Sir Howard George Frank, 1st Baronet (10 November 1871 – 10 January 1932) was an English

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of real estate, properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a Letting agent, letting or manag ...

and public servant. He was a co-founder of

Knight Frank Knight Frank LLP is a global real estate consultancy and estate agency headquartered in London, England. Knight Frank's global network has more than 488 offices across 57 territories and more than 20,000 people managing commercial, agricultur ...

. Frank was born at Blackhurst Park,

Pembury Pembury is a large village in Kent, in the south east of England, with a population of 6,128 at the 2011 census. It lies just to the north-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The village centre, including the village green and High Street area is a ...

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, the son of Frederick Frank. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and then entered the estate agency profession, in which he remained all his life, eventually becoming recognised as the "head" of the profession in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. He was head of the firms of Knight, Frank & Rutley of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Walton & Lee of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and was president of the Estate Agents' Institute from 1910 to 1912. In 1916, he was appointed honorary adviser to the

Ministry of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

on land valuation. The following year he became Director-General of Lands to the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

and

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

as well as the Ministry of Munitions, holding the post until 1922. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he also served as deputy chairman and then chairman of the Disposals Board (later Disposal and Liquidation Commission), which was charged with disposing of surplus war

materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

. He served on a number of public committees and

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

s in the 1920s and 1930s. Frank was a member of the committee that built and opened London's first public golf courses in Richmond Park, which were opened in 1923 and 1925. Frank was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1914, appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(KCB) in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

, and created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the

1920 Birthday Honours The 1920 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

for his wartime services. He was appointed

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(GBE) in the

1924 Birthday Honours The 1924 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to ...

, for public service. He died suddenly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

after dinner at his home in

Cheyne Walk Cheyne Walk is a historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted t ...

, London. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eight-year-old son Howard.

Personal life

Frank was married twice. By his first marriage he had a daughter, Mary. Original publisher: Methuen, London. In January 1922, at the age of 50, he married his 19-year-old former secretary Nancy Muriel (Nan) Brooks, who was five years younger than his daughter. The couple had two children: Howard Frederick (born 5 April 1923) and Robert John (born 16 March 1925). Lieutenant Sir Howard Frank was killed in action while serving as a tank commander with the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 10 September 1944, at the age of 21. He was succeeded to the title by his younger brother, Robert (born 16 March 1925). Throughout the 1920s, Frank owned several yachts in which the couple regularly sailed off the coast of southern England. It was through sailing that the couple was introduced at Cowes to Squadron Leader (later Air Marshal Sir) Arthur Coningham, who would sail with them as a member of the crew. Beginning sometime in 1930, Nan and Coningham began an affair. In July 1931, Coningham was advised that he would be posted overseas in February 1932. In response to this potential separation they delayed making a decision on what to do due to their regard for her husband and the fear of a scandal. Their dilemma was solved by Frank's sudden unexpected death. Later that year, the lovers married on 11 July 1932 in the station church at Aboukir, Alexandria.''

Who Was Who ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Howard 1871 births 1932 deaths People from Pembury People educated at Marlborough College British estate agents (people) Civil servants in the Ministry of Munitions Civil servants in the War Office Civil servants in the Air Ministry Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom