Selected Biography

Glazin, Farrance Thomas – Born: Long Melford, Suffolk on 17.7.1892.[1]  Parents: Farrance Glazin (Carpenter) and Elizabeth Mary [née Sore].  Family Connections: Cousin of Walter Bennett Maxim [b1888] and brother-in-law of Sidney Lancelot Reeve [b1900].  Home: St Catherines Road, Long Melford (1901) to [1976].  Occupation: Clerk for Clement Theobald and Son, Builders of Long Melford (1911), Builder’s Manager Estimation and General Clerk (1939).  Married: Kate Amelia Lenney in 1915.  Service Record: At the Melford Military Service Tribunal in 1916 his employer Clement Theobald applied for an exemption on Farrance Glazin’s behalf.  Theobald argued that Glazin was indispensable to the day-to-day management of the business.  He further argued that as he had lost half of his workforce already, the loss of one more would ‘cripple him’.  The Tribunal was not persuaded, and the application was refused.[2]  Farrance was conscripted on 14.9.1916 as Aircraft Mechanic N^o. F20666 with the Royal Naval Air Service and posted to South Shields.  This air station at the mouth of the Tyne, was used primarily for the maintenance and re-fuelling of seaplanes.  On 1.4.1918 he was transferred as an Aero Rigger to the Royal Air Force, being placed on the RAF Reserve in February 1919 and receiving his discharge in 1920.[3]  Died: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on 23.8.1976.[4]

Related Biographies

Reeve, Sidney Lancelot – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 21.12.1900.[5]  Parents: Herbert Reeve (Inspector of Police) and Harriet [née Rutherford].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Farrance Thomas Glazin [b1892].  Home: Queens Road, Sudbury, Suffolk (1901), Police Station, King Street, Sudbury (1911), 14 Raglan Gardens, Watford, Hertfordshire (1939), 70 Cornwall Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk [1956].  Occupation: Warrant Officer in the Royal Air Force (1939).  Married: Gertrude May Glazin of Long Melford in 1920.  Service Record: No extant military record has been found; however, Sidney is recorded as serving with the Royal Air Force at his marriage in 1920.  It was probably through his friendship with Farrance Glazin that he met Glazin’s sister Gertrude, strongly suggesting that he was serving with him in the RAF at the end of the Great War.  He remained in the service through the inter-war years and as Cpl.337185 was commended for his actions in the Waziristan Campaign of 1925, being granted a commission as a Flying Officer in 1941.[6]  Died: Ipswich, Suffolk on 25.12.1956.[7]

Watton, Ernest Oswald – Born: Sudbury, Suffolk on 10.12.1898.[8]  Parents: William George Watton (Confectioner) and Susannah [née Beer].  Family Connections: Brother-in-law of Farrance Thomas Glazin [b1892].  Occupation: General Post Office Telegraphist [1916].  Married: Winifred Maud Glazin in 1919.  Service Record: Ernest was conscripted on 6.6.1916 as Pte.273036, however was medically classified as B^III and transferred to the Army Reserve for Signal Service.  He was mobilized on 5.2.1918 with the Royal Engineers. He received his discharge in December 1918.[9]  Died: East Suffolk Hospital, Ipswich, Suffolk on 26.4.1954.[10]

Notes – [1] Date of birth from Admission Register 9.1.1899, St Catherines Infants School, Long Melford, and confirmed by his Royal Navy Registers of Seaman’s Services [ADM 188/601/20666]. [2] For the Tribunal’s ruling see Suffolk and Essex Free Press 5.4.1916. [3] Medal and Award Rolls [ADM 171/202]. [4] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [5] Date of birth from the 1939 Register for Watford, Hertfordshire, however the banns for his marriage to Gertrude Glazin record his date of birth as 31.12.1899; see Banns of Marriage Register 23.5.1920, St Andrew’s Church, Southall, Middlesex. [6] See article entitled ‘The Waziristan Campaign’ in Flight magazine 26.11.1925; also see London Gazette 18.7.1941, p.4126. [7] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.  [8] Date of birth from the 1939 Register.  [9] Soldiers’ Documents, First World War ‘Burnt Documents’ [WO 363].  [10] Date of death from the National Probate Calendar.