Seven Brave Brothers Set War Record

Seven brothers-in-arms were ready to make a sacrifice greater than anything dreamt up by Hollywood scriptwriters.

In the film Saving Private Ryan,starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Speilberg,a platoon of GIs scour the World War Two French battlefields for a comrade whose three brothers had all been killed.

The mission was ordered to keep up American morale - if the fourth brother also died,it would mean their mother had lost all her boys to the war.

But now a Welsh family has been accepted by the Guinness Book of Records for putting the lives of SEVEN sons on the line for their country.

			Top (L-R): Albert, Harry, David, Horace Bottom (L-R): Clifford, Idris, Ronald

The seven Pritchards from Mountain Ash now hold the world record for the largest number of siblings ever to have served during World War Two.

But their willingness as a family to make the ultimate sacrifice to beat Hitler and his evil henchmen has only been recognised now - 55 years after the conflict ended.

The honour comes after a year-long campaign by their nephew,retired building society manager Dennis Davies.

Mr Davies,66,realised when reminiscing at the funeral of his uncle Harry last year that several uncles had seen active service.

Based on anecdotal evidence,he delved into their history and drew up a roll of honour which has been approved by the Book of Records.

He discovered that grandparents William John Pritchard and Mary Anna Horton had 12 children between 1903 and 1923.

The siblings - eight boys and four girls,including Mr Davies' mother Phillys - grew up in Pentwyn Avenue,Matthewstown.

Seven brothers - Albert,Harry,David,Horace,Idris,Clifford and Ronald - were called up for active service.

All survived the war except Ronald,who was just 19 when he was reported missing,presumed dead,after an Allied supply ship was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Greenland on November 26,1942.

Mr Davies checked his facts with the Royal British Legion,Ministry of Defence and War Medals Office,which confirmed the brothers won 31 campaign medals between them.

The six brothers who survived the war all lived into their 80s and two are still alive today.

Idris,82,lives near Cardiff and Clifford,80,lives near London.

Albert served in the UK with the Pioneer Corps,Harry saw active service in Italy with the Royal Army Service Corps,David was sent to Northem France and Horace was an Eighth Army 'Desert Rat',a gunner with the Royal Horse Artillery at El Alamein.

Idris was involved in the evacuation of Crete as a Royal Marine on the battleship HMS Warspite,Clifford parachuted into Normandy with the 6th Paratroop Division on June 6,1944,to knock out Geman gun emplacements hours before the main Allied force went in.He later fought at the Battle of the Bulge and served in Palestine.

Ronald,the youngest brother,who was declared missing,presumed dead,after his supply ship was sunk by a U boat in the North Atlantic,is commemorated on a war memorial at Chatham.

Dennis Davies said he was still in touch with many of his family,which made it a lot easier to find out information about his seven wartime uncles.

"I was able to get a lot of personal information from my two surviving uncles as they could both remember quite a lot about the family during the war.

"I only started researching their war history after the funeral last year,when I realised how rare it must have been for so many brothers from the same family to have served at the same time.

"A lot of my cousins were also able to relay stories they had been told by their fathers,so gradually I was able to piece together the proof I needed to get the record recognised.I have had a certificate from the Guinness Book people."

Idris Pritchard,who lives near Cardiff,and was one of the brothers to fight in the war,said he had no idea their circumstances had been so unusual.

"At the time we didn't really think about it.To us we were just doing our duty and were glad that we made it home alive.

"Sadly,our brother Ronald was not so lucky and I still have the plaque given to the family commemorating him.

"It says his ship,the SS Ocean Crusader,was sunk in 1942 by the U-boat 262 which was destroyed by the RAF a year later."

After the war,most of the family moved to London to live near their mother,who had gone there just before the Blitz.

Idris,who moved to Swindon from London,before heading back to his native Wales,said he had not seen the film Saving Private Ryan,but had read a lot about it when it was released.

His brother Clifford,who lives near London,also said he was delighted with the news of the family's record.