John Francis Rawding, known as Frank, was the son of Allen and Lucy Rawding (née Smith).
His father Allen was born in about 1847 at Besthorpe and his mother Lucy Smith was born in about 1853 at Coddington.
They were married in 1871 (O/N/D Newark, George Allen Rawding-Lucy Smith) and had at least five children, the eldest of whom, Maria Elizabeth, was born in Besthorpe. No registration of Maria's birth has yet been traced (Rawding or Smith) but there is a record of the baptism in Durham on 1 December 1872 of a Maria Elizabeth Rawding, the daughter of Allen and Lucy Rawding and the 1939 Register of England & Wales gave her date of birth as 10 September 1871. The other four children were born in Newark and baptised at the parish church of St Leonard: Sarah Jane birth registered 1877 (J/F/M) bap. 28 March 1877, Eliza b. 1880 bap. 4 April 1884;, Annie b. 1886 bap. 1 September 1886 and John Francis b. 1888 bap. 21 November 1888.
According to the baptismal records, the family lived at various properties on George Street, Newark, but in 1881 were living at 15 George Street. Allen, a general labourer, and Lucy had three children, Maria (9), Sarah Jane (4) and Eliza (under 1 year).
They were still living at the same address in 1891 but only Sarah, Eliza, Annie (4) and John (1) were in the home with their parents on the night of the census and by 1901 only Eliza, a tailor's machinist, and John were still living at home.
Lucy died in March 1908. At the time of the 1911 census Allen was living at 6 Union Row, King Street, Newark, with two of their children, Annie, 'at home' and John, a general labourer.
Allen died in January 1936.
John Francis married Mary Anne Joynes (b. 23 July 1891) in 1913 (A/M/J Newark) and they had two children, Leonard b. 1914, who died the same year, and Lawford born 8 February 1915. They were living on Tolney Lane, Newark, when John was killed in 1918.
In 1939 when the England & Wales Register was compiled, his widow was living at 15 Tolney Lane with her son Lawford, an engineers' progress clerk. Mary died in 1975. Lawford married Violet Cliff in 1940 and died in January 1996.
Of John Francis' siblings:
Maria Elizabeth married Joseph Buttery Biggs in 1889 and in 1911 they were living on Lindum Street, Newark with their nine surviving children. They moved to Peterborough before the end of the war. In 1939 the widowed Maria Elizabeth was living in Peterborough with one of her children, Thomas (b. 1889) who was incapacitated (blind). Another son, Christopher (b. 1893), served as Christopher Buttery Archer in the 9th Bn Norfolk Regiment (9067 Private) and was killed in France on 15 April 1918. Marie died in 1951.
Sarah Jane married Harry Rollitt in 1901. In 1911 they were living at 2 Union Row, Newark, with their five children. Sarah and Harry (b. 21 April 1875) were still living in Newark in 1939; also in the home were two of their children, John (b. 1911) and Margaret (b. 1914). Sarah died in 1956.
Eliza died in 1901 (A/M/J Newark) aged 21
Annie married John R Young in 1911. She died in March 1919.