FRANK CECIL KNOWLES
There are very few persons commemorated here that were still at school when the Great War began, indeed Frank Knowles could even have studied the origins of the war that would contribute to his death just a few years later.
Frank Cecil was born in 1901 in Brighton, Sussex to parents Frank and Alice Knowles whose stay in Portsmouth was limited to a few years either side of the 1911 census when they were recorded as living at 6 Frensham Road, Southsea. Frank snr. had been born in Wisbech, Cambridge in 1868 and seems to have been a travelling salesman for much of his life. This would certainly account for him meeting and marrying Alice Mary Holman in 1900 at Brighton where the couple initially settled down.
Their first child was Frank Cecil who was born in 1901 in Brighton and the second was Ivy Maud who was born in 1908 after the family had moved to Portsmouth. In 1913 Frank Cecil began attending the Secondary School where he stayed until 1916. Whilst working in the Third Year he was successful in the Civil Service Examination for Boy Clerks, and left to take up an appointment in London. In October 1918, on reaching his 18th birthday, he joined the Royal Navy as a Seaman Telegraphist. His arrival at the Crystal Palace for training had a tragic sequel. Following inoculation he was almost immediately attacked by influenza and, pneumonia supervening, he passed away on the 24th of the same month in which he had enlisted.
Further Information
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website lists Ordinary Seaman FC Knowles, (London/Z/10149), Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, date of death, 24/10/1918, buried at the West Norwood Cemetery (Screen Wall 31.2645).
Frank Knowles is remembered on the Southern Grammar School WW1 Memorial and on the Cenotaph. He is not listed in the 'National Roll of the Great War'.