Personal Details
Born: In 1871 in Whitchurch, Shropshire. (His RAF service record indicates he was born on 16 October 1877, but the civil records register his birth in 4th quarter 1871)
Family: He was the second of three children born to John Simister, a shoemaker, and his wife Harriett. He married Edith Alice Kemsey Bourne in 1901 in Hereford, Herefordshire and together they had one child – Richard William Kemsey.
Residence: In 1881 he was living at 47 Newtown, Whitchurch with his parents and siblings. In 1891 he was boarding in Lavender Grove, Hackney, London and in 1893 he was teaching in Barnet, Hertfordshire. In 1901 he was back living with his family in Grindley Brook, Whitchurch. He married in 1901 and the 1911 Census shows him living in the Rowton House Workhouse in Newington Butts, London. Edith was living in South Manchester and their son Richard was living with one of his paternal aunts in Grindley Brook. By 1919 the family were living at 36 Wood Hill, Leicester, Leicestershire; he continued to live there until 1931.
Employment: In 1891 and 1901 he was an assistant schoolmaster; in 1911 and 1918 he was a clerk. At the time of his son’s marriage in 1929 he was a schoolmaster.
Died: In 1931 in Billesdon, Leicestershire, aged 59.
Military Details
Regiment: Royal Air Force
Rank: Clerk
Service Number: 285558
Date of Enlistment: 16 August 1918
Date of Discharge: 30 April 1920
Reason for Discharge: Demobilisation
Not known, but doubt any were awarded as no evidence of overseas service.