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Victor William WilksVictor William Wilks, the youngest son of Henry Wilks and Martha née Hazell, was born in Frampton on 13 November 1891. The canal featured heavily in Victor's life from an early age, for not only was his father a waterman, but his grandfather was the bridgekeeper at Hardwicke. In September 1904 the school logbook reported that Victor was absent, apparently being employed in the carrying trade to Gloucester by his mother. The family's business was seemingly flourishing for they were able to move from their small cottage in Splatt Lane to The Street, into one of the cottages beside Buckholdt. By 1911 Victor was working as a fireman or stoker, perhaps on one of the canal barges. On Christmas Day 1913 he married Ruth Beatrice, the sister of Victor Charles Lawrence, at St Mary's, Fretherne. The birth of their son, Frederick Victor, came exactly one year later.
Victor, like his brother, Ernest Henry, served in the Mercantile Marine during the war, the closeness of their formal numbers suggesting that they may have joined together, and indeed they may even have worked on the same vessels. Victor was rated as a greaser, working below deck in the engine room, so his service appears to have been on registered merchantmen. He was awarded the British War Medal and Mercantile Marine War Medal and his service is commemorated on the plaque in the village hall. Victor's wife, Ruth, died in 1921, aged 26. On 3 August 1931, he married her sister, Elizabeth Caroline Mary, the widow of Frank Weaver, at St James the Great, Saul. At the time of this marriage Victor was an engineer; by 1939 the family were living at 3 Dinmore Road, Sharpness and his occupation was more precisely given as an engineer on a river tug. Victor William Wilks died on 28 February 1955 at Bristol Royal Infirmary and was buried on 4 March at St Mary's, Berkeley. |