1912-1926

 

FRANCES SIMCOCK born April 21, 1883 in Manchester, Lancashire

Father: Richard Simcock, born 1855 in Mercwys, Denbighshire, Wales

Mother: Mary Roberts, born Sept. 16, 1853 in Mercwys

The 5th of 7 children

 

 

Frances, age 23

 

In September of 1895 Frances’ father died (heatstroke at a bowling green), age 44. Frances was 12. In those days, a single woman with 7 children didn’t have many options. Everybody had to work. Shortly Frances was put out to work for an old deaf lady, (a boring life for a 12 year old) she brought what she earned home to her mother. Six pence to ride the trolley was all she got, that got old. Finally she got up the courage to ask ‘thrupence or sixpence or something’ for her self. Her mother said if you don’t turn your money over to me don’t bother coming home, she didn’t ‘til 1925.

 

During this era wealthy households had domestic staff; an upstairs maid, a downstairs maid, a cook, a chauffer and a groundskeeper. Frances was usually an upstairs maid when she worked for various people.

 

See the Masterpiece Theater Series “Upstairs, Downstairs” for a good look at this life.

 

1912, April 10 Titanic set sail, 882 feet, 46,328 tons, 3,300 souls aboard

 

 

 

1912, May 9    Frances sailed aboard “Celtic” 700 feet, 20,904 tons

White Star and Dominion Lines. 1901-03 “Celtic” was the largest ship afloat.

Lawrence had sent her money.

 

 

 

 

R.M.S. Celtic

 

Built: 1901, Harland & Wolff, Belfast.
Launched: July 26, 1901 Liverpool to New York
Noted for steadiness in bad weather


Demise: Ran aground in 1925
    Yard No: 335
Funnels: 2   Masts: 4
Tonnage: 21,035 GRT
Dimensions: 213.4 x 22.9 m / 700 x 75.3 ft.
Engines: Quadruple Expansion by builders. Twin Screw; 14,000 IHP; 16, max 16.5 kn.
Hull: Steel, 4 Decks, fcsle-105 ft, Bridge-334 ft, Poop-81 ft. Cargo: 17,000 Tons.
Passengers: 347-1st Class, 160-2nd Class, 2,350-3rd Class

 

     

 

 

1912, May 18 Arrived New York. Went to Chicago and was reunited with her friend Lawrence. She took a position with a family there and went with them to Cocoa, Florida to work for the winter. (She didn’t like Florida, too many bugs.)

 

 

     

 

 

Upon her return to Chicago she found Lawrence ready to seek the sunny climes of California,

he asked her to join him..

 

He made his way to Pasadena and went to work for the Pacific Electric, he stayed in a boarding house on N. Marengo.

Frances later joined him and found work there with the Clow family.

 

 

Lawrence’s boarding house

 

 

 

Frances and Isabelle Clow

                   

 

She was not too content, after awhile, and wanted to return to Chicago. Lawrence proposed marriage and she accepted. Lawrence was working for the Pacific Electric Railway as a motorman.

 

1913, Nov 22   Lawrence married Frances in Pasadena California, at the Clow residence where Frances worked. They were very fond of Frances and made the wedding very special.

 

 

The Clow’s, 489 Delarosa Drive

 

The guests at the wedding

 

 

Mrs. Eastwood, Mr. and Mrs. Silson, Mr. and Mrs. King

 

Lawrence and Frances settled in at 291 N. Marengo

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some wedding pictures

 

  

 

The best man                                       The wedding gifts

 

They might have stopped by Pasadena’s new concrete bride.

 

  

 

And of course there is the morning after.

 

 

 

 

 

1914 must have been a wonderful year!

 

 

    The Japanese tea garden                                    The Huntington Library   

 

 

At Long Beach                                                  At home

 

Not for some, I think the photo on the left, Lawrence took.

 

 

The Maryland Hotel on Colorado Blvd. burned on April 14, 1914

 

 

In August 1914, World War I broke out in Europe.

 

In December 1915 Douglas Haig took command of the British Expeditionary Force in France.

1915, Aug. 4    Daughter, Florence Mary born in Pasadena

 

           

 

17 days old

 

   

 

3 months old, Oct. 24th, Sunday

   

 

Four months old

 

 

   

 

Eight months old

   

10 Months old

 

 

 

 

 

At the Busch Estate, 1916

 

 

In 1916 they lived at 667 N. Madison just below Villa St.

 

 

 

1916, Aug. 5    Twins, Douglas Haig & Warwick Simcock born in Pasadena. Douglas was born first and was always a little bigger than Warwick. In later years Douglas referred to Warwick as his younger brother.

 

 

 

 

When the twins were born; Lawrence was ‘crowing his head off’, telling everybody on the streetcar about it. A woman asked if they were prepared for twins – Frances had anemic poisoning, she lost her hair and the twins were supposed to be born dead – they were not prepared, yes they would like some help. The lady was Mrs. Meyers, she called and sent stuff over, a beautiful reed buggy and boxes full of clothes of every kind and description. She had twin boys about a year older, Gifford and Desain?, the family lived down by Johnston Lake (where the Mendelsons lived). Over the years Mrs. Meyer looked after the Eastwood boys, at Christmas time she would bring them last years stuff, when they had diphtheria she sent the chauffer with clothes or maybe groceries. The Eastwoods would go and visit once in a while and play with the ducks. The Meyers went to All Saints Episcopal Church.

