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Francis Henry FranklinFrancis Henry Franklin was born on 14 February 1893 to Frederick Alexander Franklin and Emmeline née Warren. Frederick's tailoring business was run from the family's home where clothes were made for the gentry, and Francis and his elder brother, Frederick Alexander, worked for their father after they left school. On 8 November 1914 Francis married Muriel Evelyn Gladys Morgan at St Mary's, leaving Cecil House (now Northend House) to set up home in Passage Road, Saul.
He attested at Frampton on 15 November 1915, an unusual location as local men normally travelled to Stroud or Gloucester. This appears to reflect Lord Derby's recruitment initiative during the autumn of 1915 when it seems that mobile units were deployed to places such as Frampton. Francis was not mobilised until April 1916 when he was posted to the Royal Garrison Artillery and trained as a gunner, probably at the Siege Artillery Depot at Catterick in Yorkshire. After a few days at No. 3 (Reserve) Brigade at Prees Heath, Shropshire, he was posted to the 329th Siege Battery in France, arriving on 15 May 1917. Only two weeks later he was slightly wounded but did not require hospital treatment. The heavy guns on both sides were constant targets for the enemy and he was less lucky on 24 June; Francis received a severe gunshot wound to the right ankle which required repatriation for treatment, in his case at the Western General Hospital in Manchester. His recovery was protracted during which he was retained in the Army. Francis was reviewed by a medical board in late July 1918 who approved his discharge with a temporary pension which was effected on 20 August. Family say that his wound did not heal well and caused him to walk with a limp. He was awarded the Silver War Badge and later the British War Medal and Victory Medal. His war service is commemorated on the plaque in Frampton Village Hall. Francis and Muriel had seven children: Francis Alan (born during the war), Gladys Muriel, Ronald Wells, Alec James, Philip Morgan, Evelyn Ruby and James Henry. He continued to work as a tailor, possibly until his father's death in 1937, and was later employed by Cadbury's. Francis Henry Franklin died on 5 March 1973 at Cashes Green Hospital, Stroud, and was buried in the churchyard at St James the Great, Saul. |