WELCOME TO THE FRANCIS FAMILY - my maternal side
My direct line
David Francis c1831
William Francis c 1857
William Edward Francis 1884
William Francis born Selattyn, Shropshire
The 1901 census for England lists William as head of the family aged 44 and a widower. His wife Sarah had died in 1898. It is quite hard to make out the writing of the address but it looks like "City", Hengoed although that is probably not the name. Living at home with their father was George aged 16, Jane aged 11, Elizabeth aged 9, Thomas aged 7 and Edith aged 4. William was listed as a worker, occupation given as Gardener and George again listed as a worker and his occupation given then as Labourer Farm.
William Edward Francis born 18th January 1884 and called Bill to his friends. When he met my Gran for the first time, she asked 'what is your name'? He answered 'Fred'. The story goes that for some reason he did not want her to know his real name nobody can remember why but to my Gran he was always 'Fred'.
My Granddad served in the first World War 1914-1918 he was out in France. He carried the postcard shown below with my Nan's picture, which reads:
Finder please return to Mrs Francis 8 Ash Road, Oswestry, Salop, England. His details were given as 188889 Pte W.E. Francis, 286SBAC, BEF, (British Expeditionary Force) France.
Thankfully, he was able to bring this photograph home himself. His brother Tommy was not so lucky, see right hand column. My Granddad was badly gassed during the War and this left him with a very red nose. Gas was one of the greatest fears of the soldiers. Seventy per cent of those gassed were mentally scarred by the exposure. After being gassed they were considered fit for duty after six weeks. I cannot begin to imagine the horrors my Granddad witnessed. I remember this poem as a child.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
The above poem was written by Wilfred Owen and is a verse taken from Dulce et Decorum Est: Incidentally Wilfred Owen was born on the 18th March, 1893 at Plas Wilmot, Oswestry.
On the 2nd May 1945 my Granddad purchased his Burial Plot at Oswestry Cemetery. Thankfully, he lived another ten years but I do wander why he purchased this so soon after the end of the second World War.
My Granddad "Fred" died when I was four. I remember him as a man who used to go down to the shops to fetch me sweets and told off by my Gran for doing so. She used to say to him, "you will rot her teeth". I think his delight at being able to buy me sweets came about because of the war sweets only ceased to be rationed in 1953. Other things I remember he would sit me on his knee and bounce me up and down producing screams of laughter. I also remember him pretending to chase me round his garden he was such fun.
In 1955, he had taken to his bed, poorly, so I thought I decided to take him some brown bread and butter. I tried very hard to give him the bread and butter. What I did not know was that he had died. When I went back to my Gran I told her he wouldn't eat his bread and gave her the plate back, I remember the awkward silence, then my Gran asked were the bread had gone and I told her I was hungry so I ate it, because granddad didn't want it. Despite the upset of losing her husband, that little episode broke the silence and remembered for years with laughter. This is how I remember my granddad with a smile and loads of laughter.
Granddad Fred & me
My Gr
My Gran was very much a lady and would often try to teach me manners and etiquette. I remember being taught to walk across the room with books on my head in the hope I would walk upright and straight. I do not think this worked. There were lessons on how to hold a cup properly and how to lay a table, all done with love and laughter. As young as I was I remember her saying "canna afford to send you to some posh finishing school, but my Granddaughter will know how to behave". My Gran had some quirky phrases that she would use. Here are a few:
If I asked what was for tea she would say 'bees an nees and spiders elbows'.
If I told her I could not do something she would say 'you munna say dunna it inna polite, you munna say canna for that inna right'.
Other sayings:
'Do not let your eyes grow on your forehead'. (Which means do not look down on others).
My Gran was also wise. One of her favourite tricks would be to make sure the table was laid before my granddad came home from work. She would say, "Put the tablecloth on, lay the mats and put the cutlery out, that way if the dinner isn't ready at least your granddad will know he is going to be fed".
I have very vivid memories of my Gran's kitchen. She had a stone sink with a cold water tap. The washing was done in that tiny sink by hand and then fed through a mangle. Sometimes the mangle was taken outside if it was a nice day. The sheets were white heavy cotton twill and I am sure I remember that on washday my aunties used to help with taking them out of the sink and feeding them through the mangle. The room was lit by gas light and I remember when she did her ironing the iron was placed on top of the oven to heat.
