Percy George Franklin & Harry Franklin

Abbey Baptist Church, Alfred Sutton School War Memorial, Commemorated name/s, Graves, Navy

Percy George Franklin
Gunner RMA/12600
H. M. S. “Vanguard”

Division 3

Franklin PG photo Franklin H photo

Percy Franklin was the son of John and Florence May Franklin. The 1901 census records John as a worker in a lumber yard. By 1911 he is the foreman. Both census records give the name as ‘Sir’, it isnot thought that this is a title as the picture above refers to Mr S J Franklin. During 1901 and 1911 the family lived at 20. St. Bartholomews Rd. By the 1911 census John has been married for two years to Milly Kate Franklin and they have one son aged 1 year. It is therefore assumed that Florence had died, possibly in child birth. There are four other children between the ages of 14 and 3 years in addition to Percy and Harry. Percy’s occupation is given as engineers clerk and Harry as a bank clerk. The family had moved to 70. Hamilton Road by the time that Harry was notified as wounded.  The local papers record that Percy was a keen footballer, he played for the King’s Road Chapel team and whilst serving on the liner Queen Elizabeth he played football for the ship’s team. 

 In 1914 he was on board the “Aboukir” when it was torpedoed.  During the week prior to the sinking he wrote to his parents. “Last week we swept the North Sea across, together, with about five other ships and eighteen destroyer, right from Sheerness to Heligoland.  But, nothing happened, and we are still waiting our chance.  When the time comes I think we shall show up well and keep the English name.  But, till then keep watching and waiting”. 

 Percy survived the sinking only to be killed when there was an internal explosion in the “Vanguard” when the vessel was at Scapa Flow on 9 July 1917, of those on board at the time only three survived.  He was aged 23 and left a wife Caroline Mary Franklin, of 48, Widley Rd. North End, Portsmouth.  His name is commemorated upon the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Hampshire. 

Harry Franklin, Percy’s older brother,  was wounded in the spine during the war and was in Hospital at No.1 War Hospital Reading when the death of Percy was confirmed.  Although Harry survived the war he died in 1930 at the age of 38.  Both Percy and Harry are commemorated on the headstone of their parent’s grave in Division 3, Reading Cemetery. Number 14859.

CIMG2078

Agnes Mary Fransham

Registered War Grave, RFC / RAF

Agnes Mary Fransham
Worker 15323
Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps.
Attended School of Military Aeronautics

 War Plot
Division 71 and 72

FranshamA photo screen wall

Anges Mary Fransham was the daughter  of Daniel Fransham, of 46, Newcombe Road., Polygon, Southampton. 

 She attended the school of Military Aeronautics which was based in Reading.  Agnes died on 16th March 1918 aged 37.  The circumstances of her death are not know.  It is possible that she was a victim of the influenza epidemic which took so many lives in 1918.  She is the only woman to be buried in the War Plot. Her name is commemorated on the screen wall.

 A picture of Agnes Fansham was published in the Reading Standard on the 6th April and from the caption it is known that she was given an “imposing military funeral”.  However, her name was incorrectly recorded as Frencham.

Brian Harold Frearson

Army, Other Regiments, Registered War Grave

Brian Harold Frearson
Pioneer 237853
‘A’ Signal Depot Bedford
Royal Engineers

War Plot
Division 71 &72

The information for Brian Harold Frearson was supplied by John Frearson.

Brian Harold Frearson 1 Brian Harold Frearson 2

Brian Harold Frearson was born on 1st June 1898. 

 His family had always been farmers, and can be traced back to Derbyshire in the 1600s.  The family moved to Lincolnshire in the early 1800s. Brian’s father, Henry John FREARSON was born on a farm in West Barkwith, Lincolnshire in 1853, but because of difficulties finding farms, he moved to Hampshire with two of his brothers sometime between 1871 and 1875, and farmed in Barton Stacey.  Henry married Annie Mary SYMMONDS in June 1880.  She had been born in Appleford in Berkshire in 1858, but her family moved to Hampshire when her father become the tenant of a neighbouring farm.  Henry John was a successful [and prize-winning] sheep farmer. Brian was the youngest of eleven children born to Henry and Annie between 1881 and 1896.  All but one survived into adulthood, so Brian had five brothers and four sisters. By the time of Brian’s birth, the family had moved to Odstone Farm, at Odstone Tything, in Ashbury, a village between Faringdon and Swindon.

 Little is known of Brian’s early years; he probably had a governess at the farm.  By the age of 12 or 13, Brian was attending Swindon College being in “Year 1911”.  The College was originally set up in 1843 by the Great Western Railway Company to provide educational classes for its employees. There is also a stained glass memorial window to him, and the other “old boys” and former college staff at Swindon College who lost their lives in the Great War. This is located in the original building of Swindon College.  

 

Brian Harold Frearson 6 Brian Harold Frearson 5

 

Brian joined up, it appears, at the age of 17 or 18 [the dating of a photograph of him in uniform as 1914 is likely to be an error].  He served from about 1916 – 1918 as a Pioneer in the “A” Signal Depot Bedford, Royal Engineers [Regimental No. 237853] during the First War.   This suggests that he was first sent for recruit training to the Royal Engineers Signal Service Depot at Bedford.  A note in the Swindonian [the Swindon College magazine] in autumn 1916 reads:  

 

“BH Frearson (1911) has been employed as a wireless operator on a transport to India”.

 

 It seems that he was later posted to France or Belgium.  He suffered in a gas attack, and was repatriated to England and sent to the Redlands Hospital in Reading.  He died as a result of the gas on 4 February 1918.  He is buried in Reading Cemetery in “Plot 72”, which is a separate area surrounded by hedges.  There are no longer any marked graves, although photograph taken at the time of the burial shows a separate grave.  The screen-wall memorial now commemorates those buried there.  His inscription reads: –

 

 “237853.  Pioneer B. H. Frearson.  Royal Engineers.  4.2.18    38”. It is assumed “38” was the grave number. 

Brian Harold Frearson 4 Brian Harold Frearson 3

I am greatful to John Frearson for the information he has supplied about his relative and especially for the photographs of the graves in the War Plot. As John says the War Plot is laid to lawn. The photographs of the individual graves and their markers are very interesting. Some of the original markers were moved to the outside of the plot behind the hedge others have disappeared.