This explains why the boys always looked sharp when they were young.

 

 

 

 

 

667 N. Madison

 

   

 

Jan. 1, 1917

 

 

Life was good!

 

 

 

Mr. and Mrs. Simcock, friends from down the street

 

 

 

 

 

The gals across the street                              Lawrence’s little family

        

 

      

Sometime they moved to 744 E. Villa. Florence remembers taking lunch out to her dad, the motorman, on the trolley that ran down the middle of the street in front of her house (a Dinky for you P.E. buffs) and ran out Villa to Foothill Blvd. (Altadena Dr.)

 

 

 

 

 

744 E. Villa

      

 

 

1918, June 21  Son, Lawrence Wilson born in Pasadena

 

 

Young Lawrence, One Year old

 

The twins

 

 

1919 started out to be good year.

 

      

 

The Simcock family - Jane in the right photo

 

 

 

In June a trip to Catalina

 

 

 

And 4th of July on our trikes

 

August 1919   the Pacific Electric employees went on strike, Lawrence wouldn’t cross the picket line as a scab. Hard pressed for cash he did whatever he could to provide for his family including working in Fresno harvesting grapes. It was during this period that he got his Naturalization Papers.

Meanwhile back in England, George was growing up, Lawrence corresponded with him every other week from the time George could write. I’m sure you saw his picture hanging on the wall a few pages back.

 

 

 

 

Things couldn’t have been to bad though… managed a trip to Catalina in June of 1920

And Long Beach

 

 

A day at the park…

 

 

(notice the French 75 in the fence)

 

 

Tea with mom

 

 

Check out the street car

 

 

Things didn’t look so bad at 744 E. Villa

 

 September 24th 1920   Lawrence became a Citizen of the United States.

 

 

In 1921 Lawrence joined the Postal Service in Pasadena as a Mail Carrier, he retired in 1954 from the Alhambra office – 33 years service.

 

 

 

 

They bought a house at 567 Howard Pl. (Later, Howard St. when it was realigned and combined with Dakota St.)

 

 

1922 Mail delivery as a sub. 567 Howard Pl.

 

 

   

 

  

4th of July

 

Hiking with mom and Mrs. Baylor

 

With the neighbors

Sailors four

 

The family was going to the Methodist Church (there is a box of Sunday School attendance pins as evidence), the ladies of the Church kept bugging Frances: “did you bring your letter, did you bring your letter” (her letter of transfer, they wanted her to become an official member) she didn’t know what they were talking about. Her friend, Avis Clendening, a cook at the Gamble House, would take her to All Saints on Sunday evening (sort of a girl’s night out). She suggested that if you don’t like the women at the Methodist Church come to All Saints –That’s how it all started, before 1925. That’s Florence’s version and probably true, I like Douglas’ version: She worked for a Judge and he thought the twins would look cute leading the choir processional. ed.

 

A parade at the beach

 

 

This is probably a picture of one of the most influential events in the Eastwood twins life.

The neighbor across the street, Mr. Gow gave them their first ride in an automobile.

He even took the family on outings like to Santa Monica.

 

 

 

 

The Boys and their pal

 

 

Waiting to be picked up for Sunday School

 

Sometime in 1924, the Sons of Saint George, to which Lawrence belonged, sponsored a trip to England. Frances wanted to go, Lawrence wouldn’t take her so she got her dander up worked hard, saved money and in June 1925 she and Florence went to England.

 

1925, June 21 The Eastwood girls were off on a great adventure! They stopped in Chicago and visited Florence Hamer Eastwood’s grave. They visited the Eastwood cousins in Mt. Airy, PA. June 27th they sailed from New York aboard the “R.M.S. Carmania” for England.

 

 

R.M.S. Carmania

 

Built by John Brown & Co., Glasgow, launched in 1905

She made her maiden voyage from Lverpool to New York, Dec. 1905

The same ship Florence Hamer’s sister came to America on in 1914

 

Here she is in her big wartime engagement

 

This postcard shows an artist's depiction of a famous World War I naval battle that took place off Trinidad. The battle is partly famous because it did not involve warships but cruise ships that had been converted to armoured merchant cruisers. On the British side was the Carmania, a Cunard cruise ship which had been fitted with 4.7 inch guns. On the German side was the Cap Trafalgar, an armed cruise ship of the Hamburg South American Line.

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, in September of 1914, the Carmania under the command of Royal Navy Captain Noel Grant, intercepted the Cap Trafalgar in the waters off Trinidad. A fierce battle took place and although the Carmania's bridge caught fire, she managed to keep firing at the Cap Trafalgar. It was a close fight but after an hour of fighting, the Cap Trafalgar started to list and eventually sunk.

