Frank Casson 1910 - 1944
Family history
Frank Casson
was born on 8 February 1910 in Morecambe to Edith May Casson and Edward Perkin, who were not married.
Edith’s father James was a cab driver. Edward, who was from Barrow-in-Furness, was in the same business - he was a carter.
Edward Perkin
The only evidence of an association with Frank, his son, comes from his Army records.
He enlisted in Nelson on 17 August 1915 in the 3rd Reserve Battalion of the Scots Guards, as No.14296, as a labourer. He
spent more than a year in France, followed by 6 months at a home depot. In 1917 he sailed again to France (Le Havre).
In July 1918 he received serious shrapnel wounds and spent the next 138 days in hospitals
in Halifax and Leeds, being discharged on 14 November 1918.
While he was at the East
Leeds War Hospital at Beckett Park (near Kirkstall), he received an Order for Stoppage of Pay of 6d a day to support
his illegitimate (unnamed) child.
The 2 pages show that Edith obtained the Maintenance Order just a month after her son’s birth. 3s 6d was to be paid
monthly until Frank reached the age of 16. The fact that the Army had to enforce the order from the court in Lancaster
suggests that Edward may not have been paying the sums due.
On 26 December 1919, he married Lily Bateson in
Manningham, Bradford. She was the great great-granddaughter
of Joseph Bateson. Why Edward claimed to be a widower on his marriage documents can only be guessed at.
The couple had two daughters after moving back to Morecambe. By 1939, they were
in Huddersfield, where Edward died in 1965, Lily in 1978. Frank Casson’s mother Edith married John Browning in 1947 and died in Morecambe in 1980. Private Frank Casson
Frank had moved to Manchester by 1939 and was a bricklayer.
He enlisted as a Sapper in the 672 Artisan Works Company of the Royal Engineers,
as No. 14387407.
On 4 May 1944, he died, perhaps from an illness, at Winchester. He was 34. He is on the War Office’s casualty “Died” list, rather than
on its “Died Result of Accident” list. He was buried at Torrisholme Cemetery in Morecambe and is commemorated on
the Morecambe Memorial. Images
Sources * Edward Perkin Army Service records – available at National Archives * Casson family history, censuses, war information etc – ancestry.co.uk * Commonwealth War Graves Commission at cwgc.org * Find a Grave.com 
