Family Mystery Solved on the Web
Personal family history published on one's website doesn't usually appeal to most visitors, but it can sometimes produce unexpected and welcome results. In 1916 my Belgian great aunt married a British Army Captain who was tragically killed a few weeks later in the Battle of the Somme. Her late husband's family in England knew only that he'd married a 'Belgian lady' called Germaine Deru. Who was she? The mystery was solved 90 years later…
The Englishman's name was Basil Benjamin Burgoyne Brooks, uncle of Richard Moore [Major R J Moore, Military Knight of Windsor]. Late in 2006 - the year of the 90th anniversary of the battle - Richard's son, Phil, searched the web for Germaine's name and found an article about her family on this website. Phil got in touch and with the help of his father we exchanged information about our respective ancestors, including portraits of Basil and Germaine, all now featured in an article about the couple.
