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.