Tributes to well-loved Ribble Valley music man who has died at the grand old age of 99

Born in Preston in 1920, when Frank was 18 months old, his family moved to Hurst Green as his dad had secured work at Stonyhurst College. He attended Hurst Green Primary School. When he was about nine years old, he began to play the cornet which his dad also played. This started his lifelong love of music. He joined Hurst Green Band at the age of 12 and a year later he joined his dad and played the Last Post and Reveille at the war memorial and this was something which he did for a great many years in various places around the area. He also played with Stonyhurst College Orchestra. Soon after this, as his cornet skills improved, he joined Clitheroe Borough Band and within about 12 months, he was promoted to leading solo cornet player. In later years, he taught music at evening class, played in the orchestra for the Clitheroe Amateur Operatic Society and then became the musical director. His love of music continued after his retirement and he volunteered at St Michael and St John's Primary School helping the brass players and even playing in the school band when they performed for parents.

When he left school, he started his apprenticeship as a painter and decorator with Wilkinson’s, a local firm, and then he finished serving his time at Stonyhurst College with a man who became a close personal friend, Norman Shaw. He was called up for war duty from there and he joined the Royal Tank Regiment on March 6th, 1941. Three months later he was struck down with meningitis and was in isolation for three weeks. It was twelve weeks before he resumed duties. His Service took him to Africa and then through Italy where there were some severe battles in the liberation of the country. Within a week of returning from war, he got a job working for Hawthorne’s Builders in Clitheroe as a painter and decorator and many houses in Clitheroe will have his name on their house walls as he always used to sign and date the plaster.

Soon afterwards he met Joan Hargreaves and in January 1949 they were married at St Michael and John’s Church in Clitheroe, and later set up home in West View, Clitheroe. Frank later worked at Castle Castings on Waterloo and then North West Water Board.

Remembering Frank, a family spokesman said: "Music continued to be a big part of his life and he also enjoyed gardening on his allotment, developing photographs in his dark room (bathroom), going on camping holidays and more exotic ones abroad with Joan, enjoying visiting relatives in Canada and was expert at every kind of DIY and car maintenance. He retired in 1985 and then in the late nineties he and Joan moved to Pendle Court, Clitheroe. He joined Waddington Bowling Club and thoroughly enjoyed coming home to tell her he had won his game and frequently won the raffle as well! Joan died in 2014 after being cared for in the intervening years at home by Frank. He slowly adapted to life on his own after 65 years of marriage and became quite adept at cooking for himself. In 2017 he was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, but again he showed great resilience and coped with the condition until in recent months when his health deteriorated. He died on April 14th at Alston View Nursing Home in Longridge."

He leaves behind a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren. A small family cremation will take place on Thursday (April 23rd) with the cortege leaving Pendle Court at around 1pm. When circumstances permit there will be a Mass to celebrate Frank’s amazing 99-and-a-half years to which all who knew him are welcome to attend.