Frederick John HOOKINS (Tree A)

Frederick John HOOKINS was my grandfather. As previously mentioned in the blog posts he was a Wheelwright by trade. At some time however he began a business of building, decorating coupled with undertaking. This picture shows him dressed for a funeral and he obviously took great pride in performing this duty with the required dignity of such a role. I remember stories of him going to his work using a handcart as it was long before his firm was able to make use of any motorised transport. He took 2 of his sons into the business. One of these was Bill (William John) who was a carpenter and the other was my father, Fred (Frederick Charles) who was a decorator but also later became involved with the undertaking side of the business. When their father died Bill and Fred continued with the business. Bill seemed to have an aptitude for the business side of the firm as well as his skills in the work required of the firm. There was often a coffin being made in their workshop and I remember and loved the smell of the wood shavings as the finished article took shape. The firm was well respected in the local area and my father rarely completed an uninterrupted week's holiday in our usual destination of Weymouth before being called back for a funeral which he never refused to do. It was inconvenient but very good to know that the families didn't want to entrust their loved ones with anyone else.

Willie, Henry & Walter HOOKINS (Tree A)

Willie (left), Henry (right) and Walter (front) were all sons of William and Susan HOOKINS and brothers of my Grandfather Frederick John HOOKINS. The three brothers were all enlisted in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars for the 1st World War. Two other brothers served in the Army Service Corps (Samuel) and as a Bombardier in the Royal Field Artillery (Charlie).

Children of Frederick John & Emma Selina HOOKINS (Tree A)

Fred and Emma HOOKINS produced 6 children born between the middle of 1906 and the beginning of 1920. Their youngest was Jesse and his exlusion from this photograph either means he had not yet been born or was considered too young to be included. Consequently the dating of this photograph is either 1920 itself or perhaps more likely a few years later in that decade. A date of 1922 would make young Bert on the front left 4 years old, my father Fred (front right) aged 8, Daisy (middle left) aged 12, Bill (middle right) aged 14 and Grace at the back aged 16. These children eventually married with Fred and Daisy both staying in the village in Somerset where their parents lived. Grace moved to Swindon, Bert to Devon and Bill into Bath although later returning to the same village as Daisy and Fred. Incidentally Fred and Emma lived in a house for a large part of their lives called "Dilkusha" which apparently is a Hindi word meaning "Peace in the Heart" but who named the house I don't know.