Cyril French Drive
Today we're heading out to Dannemora and Flat Bush, where many streets are named after local farming families. Did you know that?
A little while back, our friends at Eastern Times had someone ask about the origin of Cyril French Drive, and they passed the question on to us so we could dig up the answer. Of course, we said yes!
Cyril French Drive is named after Cyril Alexander French, who was born in 1912 and died in 1990. His parents, Alexander Charles and Fanny Rose French, purchased land near what is now Cyril French Drive in 1919.
While little is recorded about their day-to-day life, we do know a few important details.
In 1927, Cyril's father, Alexander, died at just 47 years of age. Though three of the family's sons, including Cyril, were already grown up, Fanny still had to raise the younger children on her own, two of whom were under five.
In 1941, Cyril married Gwendoline Baverstock. An interesting note is that Gwendoline was a Baverstock by birth. The Baverstocks also farmed nearby, which is why we have Baverstock Road and Baverstock Primary School just around the corner.
In 1942, with WW2 ongoing, Cyril's mother appealed for her son to be exempt from military service on the grounds that he was a dairy farmer.
When Cyril's mother passed away in 1962, she left her entire estate to Cyril, despite him having two older brothers.
What happened next is a bit of a mystery. It seems Cyril and his family lived here either right up until his death, or until he sold the farm to developers. It's unclear which came first.
One source claims Cyril himself sold the farm in 1997, but since he passed away in 1990, that timeline simply doesn't add up!
What we do know is this: in 2003, the road was officially named in his honour, recognising a local resident who had spent nearly 70 years in the area.
As a bonus bit of trivia, it's believed Middlefield Drive got its name because it would have sat right in the middle of the French family's farm.
