Maurice Bray Frankland (1897 - 1969)

Born 28 Jan 1897 in Well Street, Guiseley, Yorkshire, England.

Ancestors

Husband of Agnes Hilda (Smith) Frankland — married 2 Jan 1932 in Overseal, Derbyshire

Died 22 Jul 1969 at age 72 in Llanberis Grove, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Maurice Bray Frankland was born to James Herbert Frankland, a woollen weaver and Mary Elizabeth Bray (known by the family as Pollie) on 28 January 1897 in Well Street, Guisley^[1] in the Yeadon sub-district of Wharfedale, Yorkshire, England.^[2][3][4] He was baptised on 14 March 1897 at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Guiseley, Yorkshire.^[5]

At the time of the 1901 Census (31 March) Maurice (wrongly transcribed as Maurin) was staying with his aunt Sarah and uncle Fred Robinson at 15 Well Road in Guiseley.^[6] At number 14 Well Road, were his mother, father, 11 month old brother Harry, paternal grandfather Oliver and paternal aunt Mary.

Ten years later, the family had crossed the border and were living at 45 Southfield Street, Nelson, Lancashire. Maurice was a 14 year old school boy.^[7] Maurice attended the Walverdon Board School between 1902 and 1909 and Nelson Secondary School from 1909 to 1911, he left in June 1911 to become an apprentice mechanical engineer.^[8]

In 1916, Maurice was 18 and on August 7th he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) for the duration of the war (DoW). His papers tell us that he stood 5'8" tall with a 33" chest. His civilian occupation was an engine fitter and he rose to become an A/Cpl before transferring to the Royal Air Force (RAF) upon its creation on 1 April 1918.^[9][10] He was demobilised on 2 March 1919.^[11]

Maurice married Agnes Hilda Smith at the Overseal Baptist Chapel, Derbyshire on 2 January 1932.^[12] He was working as a Motor Engineer (Fitter) at that time and was living in Nelson, Lancashire. [Agnes had moved from Overseal to Lancashire where her elder sister was working. She returned home for her wedding and then moved back to Nelson with Maurice.]^[13]

Maurice continued to work with motors and vehicles. In 1930 he was described as an "engineer" when acting as executor for his aunt Lois's will in 1930.^[14] By 1936 he was a Transport Manager,^[15] referred to as "dept mngr" in the 1937 Burnley & District Trade Directory^[16] retiring from the role between 1961 (his father's death)^[17] and when he made his Will in 1966.^[18]

At some point, between 1956 and1966^[19] Maurice and Agnes move to Nottingham. They had no children.

On 22 July 1969, aged 72, Maurice died at his home,^[20] he had cancer.^[21] His sister-in-law is the informant, and she gives his birthday as 21 instead of 28 January. Maurice was cremated 3 days later at Wilford Hill Crematorium in Nottingham. His ashes were scattered in the Garden of remembrance.^[22]

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Sources

1. ↑ Birth Certificate BXCG 230088 dated 14 July 2014 (Maurice Bray Frankland)
2. ↑ Birth Certificate 413 dated 27 February 1897 (Maurice Bray Frankland)
3. ↑ Birth Certificate XA519730 dated 15 November 1954 [Somerset House copy] (Maurice Bray Frankland)
4. ↑ "England and Wales, Birth Registration Index, 1837-1920", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/2FW9-889 : accessed 05 Jul 2014), Maurice Bray Frankland, 1897.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. West Yorkshire, Non-Conformist Records, 1646-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: West Yorkshire Nonconformist Records. Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield, England: West Yorkshire Archive Service.
6. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1901," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X9RJ-LHL : accessed 05 Jul 2014), Maurin B Frankland, Guiseley, Yorkshire (West Riding), England; citing "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," index and images, findmypast.co.uk (www.findmypast.co.uk : Brightsolid, n.d.); PRO RG 13, county, registration district, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
7. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1911," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4M2-7LL : accessed 05 Jul 2014), Maurice Bray Frankland, Nelson, Nelson, Lancashire, England; citing "1911 England and Wales census," index and images, findmypast.co.uk (www.findmypast.co.uk : Brightsolid, n.d.); PRO RG 14, county, registration district, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
8. ↑ School Admission Logs at FindMyPast https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBOR/SCHOOL/AD/1348358
9. ↑ Forces War Records
10. ↑ RAF record on Find My Past
11. ↑ School Admission Logs at FindMyPast https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBOR/SCHOOL/AD/1348358
12. ↑ Marriage Certificate D5064-5 dated 2 January 1932 (Maurice Bray Frankland & Agnes Hilda Smith)
13. ↑ Family Knowledge
14. ↑ Probate : Ada Shackleton
15. ↑ Probate : Mary Elizabeth Frankland
16. ↑ via The Genealogist
17. ↑ Probate : James Herbert Frankland
18. ↑ Last Will and Testament dated 21 July 1966 (Maurice Bray Frankland)
19. ↑ Holiday postcards sent home by Agnes
20. ↑ District Probate Registry document, dated 9 October 1969
21. ↑ Death Certificate IH462621 dated 23 July 1969 (Maurice Bray Frankland)
22. ↑ Correspondence with Nottinghamshire Archivist & Cemetery Administrator - July 2014

See also:

• Ranks of the RFC, RNAS & RAF
• [www.raf.mod.uk/rafcms/mediafiles/F21BE44E_EE18_2A21_DE9200FADAA9DB6E.pdf Early years of military flight ] - Dead link as of March 2023
• Royal Air Force
• Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. National Probate Calendar at Ancestry.co.uk