Name/Title
1915/Mack: Fred Mack's familyDescription
Portraits of Fred and Bessie from Monica McAllen's pictorial family tree. The photograph of Fred is from the large formal portrait of him on the Archive. It is not known when Bessie's photograph was taken - this poor copy (from Monica McAllen's pictorial family tree) is the only version of it available.
Bessie was instrumental in reuniting Kathleen with RJ after the First World War, a momentous meeting which would lead to their marriage.
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Fred Mack died on 1 May 1928, having been in poor health for some years. His brother, RJ, wrote in his book on the family company, Andrew Chalmers: "In the Spring of 1928, F. W. Mack was taken ill and died in just a few days at the early age of fifty. His constitution had been enfeebled by the war years and this had been aggravated by the sad loss of his only son, Frederick Russell (Billie) Mack who died from diphtheria in 1919 at St. Edward's School, Oxford. He was thirteen years old and a very promising boy."
Roger Henderson in his family research supplies the information that Billie was born on 3 May 1906 and died sometime in April to June 1919 at St Edward's "where he had been sent following bombing in the grounds of Merchant Taylor's School", presumably by the Germans in the previous year.
The Oxford University Vaccine Knowledge Project gives the following information about cases and deaths from diphtheria in 1918 (the deaths of the Jensen children) and 1919 (Billie Mack's death):
1918 - cases: 46,331 deaths 4,803
1919 - cases: 54,585 deaths 4,888
Fred and his wife had already lost their second child, Dorothy Russell Mack, in July/September 1912. Roger Henderson supplies the information that she died, aged 3, after being burnt playing with matches.
The surviving children were the third daughter Bessie (born 1914) and twins Mary and Joan (born 1916).