Born in India 19/01/1888 - father in the British Army, mother an Indian lady.
Orphaned in 1892 - then raised by his uncle Arthur Pordage, initially in Portsmouth, then in Edinburgh. Attended 'Royal Military Asylum for Children of Soldiers of the Regular Army' in Chelsea, London from 1897 to 1901. Lived with his uncle & aunt at Lauriston Place Fire Station until 1903 when he joined the 17th Lancers (he put his age up to be eligible) & returned to India until Dec 1912. He left the Army with little knowledge of the world except the Discipline he had lived his entire life! He had a certificate in Carpentry & Joinery, also in Surgical Nursing. He had played cricket, & would have known a lot about horses. He was a member of the Temperance League.
He arrives in Hathersage in early 1913! (He'd had hopes to work in the fire station in Edinburgh with his uncle, but that wasn't allowed.)
Why Hathersage? What was happening in Hathersage to attract an unattached 24 yo man in 1913?
(He soon became a Police Constable in the Sheffield Police, & moved to live in Sheffield, in the boarding house where he met Evelyn Eyre Timperley & married.)
But if anyone can shed a light on why he would have moved to Hathersage, I'd love to know!
Hi Elaine
I can no longer be entirely sure, as it's several years since I collected that info.
However, the family has a small suitcase of memorabilia our grandma had kept (FCF Pordage's wife) of their early days - that's where the telegram he sent on Armistice Day is kept. I suspect there was some reference to Hathersage amongst those personal papers. It included references he'd collected when leaving the Army & heading into civilian life. If he was in Hathersage, it was only for a matter of weeks or months, in early 1913.
Jocelyn
Newspaper report 22 Jan 1919, includes “Pte (Lce-Cpl) F.C. Pordage MMP (Hathersage)” in a list of men who had been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
Another article dated 28 July 1917 about presentations to says he was presented with a watch and mentions that he was a reservist at the outbreak of the war.
His address at the time of his marriage in November 1913 was 167 Ellesmere Rd (same address as Evelyn Timperley.)
Hi Heather
Thanks so much! I knew about the Meritorious Service Medal, but had not seen that newspaper report with the reference to Hathersage.
FCF was a boarder in my great-grandmother's boarding house in Sheffield (Hannah Timperley) when he was working in Sheffield as a Police Constable. Evelyn Eyre, whom he later married, was one of Hannah's daughters, working & living in the boarding house. She was the one who answered the doorbell when he came looking for board & lodgings early in 1913.. We're told it was love at first sight! Hannah wouldn't allow the engagement until Evelyn's 21st birthday on 16 July 1913, then married 20 Nov 1913. FCF off to war on 6 August 1914, 1st baby born 5 Nov 1914. After FCF's return from war, it was a long & happy marriage, more kids born in Australia after emigration.
And I knew about the watch presentation.
Jocelyn