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b.1861-d.1908
Frederick was born in 1861 in the Camberwell registration district to Frederick Gustavus Giller (1834 – 1881), a merchant’s clerk and Elizabeth ‘Minnie’, née Peacock (1837 – 1870). They had married on 21st March 1856 at St Mary’s Church, Luton.
Frederick was the third child to be born to the couple.
- Louisa Alexandra 1857 – 1858
- Edwin Griffiths 1858 – 1915
- Frederick William 1861 – 1908
- Henry George 1863 – 1910 (USA)
His father Frederick Gustavus never seems to be around at the time of the Census. I was able to discern his occupation at the baptism of the daughter Louisa in 1858.
Disaster strikes with the death of the boys’ mother Elizabeth, in 1870 , of peurperal sepsis. On the 1871 Census, the three boys are living with different families.
Royal Horse Artillery
In 1880 young Frederick enlisted in the Royal Horse Artillery and served for eighteen years as a driver (on horse). He served his time in India and we find that he joined the Mayo Lodge of the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons in 1892 in Trimulgherry.
Unfortunately, he was treated in hospital for primary syphilis. However, his record is good and when he requested discharge in 1898, his commanding officer gave a good report of Frederick’s horsemanship, describing him as a ‘rough rider’.
Frederick had married Agnes Scully in 1884 . On his army record, it states that he was divorced from Agnes – but no further details are provided.
In the 1901 Census, he states that he is married. He is living in Greenwich, working as a machinist in the steel trade. There is no sign of a wife in the records.
On 28th August 1907, Frederick was admitted to Long Grove. He dies on 18th March 1908 as a result of tertiary syphilis.
There is probate in April 1908. He leaves his £48 8s 8d to his brother, Edwin Griffiths, a solicitor’s clerk.