I remember the excitement when my Gran first had electricity installed. Her first electric iron was plugged into the light switch and as she was ironing the light cord and the iron cord used to swing across the room. With hindsight now that was frighteningly dangerous. On wash days I remember her singing the following song.
She who washes Monday has all the week to dry.
She who washes Tuesday is not so far awry.
She who washes Wednesday is not too much to blame.
She who washes Thursday wash for the shame.
She who washes Friday wash for the need.
But she who washes Saturday is a dirty slut indeed.
I remember the laugh when she finished singing and me begging her to sing the song again.
Gran & Granddad
My Gran lived at Lloyd Street for over 43 years unfortunately she never owned the house and eventually a new landlord took over. He wanted to modernise the house and after a lifetime of happy memories and some tradgedies she had to move into a small flat at 2 Swan Lane. I firmly believe that she never recovered from this move. My Gran died on the 12th June 1975 at Oswestry and District Hospital aged 93. When her son-in-law Arthur registered her death she was described as the Widow of Frederick William Francis. So the name 'Fred' was with her to the very end.
My
DOROTHY FRANCIS
Dorothy Francis was born on the 4th March 1907 and although I have many recollections of Dorothy, she did not talk about her past very much even to her own daughter. She married Jack Pryce in () and their daughter and Granddaughter still live in Oswestry.
When I married and had children, she never forgot my children’s birthdays and they always had money at Christmas. My husband and I always received a tin of biscuits at Christmas. Dorothy died on the 24th January 2001 at the age of 93.
Constance Francis born 1908 and I have many fun memories of my Auntie Connie I spent a lot of time with her and she use to spoil me. She use to buy me lots of clothes and I remember when she took me out for an afternoon it would be to take flowers to the cemetery to various relatives graves.
Auntie Connie always had a cigarette pasted to her bottom lip. For many years, she was a nurse. In () she married Joseph Slack known to the family as Joe they married at
The one time I went to stay with Connie overnight was when she was living at Coed-y-go Nr. Morda something unsettled me do not know to this day why but Connie had to bring me home to my mum and dad. It was a summers evening and we walked all the way from Coed-y-go to
I also remember Connie walking me over the
The above picture is the front of letter written on 11th December 1944 by Lieut J Slack (289931) 13th Company, 1st South Lancs Regt, B.L.A., and reads.
Heres wishing you a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year and I hope that next year we shall all be back home for good.
Many thanks for your very nice card which I have received today and I like it very much, and I do hope that you have received mine, of course I have been looking forward to that letter you once promised me and I hope it wont be long in arriving now you have my address, and please excuse this one being written in pencil.
Well has will no doubt have guessed or Connie will have told you, since I was last home I have travelled quite alot, I landed at a place called Ostend which was very nice but like all places over here very expensive then on to a place called Horwain, both the last two places where in Belgium, from there I moved on to Holland and I must say when one has the chance to meet the people they are very nice indeed in fact I like the Dutch far more than the French or Belgians, of course the language presents a little difficulty at times but we get over that easy enough, the people themselves are very similar to English people of course in the country they wear some very old type clothes but they do look quite smart and really all, men and women wear clogs, believe me they need to as well for I have never seen or been in such a country for rain or mud, it has rained every day and night since I got over here, the country is very flat indeed, some woods and in case I forget more water, but Connie tells me you have been having your share of rain at home anyway let me have a nice long letter telling me all the news.
How are you keeping these days and how are the dates running nowadays? still playing with those detestable Yanks I suppose, give my love to Mummy, Dad, Mable & of course Margaret Ruth. I bet Connie looked funny with her black eye? still it was a good job I was not at home or you would have blamed me for it.
Now dear that is all for now, so I will say Goodnight and don't forget to have a good Xmas party and have a drink for me.
Lots of Love
Yours
Joe xxxx
I have typed this letter as it was written. When I first read this letter I cried and felt as if it was written just as Joe would have talked. Even more poignant is that the letter was written two months before Joe was Killed in Action. The newspaper article written about his death in in the right hand column.
