Hugh was born as the eldest son to Hugh Alexander Alston and Elizabeth Mitchell. His parents married in Scarborough at St Mary's Parish Church, on 3 June 1897. Elizabeth was a farmer's Daughter brought up in North Yorkshire, Hugh Alexander Alston was the son of a Scotsman who had moved south to Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, London. So both my great grandparents lived in London before the turn of the Century. Hugh and my grandfather, John Henry, lived a pleasant and privileged life in the then northern and well to do outer London suburbs. They frequently visited family, in Yorkshire, and my grandfather's album has so many photos of him and his older brother Frank on holiday in Yorkshire
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My grandfather always said that Frank, as Hugh was always known, was the favourite brother, I don't know if that was the case, but I am sure his premature death caused his parent's endless grief.
Frank joined the TAs in 1915 as a Lance Corporal in the London Rifle Regiment. At that time they were living at The Mall, Wanstead, London.
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