rob.- I will.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Look at those. Look at those.
0:16:03 > 0:16:04Straight off the beach
0:16:04 > 0:16:07and after just a couple of minutes cooking,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09the cockles are ready to eat.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11- Ohhh!- Bit hairy, are they?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Bit hot!
0:16:14 > 0:16:15Mmm.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- What do you think of them? - They're just so sweet, aren't they?
0:16:18 > 0:16:20They're gorgeous.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24I don't need any lunch.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27The camera crew can go to lunch. I'll stay here.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30So how has this experience helped Robert to understand
0:16:30 > 0:16:35what daily life was like for his ancestors Mary and Elizabeth?
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Oh, it's extraordinary. I mean,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40we were out there, and it's a nice day, but out there,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42it's blowing a force ten gale and it's cold,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45and we were out there for about an hour,
0:16:45 > 0:16:50and we were in warm coats, boots, waterproofs, everything.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52When my ancestors were doing it,
0:16:52 > 0:16:57it was predominantly women who did it so many hundreds of years ago.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59And they were out there, they had no waterproofs,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01they had no real protection against the weather.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03And today is quite benign, because, I mean,
0:17:03 > 0:17:05they would go out come rain or shine.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Robert is back on the trail of his ancestral cousin William Fry.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14At the start of World War One,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17William had been turned down by the army
0:17:17 > 0:17:19on the grounds of his height.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21But now in 1916,
0:17:21 > 0:17:25he was an Australian soldier and heading to France.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32Military historian Jeremy Banning has been researching his story.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36So his is 53rd Battalion and they are part of the 5th Division.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39It's a new division of men that have been created,
0:17:39 > 0:17:44and essentially they go into France at the end of June,
0:17:44 > 0:17:48but still, he would have been incredibly green.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Well, in his application form to join the Australian army,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55they said, "Have you applied before to join the army?"
0:17:55 > 0:17:58And he said yes, but he was rejected on account of his height,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00cos he was only five foot two and a quarter.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03It was because they needed to recruit because of the war,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- restrictions were not as stringent as they had been.- Absolutely.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08They wanted as many men into their forces as possible,
0:18:08 > 0:18:10and it's interesting, his height,
0:18:10 > 0:18:12because there's a myth now of Australians
0:18:12 > 0:18:14- all being six foot and bronzed. - I know, yeah.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16These big farmhands, and here you have
0:18:16 > 0:18:18a five-foot-two-and-a-quarter Welshman in their ranks.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Early in July 1916,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25William had arrived in France at a place called Fromelles,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27less than 50 miles from the Somme.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32His Australian battalion had a vital combat role -
0:18:32 > 0:18:35to stop German reinforcements getting to the Somme,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39where Allied forces were engaged in a major offensive.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Jeremy has uncovered the war diary of William's unit,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45which offers a very detailed account
0:18:45 > 0:18:49of their first few days on the front line.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51So this is William's first opportunity
0:18:51 > 0:18:52to be holding the front line in a trench.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54This is what he joined up for.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- Right.- To defend, to hold the line here.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01So they're there in the line until the 16th,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05so he's had six days in the front line trench.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12Remarkably, this photograph shows members of William's 53rd Battalion
0:19:12 > 0:19:18on the 19th of July 1916, preparing for battle.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21But unfortunately, William and his battalion,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and in fact his whole division, were there at a time
0:19:24 > 0:19:27where there was an operation planned to launch an offensive there,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and if you look at the date, we're talking now the middle of July.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33- Yeah.- If you know your history, on the 1st of July 1916,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37that's when the British and French forces had attacked on the Somme.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest of World War One.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Allied forces were attempting a decisive breakthrough
0:19:46 > 0:19:47of the German lines.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50At this time, William and his regiment
0:19:50 > 0:19:54were just 40 miles away, in Fromelles.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57And there was launched a plan here to launch essentially
0:19:57 > 0:20:00a diversionary attack against the German lines,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03the plan being to occupy the front line
0:20:03 > 0:20:06and the support line of the German trenches
0:20:06 > 0:20:08- on about a three or four kilometre frontage.- Right.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12And that would tie down the Germans in this area in French Flanders
0:20:12 > 0:20:15and stop them sending their troops further south down to France
0:20:15 > 0:20:18to reinforce their comrades fighting against the British and French
0:20:18 > 0:20:19- down on the Somme.- Yeah.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23And it was planned to be on the 17th of July, so poor old William...
0:20:23 > 0:20:25- Oh, right.- ..turns up on the 10th.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30William, with minimal practical training
0:20:30 > 0:20:33and little time to adjust to his new surroundings,
0:20:33 > 0:20:35was about to go into battle
0:20:35 > 0:20:38against the well organised German front line.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42So on the 19th of July, William's 53rd Battalion,
0:20:42 > 0:20:46part of the 5th Australian Division, attacked the German front line.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Jeremy has a map of the battlefield.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54So, the 53rd Battalion, with William there,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57at six o'clock they got into the German trenches.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- They'd crossed this position, they'd crossed this area...- Yeah.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03- ..Of no-man's-land, they'd got into that.- Yeah.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Now, their comrades on the right in the next brigade
0:21:06 > 0:21:07didn't even make it.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11But the attack here was such a disaster
0:21:11 > 0:21:15for the 5th Australian Division.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19They suffered over 5,500 casualties that day.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24For Australia, the First World War remains the most costly conflict
0:21:24 > 0:21:26in terms of deaths and casualties.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30From a population of fewer than five million,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33over 400,000 men enlisted,
0:21:33 > 0:21:36of whom over 60,000 were killed,
0:21:36 > 0:21:41156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Only three men seen in this photograph of William's regiment
0:21:46 > 0:21:48would survive this battle.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53It is, I'm afraid to say, Australia's worst military disaster.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55- Is it?- It is.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57It's their first time in the line,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00their first time in the trenches, their first attack
0:22:00 > 0:22:03and they get cut to pieces.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- And William was involved in that? - He was involved in that.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07How amazing.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12And very sad actually.
