Smith Brothers, WW 1

This undated photo provided by the Smith family shows four of the five Smith brothers, who were killed during World War I, pose for a photo in Barnard Castle, England. Clockwise from bottom left, John W Stout, Alfred, George Henry and Frederick.

Queen Mary, wife of King George V, heard about the sacrifice of the brothers and intervened to send the sixth, Willie, home.

Robert 22, died first, in September 1916. George Henry, 26, died less than two months later.

Frederick, 21, died in July 1917, while the eldest, 37-year-old John William Stout — who had their mother’s maiden name because she was not yet married when he was born — died in October 1917. The fifth son, Alfred, died in July 1918.

The mother’s grief was apparently more than the vicar’s wife could bear. She wrote to Queen Mary about the deaths of Margaret’s five sons and how she had a sixth son still at war.

Although he suffered from the effects of being gassed, once home, Willie worked as a chimney sweep and a stone mason.

"Saving Private Smith"