Fred Sirieix, the maître d' from Channel 4's First Dates, was moved to tears while filming an episode of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? The 53-year-old, who was born in Limoges, France, uncovered a remarkable story about his grandfather, Rene Bordas, whom he affectionately called Pepe.
Rene fought in World War Two as part of the 32nd artillery regiment near Ardennes. After the German attack in 1940, he was captured and became a prisoner of war. He was marched to Saint-Florentin and forced to work on farms, including one in the medieval town of Coulanges. There, he met and fell in love with a local woman named Genevieve, who Fred calls Meme. Fred speculated that they met over food, with a flirtatious look or a shared glass of wine sparking a romance.
When Rene learned he was to be deported to Germany, he escaped with Genevieve's help. German records from 1940 list him as 'Escaped', and he was among fewer than five per cent of prisoners who successfully fled. Fred expressed his pride, noting the immense risk: if caught, Rene would have been shot on sight. Genevieve later followed Rene to Limoges, which was not under German occupation, and they married.
Fred also discovered that three generations of his family were winemakers in Burgundy, his favourite wine region. A census from 1872 showed his three-times great grandfather, Etienne Charrie, owned a small vineyard in Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche. The family stopped making wine after the phylloxera bug destroyed their grapes. Fred was thrilled to learn about this heritage.
