WELCOME TO THE FRANCIS FAMILY
My maternal direct line
David Francis c1831
William Francis c 1857
William Edward Francis 1884 - 1955
The Francis family apart from my Gran and Grandad were a bit of a mystery. Therefore until I talk about my granddad the information on the earlier Francis's will be what I have gained from public records.
My granddad married Mary Jane Groves and although I write very fondly of my granddad he died when I was four. The family stories are sketchy and as we all get older they become very diluted.
William Francis born Selattyn, Shropshire
The 1901 census for
WILLIAM EDWARD FRANCIS
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
Finder please return to Mrs Francis 8 Ash Road, Oswestry,
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. However I do remember this poem as a child that he used to sing as he chased me around his garden.
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.
In 1993 I attended a series of poetry and writing workshops and it wasn’t until then that I discovered the significance of the above verse. My granddad had made it sound so much fun as he chased me around his garden I would have only been three or four. My screams of laughter must have been very different from the screams of the men on the battlefield and only history can tell me the horrors he must have witnessed. 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
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 second world war as 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. If you look at the photograph below of the two of us I think he was very happy to be with me.
Granddad Fred & me
My Gran
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 although rather posh had some quirky phrases that she would use. Here are a few:
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'. This was often repeated by my own mum as my sister and I grew up.
If I asked what was for tea she would say 'bees an nees and spiders elbows'.
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, you had to watch you didn't graze your arm as it was chipped and ragged around the edges. The clothes were washed in that tiny sink by hand and then fed through a mangle. On a nice day the mangle was carried outside by my aunties. The sheets were white heavy cotton twill and I am sure I remember that on washday my aunties also used to help with taking them out of the sink and feeding them through the mangle. The water dribbled out into a tin bath and was then used to water the garden. With the sheets it took great effort and often family team work to lift them from the sink to the mangle, On wash days I remember my gran and aunties 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 laughter when they finished singing and me begging them to sing the song again. It would take a whole day to wash, line dry, fold and air the clothes. When it rained then Gran had a pulley attached to the ceiling which she brought down. The pulley was fixed to the ceiling by chains and had a cord which was wound around a large hook fixed to the kitchen wall. It was about three feet long and had three or four wooden slats to hang the washing over. Then my gran would pull it back up secure the cord and leave the wasking to dry over night.
The ironing was always done the next day, the iron was placed on top of the oven to heat and I think I remember her having two irons, one to heat and one to use. They were small compared with todays iron but quite heavy and of course they cooled off very quickly.
When I was very young the kitchen was lit by gas lamp which. 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. My gran would still have to use the gas lamp because of the iron being plugged into the light socket and the shadows from the gas lamp and the motion of the cord swinging across the room created spooky, swirling shadows across the ceiling.
Gran & Granddad
My Gran lived at
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.
CONNIE FRANCIS
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
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 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
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
As you will see from his letter he used to call my Mum '
The postcard below was sent to my Mum during World War 11 from
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
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. She was born at
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
This page last updated 11th July 2008
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