Frederick Palethorpe was born in Bootle in 1895. He was the son of George and Elizabeth Palethorpe (née Brine) who were married at St.Mary’s C.of E. Church, Walton in 1877. George Palethorpe, a marine engineer, was born in Leak, Staffordshire and Elizabeth Brine was from Liverpool.

Frederick was the second youngest of their nine children. His father died before his younger brother Robert was born in 1897, leaving his widow Elizabeth to bring up their large family single handedly. Elizabeth remarried to William Leach at St.Columba’s C.of E. Church, later the same year.

They had a daughter, Eveline Rolard Leach, in 1902 but by 1911 Elizabeth had been widowed for a second time and was living with her unmarried children at 2 Clare Road, Bootle. Frederick, aged sixteen, was a bread shop boy.

Frederick was an Assistant Baker aboard HMS Laurentic when the ship struck a mine at the mouth of Lough Swilly on the 25th January 1917. He had served for 4 years on the vessel as baker.

As he had been a member of the crew of the Laurentic throughout the war period seeing service around the oceans of the world. His family received his 1914 Star as well as the Victory and British War medals

A letter home to his Sister-in-Law Julia, from some previous Christmas, is adorned with an illustration showing figures in traditional Oriental dress so was probably written when he was stationed in the Far East. In the letter he asks about his brother Jack (John George) so we might assume the letter dates back perhaps as far as 1914. His brother was killed in action at the first battle of Ypres, France on the 24th of April 1915. It is possible that the letter dates from as late as Christmas 1915 and that Frederick was not yet aware of his brother’s death. In the letter he asks if Jack had been home since the previous year, suggesting that communication was infrequent and perhaps unreliable.

John George Palethorpe  was the eldest child, 18yrs older than Frederick. The story passed down about John George is that he went to Canada to make a better life for his family and when the first world war broke out he joined the Canadian Army. John George and Julia had two children, Robert Frederick and Julia. The little girl died of acute meningitis when she was about 18 month old, so her mother lost both husband and baby daughter.

Mr. Frederick Palethorpe, sixth son of Mrs. Palethorpe, of 4, Antonia-street, Bootle, was one of the numerous gallant men who went down with the Laurentic. He had served for 4 years on the vessel as baker. He was 22 years of age, and an “old boy” of Bedford-road Schools. The deepest sympathy is felt with his widowed mother, who has lost one son in the war and has two others in France.
Bootle Times 16th February 1917.

Sources:-
Thanks to Veronica Palethorpe, wife of Julia and John George Palethorpe’s grandson, for allowing us to use the letter and photograph of Frederick and for supplying further biographical details about John George Palethorpe.
Census Census Returns of England and Wales 1901 and 1911. The National Archives of the UK
National Archives  – Royal Naval Service Records
General Register Office England and Wales  http://www.gro.gov.uk
The British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

Antonio Street