Francis was born 23rd June 1892 at Brinton Grange in Norfolk to William and Dorothea Gertrude Marriott. Photo in files of B Grange. Acc to Google search, owner is Richard Marriott Ellis
William was a civil and mechanical engineer. He served his apprenticeship to Ransomes & Rapier in Ipswich. He then worked for the Midland & Great Northern Railway and is remembered for bringing vital rail links to Norfolk. He built the North Norfolk Railway in 1887 and ran it until 1924. He is commemorated by the Marriott Museum at Holt Railway Station in North Norfolk.
Francis was educated first at Bracondale School in Norwich before going on to Gresham School in 1906, together with his older brothers William and Stanley, all as day boys. He did well, becoming a School Prefect, playing in the cricket and hockey teams and returning as an Old Boy to play in matches.
Known as Frank, he regularly subscribed to the Chapel Fund and donated to the Howson Memorial Library. In 1915 he qualified as a doctor at the London Hospital before obtaining a commission as Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1916 for ‘conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty’. After leaving the Army, he established his practice in Yoxford, where he became a well-known local figure, became Chairman of the Parish Council and represented Yoxford at the Blyth Rural District Council. He was President of the British Legion and the Village Club and supported the football and cricket clubs. He took an active part in the British Medical Association and in 1938 was elected Chairman of the East Suffolk Division. He worked at the Patrick Stead Hospital in Halesworth where he became particularly interested in obstetrics. He served in WW2 as a Major in the Home Guard and taught first aid in the Yoxford area.
He married Dora Fooks in 1917 in Bromley, Kent and they went on to have two daughters, Diana and Barbara. They came to Yoxford in 1921 and from at least 1925 they lived at White House on Brook Street.
Frank was proud of the health and longevity of his elderly patients and took this photo of a group in the grounds of Cockfield Hall when they were all in their 80s.
Frank died aged 55 on 30th August 1948 after several months of illness. At his funeral the church was filled to capacity and afterwards he was buried in the Cemetery. He left over £20,000 to his brother William.
The seat commemorating Frank, opposite The Old Bowling Green. The inscription reads
AD 2000 This seat replaces one given in memory of Dr Frank Marriott MC by the patients and friends amongst whom he lived and worked
1921-1948
Frank’s father William had been born in Basle, Switzerland, to British parents. In 1881 he was a 23-year old civil engineer boarding with a family in North Walsham in Norfolk. He married Gertrude Rouse in Bromley, Kent in 1885 and by 1891 they were living in the village of Burgh Parva in Norfolk with their four young children William, Robert, Gertrude and Winifred. They employed four servants, a cook and housemaid, a nurse and under-nurse. They moved to Sheringham, on the North Norfolk coast, where they were living in 1939. William died in 1943 and left over £6,000 to sons William and Francis.
After qualifying as a doctor at Glasgow University in 1908, William Jr went on to have a successful career in medicine, including service with the Royal Army Medical Corps, Medical Officer at the London Homeopathy Hospital, and a practice in Norwich. He helped to found the Red Cross Society in Norfolk. He died in 1967, and was survived by his wife Irma, who was also a doctor.
Stanley studied engineering at Glasgow University and was killed in 1916 whilst serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers.
Sources
obit BMJ 2 Oct 1948