CONNIE AND ME
MOLLY FRANCIS
Bertha Francis born 1909 and is still living. There is quite a story to my auntie. My Granddad was sent to register her birth and by the time he got to the registrar he had forgotten what name my Nan had told him to call her so he thought Bertha was a nice name and that is the name on her birth certificate. However when he got back home he was in serious trouble from my Nan she was horrified that he could have called their daughter Bertha. My Nan immediately named her Molly and that's what she had been called ever since to all her family and friends.
Molly married twice her first husband Emrys Williams worked for the GPO in
At the time of this letter from the Queen her address was Craigomer, Cefn, Nr. Wrexham.
Molly would buy designer clothes for me and my sister. She also bought me my first grown up bed, which was a divan. She is my Godmother and on my confirmation in 1964, she gave me a prayer book and a signet ring with my initial on both of which I still have and treasure. Molly taught me everything she could about etiquette and I developed her love of cooking and entertaining. Although Molly never had or wanted, children of her own she spoiled my sister and me and in turn our children her great nieces and nephews and now her great great nieces and nephews.
MOLLY AND ME
Molly stayed single for quite a few years and married Edward Arthur Ashley- Graham in () he was an ex RSM retired in the Army.
Two of my sons travel to Shropshire two or three times a year and my eldest son always takes his children with him and my grandchildren love going to see her. My youngest son has just come back from Oswestry July 2007 and Molly was not in which surprised him on a Sunday morning only to find her walking up from Aldi with two heavy bags of shopping very sprightly for a ninety-eight year old.
JACK FRANCIS
Jack Francis born c(details to follow). I believe Jack was a Dental Technician he was married to Eunice (no further details). I remember during the early part of my childhood Jack seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. My Nan used to joke that he was probably in prison. Then suddenly he reappeared with his wife and family. I don't think his wife wanted much to do with our family. He had two children Jacqueline and Michael. Michael died at the age of 17 in a motor bike accident and Jackie died around the age of 35 from Cancer. I can't remember when Eunice died, Jack however lived until he was 88. He lived as far as I am aware all his married life in Keighley, Yorkshire.
As you will see from his letter he used to call my Mum 'Plum' and I remember him calling me 'Flower' long before it became fashionable to address people that way in the sixties.
The postcard below was sent to my Mum during World War 11 from Durban, South Africa.
The following letter was written during World War 11 it is marked 'On Active Service' it has a purple stamp which reads 'Passed by' the rest is too light to read and the signature of L. Smith. The paper is like a thin parchment and was published by The Durban Jewish Club Canteen Information Bureau. There are six images of Durban, South Africa.
Letter reads:
The picture above is of one of the many clubs here. I have just had a beautiful tea here Plum now writing this just by the spot I've marked. As it will be some time before you receive this, I'll take this opportunity of wishing you a very Happy Xmas P all the best for the New Year. Hope you are all keeping well. Cheerio
Your loving brother
Jack
There is an X in the third window going from right to left where Jack was sitting. The picture below is the front of the above letter.
MABEL FRANCIS
Mabel was born in May 1915 apparently she was named after the Nanny that was working for the family at that time. Born at 35 Church Street, Oswestry. My Granddad registered her birth and at that time his occupation was given as Motor Driver (Journeyman). Mabel married Edwin Henry Steptoe on the 18th December 1941 at Oswestry Registry Office. Eddie's occoupation was then Private No. 2089157 R.A. (Shop Assistant). His address then 51? Ashburnham Place Greenwich. Mabel then a Shop Assistant lived at 5 Lloyd Street, Oswestry. The witnesses were J.B. Pryce my uncle Jack, my Granddad and my Mum.
My Auntie Mabel has the most infectious laugh and is very laid back. As a child I remember her for her wicked sense of humour. Mum, Dad my sister and me for several years would go and stay with her and Uncle Eddie at their home in Greenwich for a holiday. Uncle Eddie used to bring us tea and biscuits in bed every morning it was such a treat because we would not get that at home. Auntie Mabel would let me and my sister eat as many biscuits, chocolates and sweets that we wanted. If my Mum or Dad got cross she would just laugh and go ahead letting us have our own way. On our visits we would always visit The Cutty Sark, Greenwich Park, the London Palladium and the pigeons in Trafalgar Square. You will see photographs of some of these events in my photo album. Mabel is still living has a daughter, two grandsons and two great grandchildren.
This page last updated 13th October 2007
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