Frank Arthur Brock was an incredibly interesting man: an inventor, a pilot, and a soldier, among other things.

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With four brothers and three sisters, Frank's family life was anything but quiet. They all lived together, along with Frank's parents and one domestic servant, at 192 Selhurst Road, South Norwood, an address that still exists today!

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Frank's father was the managing director of "Brock Fireworks Co." one of the largest and most successful pyrotechnics firms in the country, organising the prestigious Crystal Palace fireworks every year. Before joining the war effort, Frank was a director of the company, as was his brother Bernard, along with another brother, Harold, who was a clerk for the company. All the other siblings (Christopher, Roland, Sylvia, Gwenllian, and Margaret in 1911, the year the census where most of the information we get about Frank dates to, were students, but would probably grow up to help work in the fireworks company. It was very much a family-run business since it was founded in 1698!

Brock's Fireworks no longer exists as a company, it was sold in 1987. However, it will always be remembered as the oldest fireworks company in Britain, and its family legacy still continues today. You can find out more about the company here.

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At school, Frank was studious in the upper fourth. He took the metriculation class, not really specialising in any subjects. In maths, he was second to bottom in a class of 18. However, in the "metriculation - modern side" he was 4th best in a class of 29! In this class, he studied French, German, History (in particular Henry IV-Henry VIII), Divinity (what we now call RT) and English literature and language. He left school in July 1901, moving straight to helping his father direct the fireworks company. 

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