Died
3 May 1944 Aged 26 years
Born
31 July 1917
Sources
Barrow News
Ancestry
CWGC
Place
Walks
Themes
Frank Ray
IN
LOVING MEMORY
OF
OUR DEAR SON
FRANK RAY
GUNNER R.A.
INVALIDED HOME FROM
DURBAN, S. AFRICA
11TH NOVEMBER 1943
DIED 3RD MAY 1944
AGED 26 YEARS
AND HIS FATHER
ENOCH BEEMAN RAY
DIED 3RD AUGUST 1958
AGED 68 YEARS
Barrow News 13 May 1944 in the obituaries column:
Barrow News, 13 May 1944MR. F. R. E. RAY, BARROW.
The funeral took place at Rampside Churchyard of Mr. Frank Richard Edmund Ray, better known as “Taffy”. He died after a long and painful illness. He was well-known in Barrow as a local bandsman and butcher until he joined H.M. Forces in 1940.
Gunner Ray was attached to a Scottish regiment. He served overseas and for a period was in hospital at Durban, South Africa. He was invalided home five months ago. He was a cornet player in the Barrow Labour Band in 1930, and in the following year joined the Steelworks Band. He was also a member of several local dance bands.
The funeral service was held at St. Luke’s Church, the vicar, the Rev. R. B. Bradford officiating. The hymns “Jesu, lover of my soul” and “Abide with me”, were sung.
The mourners were Mr. and Mrs. E. Ray, father and mother; Mr. and Mrs. Doling, uncle and aunt; Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, uncle and aunt; Mrs. E. Mould (South Wales), aunt; Miss W. Emms (Lancaster), cousin; Mrs. T. Hotchkiss, aunt; Mr. and Mrs. R. Emms, great uncle and aunt.
Others attending were Mrs. J. Wade, Mrs. J. Latham (Sunderland), Mrs. Brierley, Mrs. S. Buckley, Mrs. Shuttleworth, Mr. and Mrs. W. Doel, Mrs. Binnell, Mrs. J. Shepherd, Mr. Walter Warren.
The bearers were boys from the Abattoirs, Messrs. E. Sales, T. Rigg, W. Johnson, J. McCann, E. Penny.
Mr. J.C. Swarbrick was the undertaker.
The CWGC website tells us that Frank was in the 80th (The Scottish Horse) Medium Regt. Royal Artillery. This is a CWGC grave, where the family have chosen a family headstone.
The 1939 N.A.C.G. Register, used to create Identity Cards and later, Ration Cards, has the Ray family living at 153, Salthouse Road, Barrow. The household consisted of Enoch Ray, born 19 April 1890, a machinist engineer; Harriet Ray, born 4 February 1895, unpaid domestic worker; and Frank R.E. Ray, born 31 July 1917, all round butcher.
Enoch Ray married Harriet Hotchkiss in the final quarter of 1916. Frank’s birth was registered in Newport, Monmouthshire. Enoch can be found in the 1891, 1901 and 1911 Wales Census.
