My Bull Family
My father, Francis Walter BULL (known as Frank) was born
on the 30 Sep 1912 in Southwark, Newington, in South London. He was baptized on
the 20 Oct 1912 at St Pauls, Lorrimore Square, South East London. His mother
was Alice
Kate FRAMPTON and father was William Pitt BULL.
Frank later lived at 131
Richmond Road, Hackney, London. He lived
with his parents and siblings. Also his grandmother Lucy Prideaux, step
grandfather Frank
Prideaux and great grandmother Lucy Jackson. He went to school in east London.
He did not like school very much and it was not unusual for him to run home
soon after his mum had dropped him there, in fact she told me he would often be
at home waiting for her.
He learnt woodwork at an early age and later went on to do his
apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery.
He learnt his trade on church furnishings. During the summer the family
would go to Highcliffe, Hampshire his mothers home, to stay with his
other grandparents and cousins. He spent
many holidays there. In 1932 at his
cousin Jinny Frampton's 18th birthday party, he met his future wife Ada, who
was Jinny’s best friend. Ada eventually moved to London where she was in
service at a doctor’s residence in Cricklewood. My parents got engaged and on 8 January 1938
in the Hackney Registry Office they were married, with Frank’s Sister
Lily and brother Charles as their witnesses.
They moved to 87 Nevill Road,
Stoke Newington, London where they lived till the 1970’s.
Not long after their marriage World War II broke
out. My father being a Joiner, was in a
reserved occupation as an Aircraft Assembler building Gliders. He was also in
the Home Guard.
Their son Tony was born in 1942.
Just before the end of the war, when Frank was no longer needed
to build Gliders he was called up, and joined the Army. In fact it was just 6 weeks before the end of
the war, which he was not very pleased about.
All the soldiers were being de-mobbed and coming home and my father had
to stay in the forces for another two years.
Frank was in the Royal Army Ordinance Corp based at
Old Dalby, Suffolk.
He did not like the Army very much and he told me he was always
getting in to trouble for not saluting officers. However his army record states
his Military conduct was ‘Exemplary’ ‘he was an extremely reliable and
conscientious worker with an extremely sound knowledge of his trade’. He was
classed as a Storeman but he acted as the unit woodwork instructor. During this
time he became very proficient at rifle shooting and was awarded the Bisley
Medal.
In 1947 when my father was still away and during the very bad
snow of that winter I was born. I was
six months old when my father was eventually de-mobbed.
Frank was in partnership with John Berry, in a Shop Fitting
business. He also restored antiques for his brother in law’s family. Much of the antiques Frank restored were sold
and shipped out to America.
Before the war my father had purchased some land in Highcliffe
from his mother. My parents wanted to build a big house there so that my
mother’s sister could live there too.
But the war changed many things. Frank eventually sold the land, which had been
leased out to Cobb’s Caravan Park and bought out his partner in the Shop
fitting business.
In his forties he learned to drive and bought his first car. The
family travelled all round the country, venturing abroad for the first time in
the 1960’s.
My father worked very hard, until he had a serious heart attack
whilst at work when he was 58. He never worked again although he continued to
do some woodwork right up until he had a stroke in 1975. He died on 20 July
1975 in St Leonards Hospital, Shoreditch, London. He was cremated on 25 Jul 1975 and his ashes
were scattered in the NE Corner Memorial Gardens, City of London
Crematorium where his mothers ashes had been scattered, a few years before.
My mother Ada Tabitha Kate BURBIDGE was born on the 19
September 1913 in a cottage called Rats
Castle in Lytchett Matravers, Dorset.
She was the tenth child of the family. She was
Baptised on the 19th October
1913. She had several half brothers and
sisters, as both her parents had been married before. Her father, William
Edward James BURBIDGE died when she was very young and her mother, Mary Ann SHORT
took the family to live in West Street, Poole, Dorset. My Aunt remembers playing on the steps of the
old Custom House on the Quay at Poole. The family then moved on
to Bloxworth, Dorset where her mother had family. When Ada was about eight
years old her mother married again to Christopher Smith, and the family moved
to Ripley, in Hampshire then later to Sopley, Hampshire. About
this time Ada was in service so lived away from home. She met my father at her
friends (Jinny Frampton) 18th Birthday Party in 1932. She followed her sister
to London and entered service there. She married Frank in 1938. Ada and Frank
lived in London during the war. It was a
very difficult time. Ada was often alone
in her home, in 1942 she had he son Tony.
Houses two doors away were bombed, and destroyed. Incendiary
bombs landed on the house. Despite all
the difficulties she said she would never go back to living in the country.
She was very skilful at embroidery. Both my parents were keen gardeners and
philatelists. When my father died in 1975, my mother came to live near us in Canvey Island.
Unfortunately she died on 1 Dec 1977 in Rochford Hospital, Southend
Essex and was cremated a few days later and her ashes were scattered with my
fathers in the NE Corner Memorial Garden, City of London Crematorium.
Children
