Edward Francis Gwynn (always known as Francis) was born in London on 30 Octoboer 1872. His father died when Francis was four years old and Francis grew up in the Abbey Cottage in Tewkesbury where his uncle was the archdeacon. He studied at Merton College, Oxford and fought in the Second Boer War with the City of London Imperial Volunteers. On his return, he lived briefly in Epsom before his marriage to Phyllis Anne Winship (1883-1953) in Tynemouth Priory church in 1904 when they settled in Stratton St Margaret in Wiltshire. He served in the 3rd Wessex Brigade of the Royal Field Artillery and joined the local volunteer fire brigade. He organised many concerts and performed in many more in which he generally sang tenor or played the violin. Francis and Phyllis had three children, Philip Edward (b. 1906), Shirley Elizabeth (b. 1909) and Mary Frances (1919-1998). He died in Yorkshire on 27 November 1948.