Although Frederic Close (1889) was born in Missouri, America, he made his home in the Long Preston and Settle areas of Yorkshire when his mother came back from America with the family. During the First World War between 1914 and 1918, he served with the Duke of Wellington Regiment attaining the rank of sergeant and was subsequently awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
The MSM (as it was known) was awarded to warrant officers and senior NCOs. Such servicemen were eligible for the award once they had received their army discharge after a period of at least 21 years.
His obituary in the Craven Herald in 1955 reads:
By the death of Mr Frederic Close, Cravendale, Giggleswick, the village has lost yet another prominent and respected resident.
Mr Close who was 66, was the youngest son of the late Mr & Mrs Close who at one time farmed at Runley Bridge farm, Settle, and he was born in America. He came to England at the age of 2; he lived for 40 years in Settle and moved to Giggleswick 22 years ago. He was educated at Settle Church of England School, Giggleswick Grammar School and Appleby Grammar School and on leaving school entered the office of John Delaney Ltd, (now Settle Limes) in 1906 and remained with the firm until he retired in September 1948. He maintained his connection with the firm and often helped out in an emergency, even up to a week or so before his death.
During the first World War, Mr Close served with the Duke of Wellington Regiment attaining the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.
During the 1939-1945 war he was second in command of the Settle Home Guard and was a member of the Settle Branch of the British legion. Mr Close was also a member of the 31st Home Guard Rifle Club and at Giggleswick he took part actively, although quietly in the social life of the village. He was secretary of the Giggleswick Savings Group and the treasurer of the village Youth’s Sport Club. In addition, he had served on the committee of the Giggleswick Horticultural Society since its formation and had been entries secretary for the past 6 or 7 years. At the society’s show on Saturday, tribute was paid to his memory by the society’s chairman, Mr H Jorden and the company present stood in silence to his memory.
Also, Mr Close was a member of Settle Working Men’s Club and a keen sportsman. He was actuary of the Giggleswick branch of the Yorkshire Penny Bank until the branch closed.
Modest, Quiet and unassuming, Mr Close was always ready to serve in any good cause.
And now for a bit of housekeeping
See the wood and the trees
We publish everything we have in our fabulous trees, so basically if you can’t find it, we don’t have it. With over 20,000 people, 5,000 families, 12,000 sources, and 69,000 image references currently sat in our database, you’ll appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this over the years.
You can see more in the Close Ancestry Trees.
Donations
We know that everyone in the world is after your hard-earned cash, but if you do feel a donation coming on as a result of your visit here, then please feel free to send it our way. It all goes towards the upkeep of the site, for which we charge absolutely nothing. So, please help us to keep the site free to use. Thanks.
Contacting us
If you find anything that you think may be of interest to us, then drop us an email at stuff@closeancestry.com
Get these updates directly to your inbox
All our updates are also published to my Twitter feed, @PoetClose. So, you can follow me there … if you really have nothing better to do.