The Carmania received a total of 79 hits, and several crew members were lost in the battle. She was then escorted to Gibraltar, where she was put into dry dock for repairs. For this courageous action she was commemorated by the British Navy League who presented her with a silver plate from Nelson's dinner service.

 

 

 

 

 

Frances saw her mother and all her sisters. Florence tells the story. “If you think somebody is quaint… strange… you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.” “Margaret’s (Picton) mother Vera, was so cute… she was 14, a couple of years older than me. She schooled me in what was expected when visiting Grandmother” “Be sure everything is alright, speak nicely to her (she was an older lady at the time), speak when spoken to and don’t chew any gum.”

 

The Simcock girls were seamstress/dressmakers at Kendall Mills, a big Department Store in Manchester, except for Emma who had a nursing job at the Sanitarium. Sister Lizzie Huckabody, Vera’s mother was married the rest of the girls lived at home and took care of mother.

The Eastwood girls stayed with Lizzie.

 

       

 

Vera and Florence. The two older women with the girls and mom, Lizzie, are Auntie Frances Simcock (ctr.), grandfather Richard Simcock’s sister, and her long time companion Auntie Freddy. They lived in Altringham, Cheshire in 1925.

Aunt Freddie was special to Frances, she gave Francis a gold chain and pin with diamonds on her 21st birthday in 1904

 

Frances’ brother William Simcock was gassed during WW I and never recovered.

Here he is at hospital in 1925.

 

 

Their brother Fred Simcock was wounded in action in France, 1917.

He died in hospital in England that same year.

 

 

 

  

 

This is the medal the King sent to the family.

 

( the medal is about six of seven inches across)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following are Mary Roberts Simcock’s family, I’m not altogether sure who is who.

 

   

 

Mary’s brother and his wife   Sister and her husband, Hughes

 

  

 

The Roberts                                         The Hughes

 

          

The Hughes family                             Doris Hughes

 

 

More Hughes’

 

Aunt Emma (Roberts) and Uncle Joe Lancelot

They also spent a lot of time in Ripponden with Lawrence’s family. They probably stayed with Alfred, Lawrence’s brother. Emma Murgatroyed, Lawrence’s sister, joined them on their way back to California.

 

 

Uncle Alfred’s family, Hannah, Mabel and Ada

 

  

 

They also visited Lawrence’s sister Harriet Ann

 

 

 

 

 

They headed home August 29th

 

 

Cousin Vera on the left, Aunt Emma Murgatryod,

Aunt Lizzie, Cousin Ted Roberts, Frances, Uncle Roberts, Florence

And Uncle Warwick Huckabody (with pipe) in the background.

 

 

 

Lawrence’s sister, Emma Murgatroyd returned to California with Frances and Florence aboard the R.M.S. Laconia.

 

R.M.S. Laconia

 

Sister of the Scythia and Samaria, she was built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson.

Launched in April 1921, her maiden voyage in May 1922 was from Southampton to New York;

She was then placed on the Liverpool-Boston-New York run with Samaria.

 

Laconia was converted to an armed merchant cruiser in 1939, and then into a troopship in 1941.

On Sept. 12, 1942, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German Sub. U156, about 360 miles north of Ascaension Is. When the U-boat commander discovered that many on board were Italian prisoners of War, he obtained permission from Admiral Doenitz to try and rescue survivors.

While the rescue was underway they were attacked by an American B-24 and abandoned their rescue efforts. A French warship came to the rescue and picked up survivors and saved 1,000 out of 3,200 on board

 

 

Florence wrote not on the back of one of the ship pictures: “ Late August, 1925, after celebrating my tenth Birthday in England, we left Liverpool on the Laconia for New York. My father’s sister, Emma Murgatroyd returned to Californa with us. Another long crossing and not as smoth as going over, we were seasick much of the way and glad to arrive in New York – Labor Day, 1925.

 

All was not good for the ‘Laconia’ as well, for in the night on her approach to New York she had a minor collision with a small sailing freighter, the ‘Lucia P. Dow’.

 

 

Frances wrote: “This boat is the freighter that collided with the R.M.S. Laconia, on which we returned to U.S.A. leaving Liverpool Aug 29, 1925.

The collision was at 2:30 A.M, Sunday Sept. 6, 1925.

Mr. Rothwell gave me this picture.”

 

 

Lawrence partitioned off a room for Emma on Howard Place, a surprise when they returned.

 

Aunt Emma at 567 Howard Place

 

But things were not rosy, arguing and fighting; the underlying cause birth control. Frances didn’t want any more children; the solution, abstinence.

That didn’t set well with Lawrence. Things got worse. Frances worked for Judge Gibbs on Wednesdays. She had a word with him one day and then filed for divorce. Sister-in-law Emma testified as a witness for Frances –there was a lot of stress in the house in 1926.

 

Of Course that didn’t stop us from going to Catalina

 

 

 

And growing up

 

Lawrence about 1925

 

 

With Auntie Emma

 

 

 

 

Lawrence “Just before we parted”