THE third child of four, Frank Morris was born in 1929 in Tidworth into an army environment – his father was a soldier and his mother a schoolteacher. As a child he moved around a great deal – Salisbury, Plymouth, London, Crouch Hill, Tidworth, to name a few – this made him determined that when he had his own family he would settle in one place.

When war was declared he was evacuated, via Aville outside Dunster, to Minehead; he attended school at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic, also evacuated to Minehead. Frank was then apprenticed to G Brown and Sons, training in clock, watch and jewellery repairs. Health and safety was different then: climbing up borrowed 30ft hayrick ladders to remove, clean and replace the hands of church clocks with no safety precautions. Around this time he learnt to ring church bells, initially by just sitting and watching, and eventually being allowed to do; he keenly cycled all around the area to practise.

In 1951 Frank started his National Service, in the medical corps and then REME, again moving around to Dorset, Middlesex and Hampshire; he was variously a watchmaker, speed-ometer repairer and engine mechanic. Once demobbed it was straight back to Mr Brown, until he was headhunted by Cranmer and Askew to repair spectacles. He was a member of the church youth club and taught bellringing – and he met Pam, who was working in her uncle’s ironmongers.

Frank and Pam married in 1958, Isabel and Ann were born in 1959 and 1961, he joined the PCC, spent much time stoking the church boiler, and qualified as a dispensing optician.

In 1965 Frank and the family moved to Wellington and took over Porter and Fry, particularly building up the clock and watch repair side of the business. In 1984 the business moved to the other side of Fore Street, where Frank and Pam worked until their retirement in 1999. As well as the business, Frank was active in the church, being on the PCC and leading the bellringers for many years until well into his eighties, and supervising much-needed repair work to the bells and tower.

Following retirement Frank enjoyed learning with U3A, loved gardening and worked with Wellington in Bloom. He frequently visited his daughters – and his grandchildren – and was kept busy with their maintenance jobs, his training meaning that even routine household repairs were carried out just as meticulously as watch repairs. Frank was fortunate in keeping his good health to the end, and counted his blessings every day. He had a tremendous knowledge of a range of subjects, and was always happy to go to the time and trouble to offer friendly advice to anyone who asked.

Frank cherished Pam, nurtured his daughters and was very proud of his five grandchildren. He was a hard-working, honest gentleman who is now enjoying a well-deserved rest; he will be greatly missed by all those who knew him.