Deck Hand Frank Norman Oliver

Thank you to Jane Anthony for the following research.

Deck Hand Frank Norman Oliver was born on 7th December 1899, and baptised at St Bartholomew’s, Horley on 15th Apr 1900. His parents, were Henry George, a butler, and Harriet Norman. In 1901 the family were living at Queen’s Road, Horley and Frank is shown to have had 5 older siblings. The family relocated for a while, with two or more of their children being born in the Kentish Town area of London.  By 1911 the family had returned to Horley , living at Cranbourne Cottages, Lee Street. Frank’s father was now a widower and working as a jobbing gardener, and was living there with six of his seven children whose ages ranged from 2 to 24. Frank was the second youngest child.  One of his older sisters Florence appears to be running the house and one of his older brothers, George Frederick, was a domestic butler. The only reference to Frank locally was having passed swimming exam in 1913.  Although one of his sisters, Mabel, was known to have lived at Sefton Villas, Victoria Terrace in Dorking, no additional details about her could be found.

Frank joined the Royal Navy Reserve and served aboard NHS John Abbott.  This was a Strath Trawler built in 1917.  It is not known where the ship was serving but as Deck Hand Frank Norman Oliver is buried in British Cemetery Palermo Sicily it seems likely that the ship was somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean.  He died as the result of a fever.  The Cemetery at Palermo is not run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as there are only two British servicemen buried there; both were sailors and aged only 18 at their times of death.  One of these was Deck Hand Frank Norman Oliver who is also commemorated on the South Street Memorial in Dorking.

Son of	Henry and Harriet Oliver
Regiment	HM Trawler John Abbott, Royal Naval Reserve
Number	13797
Date of Death	16th September 1918
Place of Death	Sicily, Italy
Cause of Death	Died of fever
Age	18
Cemetery	British Cemetery, Palmero, Italy