0:22:12 > 0:22:17To think that many people were sacrificed in the space of what,
0:22:17 > 0:22:2024 hours, is tragic.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27Robert knows that the Australian casualties were high
0:22:27 > 0:22:30in this particular battle.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32But what happened to William?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Did he live or die?
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Mike Churchill Jones has the answer.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42During that day, on the 19th July 1916,
0:22:42 > 0:22:46William Fry was wounded in that action.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49We don't know at what point during the day he was wounded,
0:22:49 > 0:22:52but it's certainly on the 19th.
0:22:53 > 0:22:58William's casualty report shows that he was seriously wounded.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Shot in both legs.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03He was later transferred by ambulance train
0:23:03 > 0:23:06to Wimereux Hospital in northern France,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09which is where he died a week later.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13How do you feel after all you've learned?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16After all he's been through, after everything he did,
0:23:16 > 0:23:21and going to Australia when he was barely 30
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and leaving all his family behind
0:23:23 > 0:23:26knowing he wouldn't see them again, and he didn't.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29But perhaps, in other circumstances, I mean,
0:23:29 > 0:23:32perhaps if he'd lived he might have done, I suppose.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36But that's very sad. That's very sad.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41It's a terribly moving story. It's very moving.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47William would never return to Australia or Wales,
0:23:47 > 0:23:50but was buried where he fell in France.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54He's buried at Wimereux cemetery and he is remembered there
0:23:54 > 0:23:57and he does have an individual grave there.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01William may have died as an Australian,
0:24:01 > 0:24:03but on his war grave
0:24:03 > 0:24:07his Welsh hometown of Penclawdd is also remembered.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13When he died in Europe his mother and siblings were still here?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- Still here, yeah.- Alive.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20It must have been a terrible shock for them.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24I mean, just for the circumstances because it's almost like losing a son twice.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26They'd lost him once to Australia when he went,
0:24:26 > 0:24:30but there was always the hope that would only be a temporary loss.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34And then a year later, two years later it was a permanent loss.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38- He never returned.- No. - That's very sad.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Mike can now show Robert for the very first time
0:24:42 > 0:24:44a picture of William Fry.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50It's thought this may have been taken with his comrades in Australia.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53I believe that's a picture with his friends
0:24:53 > 0:24:56taken before they went to war.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58How astonishing is that?
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Yeah.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05He looks like my grandmother as well actually.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08I can see a family resemblance with my grandmother. Most certainly.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10- Can you?- Yeah.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Ah, bless his heart.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Robert has learned a wonderful story of his ancestor, William Fry.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27And there are two people he's very keen to share this with.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29His mum and dad.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32And most particularly his mum, Joan,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34whose Fry family he's been researching.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38At their Gower home, he can now reveal William's story
0:25:38 > 0:25:41to her for the first time.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45And a year later in 1915, he joined up.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49- He joined the Australian Imperial Army.- Good lord!- 53rd Battalion.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52There was an Australian offensive against the German forces
0:25:52 > 0:25:57at Fromelles in France, and he was part of this.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59And there were 5,000 Australians...
0:25:59 > 0:26:03- In the First World War?- In the First World War and they went over the top.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07- It was the worst day in Australian military history.- Was it?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10- Wow, look at that. - He has his own grave.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- Good lord.- It's rather moving, isn't it?- Isn't that lovely?
0:26:16 > 0:26:21It says, "In memory of the beloved son of Mr and Mrs R Fry, Penclawdd.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22"Aged 33."
0:26:32 > 0:26:34William may not be buried here,
0:26:34 > 0:26:37but his parents, Richard and Elizabeth, are.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42And their grave has a dedication to their son.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51It's a story of great, I think, great fortitude and determination
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and I think it shows a great strength of character
0:26:54 > 0:27:00in pursuing his goals, his ambitions and his dream, I think.
0:27:00 > 0:27:05Unfortunately, tragically, the dream was cut short.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It's nice to see that he's remembered,
0:27:07 > 0:27:12that he has got a personalised tombstone in the cemetery
0:27:12 > 0:27:15and that he is remembered and will be for eternity.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Robert's journey is nearly at an end.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28As a boy who grew up in London,
0:27:28 > 0:27:32he knew very little of the depth of his Welsh ancestry.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35But now he can look across the village of Penclawdd
0:27:35 > 0:27:38and see his family and roots stretching out before him.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Now at the end of his journey,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46how does he feel about his visit to Wales?
0:27:47 > 0:27:52I've always been proud of the Welsh side of me and my family.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55And it's always been something that I've cherished.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59And I was delighted when my mum and dad decided to move back down here,
0:27:59 > 0:28:04because it gave me a reason to visit more frequently.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10I think... I feel very comfortable in this environment
0:28:10 > 0:28:13and the environments we've been in, in the last couple of days
0:28:13 > 0:28:14and the people we've met.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17I haven't felt like an outsider coming back.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20I've felt as though part of me has always been here,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23which I suppose it has, given the nature of my family.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd