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Frank King

Nevil

proper brummie kid
My maternal grandfather was Frank King. Apparently he was associated with Bingley Hall boxing club. No record of his death or birth can be found, but he probably died around 1943/1944. He had been in the navy and had boxed for them. The possible reason why there are no records of him is that he changed his name. Family legend is that he was a member of the Lowe family haulage company. He had eight children with my maternal grandmother Lizzie (Elizabeth) King nee Witherford. Their children's names are including my mother Fred, Joe, Beryl, Kath, Brenda, Neville, Madeline and Walter. Can anyone she'd some light on Frank King?
 
Is that not his death registered Sep qtr 1945, Leicester?

Who does he list as his father on his marriage?
 
Thanks for the reply. I could not find any record of marriage. My mother said he died when she was 14. She was born in 1931. So his death could be 1945.
 
I do have a record of a marriage to Archibald Whitehead. They had a son Howard. It is possible that she was still married to him, as that happened on my paternal side. My paternal grandfather fathering 10 children with 2 women.
 
If she was still married to him that would explain why she never married Frank.

So was you grandfather not born as Frank King?

Taking the 1939 register details at face value his birth is 3rd Apr 1899. There are 3 Frank Kings, no middle name registered Jun qtr 1899. You can probably rule out 2 (Wellingborough & Reading) leaving 1 in Saffron Walden.

However, there's a marriage for a Frank King to a Lucy E Towers in Leicester. Is she the mother of his other 2 children? What's interesting is that on the 1939 register she appears to be living with family (no Frank) but with them is a William A King. This William King has a brother Frank, birth year is slightly out but more than a coincidence?
 
Archibald Whitehead married Lizzie Witherford in 1920 in 1939 living

LongmoorRoad , Sutton Coldfield b 6th aug 1899 says status Married working at Fort Dunlop
with him is Margaret D Whitehead b 1924 mother Witherford.

The other children b Whitehead /Witherford are
Leslie 1922, Lilian V 1923, Howard 1926.
The twins Frederick /Joseph b are registered both Whitehead/Witherford and King/Witherford. in 1928
 
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Thank you very much Alberta. That information is amazing. I don't think my mother knew that Howard was a half brother, and she certainly never knew about the other children. The reason why I asked about Frank King is that I have inoperable bowel cancer and don't know how long I have left. It would have been nice to solve the enigma of Frank King. We found out that my paternal grandfather was a bigamist. Do you know if I can look at the Leicester Mercury archives?
 
I tried looking here but I don't think it reaches the dates you want.

Just realised Leicester Daily Mercury seems to be on to 1950
 
Sorry, to hear of your cancer.

If he didn't marry your grandmother (which atm it appears that he didn't) then he wouldn't have been a bigamist.

Archibald also seems to have had a son with the woman he was with on the 1939 register. She is listed as Whitehead on her death but I can't see any marriage for them either. Archibald may then married a Lily Alcock in 1960. Not sure (if him) if that means he and your grandmother were divorced by then.

Is any of info I put in post #6 (above) relevant?
 
If she was still married to him that would explain why she never married Frank.

So was you grandfather not born as Frank King?

Taking the 1939 register details at face value his birth is 3rd Apr 1899. There are 3 Frank Kings, no middle name registered Jun qtr 1899. You can probably rule out 2 (Wellingborough & Reading) leaving 1 in Saffron Walden.

However, there's a marriage for a Frank King to a Lucy E Towers in Leicester. Is she the mother of his other 2 children? What's interesting is that on the 1939 register she appears to be living with family (no Frank) but with them is a William A King. This William King has a brother Frank, birth year is slightly out but more than a coincidence?
Thank you for taking such an interest. It is quite humbling. I spoke to my auntie Brenda just before she died and she said that he was born Frank Lowe and had left his family who owned the Lowe haulage business.
 
I tried looking here but I don't think it reaches the dates you want.

Just realised Leicester Daily Mercury seems to be on to 1950
Thanks for that. The reason why it might be worth looking at the archives is that Frank apparently died while cycling and got hit by a bus. This was when the family was living at Farm Close. Such a violent death surely would have made it into the local newspaper.
 
Sorry, to hear of your cancer.

If he didn't marry your grandmother (which atm it appears that he didn't) then he wouldn't have been a bigamist.

Archibald also seems to have had a son with the woman he was with on the 1939 register. She is listed as Whitehead on her death but I can't see any marriage for them either. Archibald may then married a Lily Alcock in 1960. Not sure (if him) if that means he and your grandmother were divorced by then.

Is any of info I put in post #6 (above) relevant?
Yes thank you.
 
Thank you for taking such an interest. It is quite humbling. I spoke to my auntie Brenda just before she died and she said that he was born Frank Lowe and had left his family who owned the Lowe haulage business.

Ok, so you mentioned 10 children with 2 women. Do you know anything of the children he didn't have with your grandmother?
 
Firstly here's a link to the Leicestershire archives, which has copies of the Leicester Mercury and possibly electoral rolls. I'm not sure if you able to get there but there's contact details at the bottom.

 
If he was born Frank Lowe then there are only 3 registrations that match his 1939 dob and I can rule out all of them. Could your aunt have got her story wrong? Family stories do have tendency to drift over time.

I'm still curious about the Frank King that married Lucy Towers. On the 1939 register Lucy lists herself as married and when she dies in 1958 she is listed as a widow on her probate. There are only 3 registrations in Leicester for a Frank King between those dates, two I can rule out and the other is the one who dies in 1945.

It's still a bit of a leap but atm I can't see anything else.
 
May I just clarify something?
In post #1 it says Frank was involved with Bingley Hall boxing club. I assumed he lived in Birmingham. We now seem to be looking in Leicester - is this because there is a possible marriage and death there?
Where is Farm Close?
 
Farm Close is in Leicester. It's unknown where Frank was born or even if his name was King.

Lizzie Edith Witherford was born in Selly Oak and had a number of children reg Bham (with her husband) before going off with Frank. Frank and Lizzie's children are all reg. in Leicestershire and they are there in 1939.

So, as Lizzie lived in Bham and if Frank was involved in Bingley Hall it's probable they met here but no certainty he was born or lived here.
 
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