Buried Holderness, Yorks
The name of Frank Westmoreland Lawrence appears on the Absent Voters' Electoral Roll for Collingham for 1918 and 1919, where he is marked as absent due to Naval or Military Service. No service record survives under that name so we have had to piece together Frank's service from other sources. His unusual middle name has helped and we found that Frank Westmoreland Lawrence was born on the 11th June 1894 in Hunslet, Leeds, the son of James Lawrence and his wife Ann Lawrence (nee Westmoreland). Frank had two sisters, Annie and Hetty. It is worth noting that there are at least three birth records for 'Frank Lawrence' in Hunslet around this time, in 1889, 1891 and the 1894 one that corresponds to 'our' Frank Lawrence.
Frank was baptised on the 29th July 1894 at St. Silas Church, Hunslet, while the family were living at Middleton Road, Hunslet. On census day 1901, Frank and his family were still in Hunslet, but now at 3, Trentham Road, Hunslet. We cannot find anyone with the name of Frank Westmoreland Lawrence in the 1911 census, but we have found the record for Frank Lawrence, living with his father, James, mother, Ann, and sisters Annie and Hetty, so we are convinced that this family, living at 115 Cross Flats Grove, Burston, Leeds records Frank Westmoreland Lawrence but that he did not give his full name. Frank's father was a colliery agent, his oldest sister Annie was a milliner and Frank was listed as a student. Also in the house on census night was John Lawrence, James' brother who is listed as 'being of private means'.
We do not yet know when the family moved to Collingham, or why, but clearly his name was recorded at a resident of Collingham in the 1918 and 1919 electoral rolls, and indeed Frank continued appearing on the Collingham electoral rolls for many years after the war and in 1939 was at Hillside on Harewood Road.
Returning to Frank's military service, there are 63 men named Frank Lawrence who were awarded medals for the First World War, in addition there are two named Frank W Lawrence and one listed as Frank W.H. Lawrence. At present none of these records can be linked unequivocally to Frank Lawrence from Collingham.
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Biography last updated 03 December 2019 14:42:17.
Sources
1911 Census. The National Archives. Class RG14 Piece 27182
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