Francis Harold Hoole
(He was known as Harold or Harry, since his father's name was Francis, known as Frank.)
Francis Harold Hoole was Gwen's eldest son, and at the front of the book is posted his war medal awards certificate dated 7th July, 1947. This is particularly poignant because a day later Harold died, and so would never have known about the certificate which would have been posted to him. The ribbon which is pinned to the certificate suggests to me that the medals did, in fact, arrive and were not, therefore, awarded posthumously. In addition to the certificate Gwen posted some items relating to Harold's death and then, it seems, in 1948 she decided to hand over the book to her daughter, Stella.
I was never able to establish the exact circumstances surrounding Harold's death, as neither Gwen herself nor my parents were willing to discuss it. My mother did once tell me that Stella, who was a trained nurse, was looking after him during the illness mentioned in the death notice below when he took his own life. Although there is a notice from his daughter, Sheila, aged five, there is nothing from his wife because they had divorced in 1946.
The inscription on the stone reads
In Loving Memory
Francis Harold Hoole
14.9.1916 - 8.7.1947
1909 - 1911
Back to The Common-Place Book Index
Contact me