| Date of birth: | 4th January 1897 |
| Place of birth: | Shirley, Southampton |
| Regiment / Division: | Royal Navy |
| Vessel: | HMS Invincible |
| Rank / Service No: | Able Seaman, PO/25511 |
| Died: | 31st May 1916, aged 18 years |
| Commemorated: | Portsmouth Naval Memorial |
Frank was one of 2 sons born to William and Mary JANE Jones (nee Bishop), who married in Shirley in 1889.
William, a gardener, had been married previously. He and Jane Holloway wed in Shirley in 1857 and had 8 children; it must be assumed that Jane died before the end of the 1880’s.
William was born in Millbrook in 1830 and he died in Shirley in 1908.
Mary JANE had been born Mary Jane Squire in Hackney in 1856. She had married William Bishop in Boscombe on 11 March 1877.
The family lived at 6 Shayer Road, Shirley for many years.
Siblings
Frederick Samuel b. 1893 Shirley d. 1893 Shirley
Frank
Half-brother William Henry b. 1860 Shirley d. 1915 Southampton Married either Olivia Clara Judd or Anna Maria Payne in Southampton in 1891.
Half-brother Edwin C. b. 1865 Shirley d. ??
Half-brother Walter b. 1870 Shirley d. ?? Married Alice Louisa Hayes in Southampton in 1896.
Half-brother Charles b. 1874 Shirley d. 1928 Southampton Married Patience Macey in Southampton in 1911.
Half-sister Elizabeth b. 1876 Shirley d. ??
Half-brother William Francis Bishop b. 1880 Boscombe d. 1930 Bournemouth
Half-brother Alfred George Bishop b. 25 March 1882 Shirley d. 26 November 1914 HMS Bulwark Married Ethel Constable in Kingston in 1904.
Half-sister Elizabeth Bishop b. 1885 Shirley d. ??
Half-brother Henry (Harry) James Bishop b. 1886 Shirley d. 1961 Bishop’s Waltham Married Mary Ann Payne in Southampton in 1910.
Frank enlisted in the Royal Navy on 4 January 1915 and his only vessel was HMS Invincible.
The Invincible was the first battlecruiser to be built anywhere in the world, and was launched on Tyneside in 1907.
She participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight, on 28 August 1914, but only in a minor role because she was the slowest of the British battlecruisers present.
During the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914, Invincible and her sister ship Inflexible sank the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau armoured cruisers.
Invincible was the flagship of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron at the Battle of Jutland (31.5.16 – 1.6.16). Unfortunately she was destroyed by a magazine explosion on the first day, after her “Q” turret was penetrated…the ship was blown in half.
1026 men lost their lives, with only 6 survivors. One of the six was a Gunner actually sat in the Q turret when it was hit, he was somehow blown clear.
| Researcher: | Mark Heritage |
| Published: | 5th October 2016 |
| Updated: |
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