HOME      FORUM      HELP      SEARCH      
News : The Surname Interests Table (SIT), the Database for Special Interests Groups (DBSIG) and Ancestral Anniversaries
are now "mobile friendlier" more here ...
The RootsChat Reference Library

RootsChat.Com »  RootsChat Reference Library »   Database for Special Interest Groups (DBSIG) »   British Home Children : Quick Search

Record #21849
Name :
: William Francis MASON ( - 1977)
  aka : Frank Mason


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
:

Marriage (1)
:
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 1977
Abode (1) : Place of BirthEngland, Millgrove
Abode (2) : Place of Death / Burial, Canada, Millgrov
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: 21 Mar 1908
Country
: Canada

Ship
: Dominion

Placement Family
: Fricker
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
: National Children's Home

Agency
: National Childrens Home
NotesFrancis Mason was born in Middlesex, England. After his mother?s death in 1894 he and several of his brothers and sisters were placed in the National Children?s Home and Orphanage in London.

On March 31, 1908, Frank Mason was one of a group of 62 boys brought to Canada by Rev. Dr. Stephenson on the ship, Dominion, their destination, Hamilton, Ontario. He was sent to the Fricker farm in West Flamborough. Frank left the bustling children?s home and took up residence in a house with aged couple.

Frank enlisted in the army in September 1915 and was assigned to the 86th Machine Gun Battalion. He had maintained contact with a family member back in England, May Mason, and listed her as his next-of-kin. After taking part in battles at Ypres and Vimy Ridge, Frank was sent to Passchendaele where he suffered severe wounds. He was hospitalized in France, then sent to England and finally to the military hospital in Burlington, Ontario. Recurring infections forced him to have an amputation.

After recovery, Frank returned to the area that had become home to him, Millgrove in West Flamborough Township. In 1926, he married Estelle Mitchell. The couple had three daughters: Ruth, Florence and Sylvia. Ruth writes that her father suffered as a child and teenager but that he was a courageous man who loved Canada and after the war, chose to make his home here. He had a loving family, she says, and ?treated his girls like pearls.?

Frank Mason endured loneliness and isolation in a strange land but he courageously fulfilled his duties as child farm labourer and as a Canadian soldier. I?ve said this several times but I?ll say it again ? isn?t it incredible that so many immigrant children enlisted and fought for a country that in many instances didn?t provide them with a comfortable and loving home.

Frank died on November 17, 1977 at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington at age 83. He?s buried in Millgrove Cemetery. 
ContributorsCreated : 2013-09-07 14:12:18 / From original database

Last Updated :

Family History ResearchersRootsChatters with family connections to William Francis MASON:



 
Readers Comments

Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  37 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
21910 MASON, Agnus1910ENG,     May 1928 : Letitia CAN Quarriers  
25585 MASON, Anna1891ENG,     May 1909 : Corsican CAN Barnardos  
3551 MASON, Arthur1888ENG, CHS, Chester Jul 1901 : Numidian CAN Barnardos  
18182 MASON, Arthur E1874ENG,     Jul 1888 : Polynesian CAN Waifs & Strays  
2669 MASON, Charles1893ENG, MDX, London Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
8617 MASON, Charles1915ENG, LDN, London Jul 1925 : Athenia CAN Barnardos  
10406 MASON, Charles W1899ENG,     Mar 1909 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
15281 MASON, Eliza1895ENG,     Mar 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
3549 MASON, Eliza Ann1886IRL,     Nov 1907 : Tunisian CAN Sailing Alone  
20189 MASON, Elizabeth1890ENG,     Mar 1900 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
3552 MASON, Ella Mary1895ENG, CHS, Chester Oct 1902 : Colonian CAN Barnardos  
15280 MASON, Fanny Winefred1898ENG,     Mar 1913 : Corinthian CAN Barnardos  
3550 MASON, Florence Beatrice1890ENG, CHS, Chester Oct 1902 : Colonian CAN Barnardos  
3547 MASON, Frederick1893ENG, CHS, Chester Apr 1900 : Cambroman CAN Barnardos  
6895 MASON, George1889ENG,     1903 : - Unknown - CAN Self-Help Emigration Society  
21435 MASON, George Richard1894 Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
2814 MASON, Henry1871ENG, DBY Apr 1885 : Sardinian CAN Bristol Emigration Society  
16888 MASON, Henry1895ENG,     Jun 1904 : Carthaginian CAN Middlemore  
26168 MASON, Henry1892ENG,     Mar 1903 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
20586 MASON, Henry J1891 Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
14481 MASON, Henry Thomas1895ENG,    , Woolwich Jul 1907 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
20781 MASON, James ENG,     May 1893 : Sardinian CAN Rev. William J. Pady  
26172 MASON, James1893ENG,     Mar 1903 : Canada CAN Barnardos  
26370 MASON, Jane1888 Mar 1900 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
11236 MASON, John 1891ENG,     Sep 1899 : Arawa CAN Barnardos  
23071 MASON, Kenneth1897ENG,     Apr 1909 : Empress of Britain CAN Fegan Homes for Boys  
13355 MASON, Marion Elizabeth1875SCT, MLN, Edinburgh May 1888 : Corean CAN Quarriers  
15678 MASON, Mrgaret 1912ENG,     Jul 1923 : Minnedosa CAN Barnardos  
21434 MASON, Percival Francis1896 Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
15664 MASON, Percy1892ENG,     Oct 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
19829 MASON, Percy1902ENG,     Apr 1913 : Teutonic CAN Hurst House Training Home  
3005 MASON, Phoebe1893ENG,     May 1907 : Victorian CAN Liverpool Sheltering Home  
26377 MASON, Samuel1886 Mar 1900 : Parisian CAN Louisa Birt  
2670 MASON, Thomas Henry1894ENG, MDX, London Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
16730 MASON, Thomas Henry ENG,     Apr 1905 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
21849 MASON, William Francis ENG,    , Millgrove Mar 1908 : Dominion CAN National Childrens Home  
9437 MASON, William Luther1897ENG,    , Woolwich Jul 1907 : Kensington CAN Barnardos  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  37 Entries